There are sooooooo many books that have been written in the collective categories of self-help, finding happiness, or what it takes to be successful that it can be hard for any one of them to stand out. From person to person, it often depends on what we are seeking, how we establish our priorities, what [...]

The annual gathering of United Methodists from the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference concluded in the early afternoon of this past Wednesday. From the opening worship service on Sunday evening to the concluding act of the fixing of clergy appointments, the Holy Spirit was present and evident throughout. There were many high and holy moments, and the [...]

Do you have special memories of when your family comes together for food, fellowship, and to celebrate or acknowledge something significant…a birthday, anniversary, holiday, wedding, baptism, birth, death, or a milestone moment in someone's life? A variety of traditions often accompany these events, even if the details vary from family to family. As time passes [...]

It is a season of graduations. Whether it be from kindergarten, elementary school, high school or higher education, graduation is a rite of passage, a move to a new chapter of life experience. Such times are exciting and cause for celebration. They also create new questions for those students and their families. What kinds of [...]

As a local church pastor, I once received a call from a senior living facility that one of their residents, Mary, who was a member of my congregation, had been taken by ambulance to the hospital. Mary had passed out during the evening meal in the common dining area. The person who called said she [...]

If you have followed basketball over the last forty years, you likely remember the time a reporter asked a young Michael Jordan about why he tried to score so much. Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were winning a lot of games, and he was leading the league in points per game. But he was simultaneously criticized for [...]

My position with the Foundation and Development Fund for the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference gives me a seat at the table of our Committee on Finance and Administration. At our most recent gathering, we faced the task of finalizing the 2026 budget that will be presented for review and approval at Annual Conference in June. John [...]

The four Gospels give us an extensive summary of what Jesus and his disciples did from their entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday through that Thursday evening. We also have a painfully detailed account of the abuse, ridicule, and pain Jesus suffered through his crucifixion and death on what we now call Good Friday. However, the Gospels are [...]

My family moved into our current home in 2009. The house was built in the late 1980’s and many of the plants in the yard were well established. One of our favorite features is a cluster of azaleas that sits between two large oaks in our back yard. The two weeks when they display brilliant [...]

“So, you’re a President and a CEO?” This slightly overstated question was posed to me with a touch of friendly, sarcastic inflection by a former associate in the world of broadcast media. For my first job out of college in 1990, I toiled in the sports department at a small market television station. I enjoyed [...]