If you attended college away from home and lived in a dorm, think back to your favorite place to go for off-campus eating. It had to be open late and have good food that was also cheap. In the late 80’s in Jackson, Tennessee that place for me was Village Inn Pizza. Like my alma [...]

As I have met with pastors and preached in churches on matters related to giving and stewardship, I have been thinking and praying for all our local church pastors and lay leaders. Developing and executing a theme we hope will stir the hearts of those in the flocks we shepherd can be an inexact science…a [...]

I’m a sports fan. I was raised in a sports-oriented family. We played team sports, regularly attended sporting events, and cheered for our favorite teams win or lose. If I had to pick one sport to either play or watch it would be basketball. It’s always been my game of choice. The range of ways [...]

How often have you been impressed by someone’s biblical knowledge? It can be inspiring to hear a verse of God’s Holy Word quoted from memory with passion and confidence. Hearing the stories of Jesus unpacked by a scholar of scripture can draw us closer to understanding the context and meaning of what God’s Good News [...]

On Thursday I attended my first district clergy meeting representing the United Methodist Foundation/Development Fund for the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference. I was grateful that Rev. Dr. David Comperry, our Field Staff Representative, was able to be present so we could each offer helpful information about the benefits of a relationship with the Foundation/Development Fund. The [...]

This portion of the newsletter that I contribute is intended to provide inspiration and information. It usually leans to the inspiring (hopefully) side, but this week I’m going more with information and invitation. I recently reached out to a member of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference Treasurer’s office with this question: How many active local churches [...]

I hope you had a good Labor Day weekend. I did a little labor in the yard. While doing so I was reminded of a parable found only in Matthew’s gospel. In the opening verses of chapter 20, Jesus tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. I have always enjoyed preaching sermons that [...]

For many in local churches and missional agencies, a special time of the year is nearly upon us. Some may not consider it the “most wonderful time of the year”, like the song secular says about Christmas, but it is significant enough that no leader can afford to ignore it…stewardship season. The idea of a [...]

“David, what do you want to be when you grow up?” This question was posed to me when I was around twelve or thirteen by my Scoutmaster, Charles McPherson, during a rank advancement review. As a young boy scout in Troop 75 at Mullins UMC in Memphis, I was making progress along the Eagle Scout [...]

This summer marks my thirtieth year in a ministry role with the United Methodist Church. I started working as a lay staff person at my home church, St. Luke’s UMC in Memphis, in the summer of 1994. I entered seminary in 1997, was commissioned as clergy in 2000, and ordained an Elder in the legacy [...]