Encouraging, challenging and equipping congregations to thrive spiritually and be apostles for reconciliation
From the General Presbyter Where are all the pastors? This is a question posed nationwide, across all denominations and Christian communities. A colleague likened the frustration to a child who has always received a desired Christmas present under the tree, but on this particular Christmas, the gift didn’t appear. The only explanations: there aren’t any […]
From the General Presbyter No Pastor? No Problem. Happy New Year! For the next few months, I will be running a series on the state of the church today. Each midweek will include articles or videos. Topics will include but are not limited to: Today’s topic includes some ideas for congregations who do not have […]
At lunch with some friends, one of them remarked that after our time together that she was headed to Nordstroms to visit her neighbor who was playing “Santa.” I joked about how I needed to see Santa this year and she remarked, “It will cost you forty dollars.” My other friend and I said in […]
From the General Presbyter “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But Jesus told (the disciples), “You give them something to eat.” – Mark 6:37 Like many of you, I am watching the news, the endless feed about the government shutdown, impacting many who may not be able to pay […]
From the General Presbyter In September I attended the Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference in New Orleans. This annual conference is sponsored by the PCUSA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ECLA) and I would highly recommend it. I attended several workshops, but at one seminar, I sat next to a woman who was coughing. She […]
From the General Presbyter “People need the Lord People need the Lord At the end of broken dreams – He’s the open door People need the Lord 2x When will we realize – People need the Lord?” The first time I heard this sung was at a friends Baptist Church. During the anthem time, an […]
From the General Presbyter O Say, Can You See You probably didn’t know this, but I am very patriotic, and I bet you are too! Unfortunately, patriotism has been hijacked by extremists, misinterpreting and misrepresenting what it means to be an American. For the purposes of this Midweek and in anticipation of July 4, let’s […]
From the General Presbyter My daughter and I visited a temple in Kerala, India devoted to Shiva, the third god of the Hindu trinity. I noticed two things about this experience. First, Shiva got a 21st century makeover as you can see in these pictures! The second thing I noticed was that the inside of […]
From the General Presbyter “God is on our side..today” Happy Black History Month! The verse above is from the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” sung in many congregations during the month of February. I lift up this particular verse because it speaks of the audacity of Black Americans who claim their cause of securing […]
From the General Presbyter Happy New Year! At my daughter’s college graduation last month, the doctoral students received their degrees first. As the first name was called (by an AI generated program!) I noticed the thesis was very specific. It went something like: “John Q. Public, receiving his doctorate for the study of the Madagascar […]
