Summer Burn

Well -- it has been forever since I've posted (guess I took a summer vacation from blogging). But the world and the web managed to get by without me - such a shot to my ego. Anyway, summer which was plenty rainy and cool, until just a few days ago, has now turned H O T. It makes me ready for fall except for the fact that we still haven't yet had our family 'summer vacation' - one more week! Man, I am ready to hit the open roady with Susan and Sadie (hope the long car trip to Colorado is bearable for our beautiful 5 month old baby girl!).

General Conference Streaming Video

I have been watching the General Conference streaming video this morning and as the business and schedule move along - I have been impressed by the nature of our global church. Hearing the voices of people from all over the world speaking in their native languages reminds me of the coming of Pentecost and the voice of God in many tongues.

What Would You Do Differently?

I read this post (and the one on "Evangelism and Professions of Faith") on my friend Matthew's blog:

http://theworldismyparish.wordpress.com/

You Can't Get It

I was reading on Bishop Will Willimon's blog

http://willimon.blogspot.com/

and came across this:

Augustine, as a bright young man with a superior classical education, confessed to Bishop Ambrose that he had tried to read the Bible but frankly, he was unimpressed. To him the Bible seemed like woefully inferior literature, crudely written, poorly edited.

“You young fool,” replied Ambrose. “You can’t get it because when you read in the Bible about ‘fish,’ you think ‘fish.’ When you read ‘bread,’ you think ‘bread.’”

Hello My Name Is

I thought this blogger
http://youcanthandlethis.blogspot.com/
was interesting and enjoyed reading the "Hello My Name Is" post:

"Sometimes, as a Christian, I feel as though I don't want to tell people what church I attend, only because I know that, as soon as I answer, I'll be judged by it.It's not that I'm afraid of "judgment, " -- I understand that different churches follow different doctrines, but, for once, I'd like to be judged by my own actions, my own beliefs, and my own words rather than whatever the title of my church might be, or how many people attend each week, or how many former Target stores we're renovating into new campuses.I just want to be... me.Besides, I'm a horrible spokesman -- I don't always have minty-fresh breath and I can't play guitar for beans.Oh, and yes, I'm the one who left toast crumbs in the butter. For shame.There, that's it. I'm done. Carry on."

Changing a Church Culture

My friend Matthew Johnson sent me this link http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2008/04/14/changing-the-culture/

to the article "Changing a Church Culture"...

Creating a healthy ministry culture takes prayer, hard work and intentionality.
Changing an existing culture generally takes more prayer, harder work, more intentionality, patience, endurance and more hard work.

You might have stepped into a ministry role with a culture that:
Doesn’t care about evangelism
Has poor stewardship habits
Competes with other ministry areas within the church
Thinks it is succeeding when it isn’t
Has lost touch with what is happening in the world
Puts systems and procedures ahead of people
Has a scarcity mindset

If you’re the leader, it is your role to become the catalyst for change.

The first thing you must do is to identify the problem. (If you have been the leader for awhile, the problem may have developed on your watch. It might be harder for you to recognize the problem.)

Let’s start with this exercise:
What is the number one thing about your church culture that needs to change to increase the effectiveness of the ministry?

Transforming Lives & the Church

I saw this Dr. King quote on Ken Carter's blog http://kenatprovidence.blogspot.com/ & found it interesting:

"I must honestly reiterate that I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen".

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter From A Birmingham Jail

After Easter...

What does it mean to live this side of Easter? I find my Lenten journey continues as I search for greater understanding what it means to be a faithful follower and seek to live as a full devoted disciple.

What Next

LK 3:10 And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?"

What is next for us at Farmington UMC? Where do you think God is calling us this year? Which area of ministry with children, youth or adults do you feel is the place for you to grow and serve? Join us this February for a series of messages titled, “What’s Next?” which will challenge us to explore God’s call for our lives and our church.

January 2008: "Starting Over"

Wk 1:

Keys to a New Beginning

Wk 2:

Keys to Success

Wk 3:

Keys to Healthy Relationships

Wk 4:

Keys to Fulfillment