I love Christmas time. I didn’t always love it. As a pastor, the Advent season turns ones schedule into a chaotic blur of movements and scheduling conflicts. It’s always been a difficult time in terms of balancing the busyness of the season with what it’s really supposed to be about.[…]
Being wet…
I read this quote this week: “help me to receive again my baptism, to live wet every day of my life, as a child of your covenant, set apart, scrubbed clean, & forgiven.” I’ve been thinking a lot about the journey of faith and this thing we call “Christianity”. According[…]
Samson and the Spirit
I had planned to teach on the life of Samson this sunday, but I’m redirecting my thoughts on the lives of Saul and David. It’s quite a switch, I know. I’m hoping to look at both of these men’s interaction with Spirit of God and how they interacted with the[…]
More from Lennon…
The last couple days have been a blessing and a stretch. I left Monday morning for a 2 day residency retreat in Leitchfield KY at the UMC Camp (LOUCON). If you have been around me at all the last several weeks, you know that this was not something I was[…]
Imagine
Last week, I was thinking about dreams and this week, I guess, I’m still thinking about them. On my way to the coffee shop this morning I heard John Lennon’s song Imagine. That one song started me in a playlist of some pretty ultimate songs. So far this morning, I’ve[…]
Dreams…
I know someone who dreams in technicolor! No, it’s more like 3D, Dolby-Digital, enhanced, Blu-ray, awesome vision. This person dreams such vivid and real dreams that I regularly find myself overwhelmed by the next morning recounts. I’m overwhelmed because I feel like I’m getting cheated by only hearing about it[…]
The “me” that dies…
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually does for humanity. It seems that each time I start letting this event permeate my thoughts something starts to just buzz with in me. Last evening, I was trying to wind down from a pretty busy[…]
Poster Resurrection
When I was growing up, my dad and I were regular attenders at University of Florida football games. We were so devoted that we would go up during the spring training games and generally at other off season times just to get our Gator fix. We’d walk around the stadium[…]
Praying for the Blessing
With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. – Psalm 119:58 I’ve been reading the Psalms a lot recently and every time I do, I find some little nugget that causes me to pause. Some of these pauses are short lived but every now and then[…]
Doubt: Evil in the world and God, doubt, questions, worry, evil
For 3 weeks now, our world has had a front row seat for a horrendous event – the earthquake of Japan has become a rallying cry for humankind. There are millions of different voices all screaming for some hope in the midst of such a tragedy. Some use humor as[…]