Advent is the beginning of the Christian liturgical year. More than just ''getting ready for Christmas" it's a season of spiritual discipline and reflection in preparation for celebrating the Incarnation, the coming of Jesus, the Word made flesh, into human history. Traditionally, the church challenges us to focus upon scriptures that emphasize the need for God to do [...]

Creative writing is something I’ve always enjoyed. Nowadays it’s confined mainly to devotionals like what you are reading now. For the previous twenty-four years, my creative writing was focused on crafting the substance for worship elements such as sermons, prayers, and liturgy. I’ve never written a book or a song, but there is one common [...]

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of spending the morning with the good people of Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Franklin, TN. I was graciously invited to preach during their season of emphasis on stewardship. It’s that time of the year! It was a joy to be a part of their two morning worship [...]

Do you remember the following lament often heard as a reply or observation in the early 2000’s? “It is what it is…” I don’t say it as much as I used to. I’ve discovered I don’t always like how it comes across. It can be interpreted as an acknowledgement of reluctant acceptance, or imply that [...]

I just returned from Tucson, Arizona, attending my first annual meeting of the National Association of United Methodist Foundations (NAUMF). Leaders and staff from the 47 Foundations in the UMC gathered to experience worship, attend continuing education opportunities, hear reports and testimonies on our collective and individual ministries, and to make new or maintain collaborative [...]

Do you spend much time in the Old Testament law books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy? They are the primary source of the early, foundational accounts of God’s law being revealed, interpreted, and applied. Moses making trips up Mount Sinai to commune with Yahweh, and eventually coming down with stone tablets, tend to get [...]

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 [...]