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 [...]

For generations who grew up in Memphis from the 1920’s through the early 2000’s, a staple of excitement was the Zippin Pippin roller coaster. This wooden monstrosity was originally located at East End Park, then moved to the Mid-South Fairgrounds, which later became Libertyland. Made of pine, the Pippin would be considered tame by today’s [...]

Did your Wesleyan reflexes finish that phrase for you? If you recognize them as the first half of the final words spoken by John Wesley before he died, you likely know the last four…God is with us. This phrase bubbled up in my consciousness this week. I was writing about our office moving from just [...]

Bishop Tom Stockton served the Virginia Annual Conference in the Southeast Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church starting in 1988. He had previously been appointed to a variety of fruitful congregations in North Carolina, served on numerous high-level conference and denominational boards and committees, and was a Trustee at several institutions of higher learning, including [...]

I met our incoming Bishop while attending the Southeast Jurisdictional Conference held last week at Lake Junaluska, NC. Bishop David Graves has been assigned to the Tennessee-Kentucky Episcopal Area, which will include the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference, the Kentucky Conference, and the Central Appalachian Missionary Conference. He officially begins his four-year tenure on September 1st. My [...]