Musings on Faith, Culture and ADHD
I usually post my sermons soon after I preach them, but for some reason I didn't post this one last year. I filled in for the pastor at Plymouth Creek Christian Church in Plymouth, MN. Part of the reason I share this now is that I want to tell part of the ongoing story of... Continue Reading →
A few weeks back, I happened to be browsing the religious website Patheos and came accross a blog post by Greg Garrett called "God Commands Compassion, Not Evangelism." The title fascinated me and the excerpt was even more interesting: "Christianity is not about praying in a certain way, or believing a certain thing, or making... Continue Reading →
From December 2010: A few years ago, I got a call from someone who wanted to visit Community of Grace, the church start that I did a few years ago. The person wanted to know about the church and it seemed they were interested in benig part of a church with a big choir and... Continue Reading →
I don't always agree with Tony Jones, but he's spot on when it comes to the economic future of clergy in mainline churches: At Pangea, Kurt makes good points about the massive debt that many seminarians graduate with. He’s right, they do. And they’re headed straight into a field that pays about $40,000 per year.... Continue Reading →
From June of this year. I've been noticing lately within Mainline Protestant circles, the rising use of the word "progressive" as a way to describe Christians who might have once used the term "mainline Protestant." The biggest change to note is over at the religion megasite Patheos, which changed the name of one of their... Continue Reading →
Presbyterian Pastor John Vest wonders if we need to rethink what it means to be active in a faith community: As a downtown church that draws on individuals and families from all around the Chicagoland area, our youth ministry has always faced some interesting challenges. Our youth come from a variety of schools, so creating... Continue Reading →
Steve Job's commencement address in 2005 at Stanford University seems to be everywhere right now. A whole host of media are sharing quotes from that speech. Most of them are sharing this portion where he talks about death. I guess I'll join the throng and post that portion here: “No one wants to die. Even... Continue Reading →
About 15 years ago, First Christian came up with a mission statement. As far as I can tell, it was designed and then was set aside. As mission statements go, it's not the most exciting statement. We have toyed with the idea of working on a new mission statement for the congregation. Lots of churches... Continue Reading →
As I was sitting on the chancel at church this morning, I looked out into the congregation. The crowds were a bit thinner than usual, because many of the women were at a retreat. The average worship attendance is anywhere between 70-90 these days, which is pretty good. But then again, those 70-90 folks seem... Continue Reading →
As I was sitting on the chancel at church this morning, I looked out into the congregation. The crowds were a bit thinner than usual, because many of the women were at a retreat. The average worship attendance is anywhere between 70-90 these days, which is pretty good. But then again, those 70-90 folks seem... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 