Well, today you can tell all your friends that you listened to a Sunday sermon on Friday. This was a busy week for our family.  After church on Sunday morning we packed up our things and hit the road, on a quick trip to the Galveston area.  When I got back to the office on Wednesday, I found out our annual charge conference is this Saturday.  No, you don't usually "find out" about charge conference, at least not three days before it is scheduled;...

The call told me that Papa was "actively dying."  "Who isn't," I thought. But I knew what they meant.  Papa had been ill for a while and becoming weaker, and there are clear indications when that sacred time is near.  Last summer it almost seemed like it was time.  I guess we can miscalculate.  Then I hurried to go see him.  This time, however, was different.  Of course, I wanted to go; I could not get there fast enough. ...

If you know what to do with this, then do it!  If not, have a nice day.  Well, even if you do know what to do you can still have a nice day. ...

I told you I was working on a new sermon series entitled Keys to LIFE.  It is based on passages from the letter to the Philippians.  The first sermon in the series is "Mean It!"  Of course, I would like you to listen to the sermon.  As I told the congregation, however, I think you will find it helpful to read Philippians all the way through in one or two sittings.  So, you might want to do that first--Yes, you can do it!  The...

No, this is not the naked pastor. I have appreciated this man's work for a while now.  He is the naked pastor.  Have I told you about him before?  Like many people, probably, the title of his website caught my attention.  No worries; he knows the benefit of fully clothing himself and finds other means to express himself other than going nude--at least on his blog. No, that is not the kind of naked he is talking about.  You can...

Does your church have a prayer list?  What am I saying?  Of course your church does.  Your church prays, and prays together. Is your prayer list helpful?  Do people from your church take time to read the names of the people on the list, or just pray for the list?  Have you ever prayed, "Lord, here's my list" and trusted that God "knows their names and situations"?  Oh, me neither. But I have heard of others that do that. ...

What part of this short story is more compelling to you: The plot or the message(s), or something else? ++If you are reading by email, click here to view the video....

“Be a winner at the game of life” we have often heard people say.  Often, winning simply means outdoing someone else, having the most money and nicest cars and being comfortable.  Life, however, is not played, it is lived.  How do we live a life full of meaning and find real purpose?  God's answers might surprise you--there's nothing hidden or secret about them! So, if you have ever lost your keys, or just know that God wants...

Maybe it is because of the sheep, but I keep wanting this video to have some kind of faith application.  It is about extraterrestrials and a ferocious spouse.  So, yea, it is not that clear cut.  Maybe you can do better.  Watch and share. ++If you are reading by email, click here to view the video.++ Sheeped Away from Junaid Chundrigar on Vim...

Our church added a new element to its worship service: a Ministry Celebration.  I mentioned this to you on the Groupon post.  The ministry celebration is a way to highlight various ministries within The United Methodist Church.  So far, with only two weeks worth of sharing, people have responded with some of the same positive comments we have heard before.  ~Whew. Then I got to thinking.  Just because you are reading this does not...

I like this next video. It helps us realize that all our churches have worship traditions, whether we call ourselves traditional or not. Now, to be clear, I am not poking at one particular worship style. There are elements of all worship services that bother me. For example, I detest the "Stand up if you are visiting from out of town church greeting, coupled with increasing applause volume depending on how far away you traveled to get here." Oh, and right...

Some call it the Methodist Mingle. Of course, it is not a UM phenomenon; all denominations must be aware! In many communities there are several UM congregations. For example, I could drive from our church and be at another UM church within five minutes; if I went the other direction I could be at another church as well. Give me eight minutes and I am at another UM place of worship. That is a blessing in many ways. It certainly opens up great possibilities...

I love lame puns.  Sue me.  For our newsletter this month, while using the illustration of a doctor's office to talk about waiting on God, I, yes I, said something about having patients.  And for our weekly Bible study, concentrating on Ephesians' prayer for the Gentiles to be "rooted and grounded" in love, I mentioned that everything we do should "stem" from our love of God.  It does not matter how corny they are.  The only thing...