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A Welcoming Church One of the questions every church should keep asking is this: How are we helping people know they are welcome here? Not simply welcome to attend, but welcome to belong, to grow, and to experience the grace of Jesus Christ. In Acts 2, we find a beautiful picture of the early church. … [Read more…]

Connected Through Conference: The Meaning and Importance of Annual Conference Each year, United Methodists across Indiana and throughout the world gather for a sacred and significant event known as Annual Conference. Part worship service, part family reunion, part business meeting, and part vision-casting for the future, Annual Conference has long stood at the heart of … [Read more…]

Pentecost: The Day the Church Found Its Voice Pentecost is one of the most important yet often overlooked celebrations in the Christian year. Falling fifty days after Easter, Pentecost marks the moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, as recorded in Acts 2. What began as a small, fearful gathering of followers became … [Read more…]

Easter morning is filled with light, lilies, music, and joy. We proclaim, “Christ is risen!” with confidence and celebration. But what happens after the flowers fade, the brass instruments fall silent, and the calendar turns to ordinary days again? What does it mean to live not just as Easter celebrants, but as *post-Easter Christians*? To … [Read more…]

On Ash Wednesday, we bowed our heads and heard the solemn words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” With ashes traced on our foreheads, we named our sins honestly before God: our blindness to human need and suffering, our indifference to injustice and cruelty, our false judgments, uncharitable thoughts toward … [Read more…]

Are you ready for Christmas Easter? As the calendar turns toward spring, congregations naturally begin to think about Lent and Easter. Yet in many churches, these seasons receive far less intentional preparation than Advent and Christmas. This imbalance is understandable—Christmas arrives with cultural momentum, decorations appear in stores months in advance, and expectations are clearly defined. Still, … [Read more…]

Beyond the Gym: A New Year Commitment to Spiritual Fitness Every January, the advertisements appear with predictable enthusiasm. Health clubs promise transformation. Exercise equipment commercials feature before-and-after photos. Apps and programs insist that this is the year to become stronger, leaner, and healthier. These messages are not without value. Caring for the body is an … [Read more…]

Every time I get to this season of the year, both Christian and secular, I become a bit nostalgic. I keep thinking back to a time in my life in the past – I really cannot pinpoint what year it is – and I recall the simplicity of Advent and Christmas. And every year, Jodi … [Read more…]

Some years ago I was at a small country church, right about this time of the year in fact. There had been a choir made up of people who called the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, their home. They had traveled from Chicago to worship with us that morning and to sing a presentation later … [Read more…]

Being a pastor can sometimes be just as perilous and scary as walking a tightrope high above the streets of New York, without a net, without a safety harness. You need to focus on moving whichever way you need to without intentionally upsetting everything going on around you. The fact of the matter is that … [Read more…]