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Before Christmas began, a few brave souls and I began a journey into a book study called “Growing Young: 6 Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church”, published by the Fuller Institute. While it was only 8 chapters long, it took us some time to digest all of it and ponder … [Read more…]

Even though I am writing this installment before the celebration of Christmas, there is one thing that is on my mind and the minds of many more people … whos’ going to clean up this mess when Christmas is over? That’s a fair question to ask. In our house, decorations were brought out the weekend … [Read more…]

The season of Advent offers time and space for Christians to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas through reflecting on the story of salvation. Advent begins the Christian liturgical year by not only recounting the birth of Christ but also Jesus Christ’s second coming. In Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, God … [Read more…]

I have mentioned several times that two of my favorite theologians are Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I say this because both of them have been on my mind lately, each for related but separate reasons. Rev. Bonhoeffer popularized the theory of  “cheap grace”, or rather the grace that has … [Read more…]

One of the things I link the season of Fall with is hospitality. From the beginning to the end, a common theme of fall is being thankful for what we have and to be ready to share in the bounty. The days are getting shorter and the nights a little bit longer and the smell … [Read more…]

I grew up in Chicago and when I was a child, my parents sent me to a church school: Nazareth Lutheran Church and School on the city’s South side. From kindergarten through 8th grade, the classrooms beside the church at the corner of 60th and Spaulding were my home away from home. And it was … [Read more…]

It is customary for a United Methodist pastor to take several weeks off between appointments. Usually they are filled with moving, settling into a new home and establishing a rapport and routine with the new staff at the church they are being moved to. It gives us time to decompress from the flurry of leaving … [Read more…]

Scripture: Mark 2:23-3:6 Mark Rober is a former NASA engineer who began making fun videos to help young people “think like an engineer.”   Six years ago a couple of porch pirates stole a package from his doorstep, and he decided to approach this problem like an engineer.  Porch piracy, stealing amazon and other delivery packages, … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Mark 3:20-35 Storytelling often relies on tropes.  These are well established set-ups, plot devices, and structures that get used over and over again.   The reason why tropes become tropes is because they work incredibly well and they often connect with the viewer or reader of the story.  Over the past several years there was … [Read more…]

Late night host Jimmy Fallon has a reoccurring bit where he will publicly write thank you cards on his show.  While he usually writes his thank you cards for comedic effect, I do want to copy the idea of making my “thank you” cards public.   As my appointment to North Judson UMC draws to a … [Read more…]