Encouraging, challenging and equipping congregations to thrive spiritually and be apostles for reconciliation
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 […]
From the General Presbyter When I discovered ChatGPT, I shared my enthusiasm with Frank, our communications manager. He responded with something to the effect of “it’s a great tool but be aware; sometimes it makes stuff up.” In seminary several students walked out of my Old Testament class when the professor proclaimed the story of […]
From the General Presbyter In 2016 I called my then mentor, the Rev. Warner Durnell, who served as an Exec in Alabama. I remember asking him “how do I lead when the worst has happened?” Progressives, this is a terrible day for us. Warner’s comments were honest, and prophetic. He admitted that he too had […]
From the General Presbyter Just returned from the Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference in Portland, Oregon. A good time was had by all, and I have asked Frank to create a Stewardship Resources page on the website where I will deposit some helpful and interesting resources from the conference. The first plenary was a panel discussion from […]
