Let me know if you need anything. Ever spoken these words to an individual or a family at a time of loss or illness? I know I have. And while I genuinely mean it, let me offer an alternative perspective. When we, and I do mean we (not like when I was younger and my...
Do you pray? When I was a kid, there were members of my family who prayed for everything from finding a lost bracelet to finding a parking space downtown. We prayed at meals, bedtime and when we needed something from God. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I...
“Find those who tell you, Do not be afraid, yet stay close enough to tremble with you. This is love.” This poetic and profound truth is written by Cole Arthur Riley in her book, This Here Flesh. I read her book on the airplane as Grant and I flew to Nova Scotia to see...
The azaleas are in bright bloom, trees have gone from bare limbs a few weeks ago to having beautiful flowers and now full leaves, and, as our neighbor keeps us informed, the Purple Martin count is rising – now with ten in their bird houses. And, the summer garden prep...
Kevin concluded his ministry with us in April to concentrate on his MBA studies at Wake Forest. My first church ministry boss, Adam, former Youth Director at Knollwood Baptist Church in Winston Salem, told me that in church ministry you need to know two...
Today is Easter Monday. Traditionally a day of celebration (and rest for pastors and church staff everywhere) that began in the 15th Century. Different Christian religious traditions celebrate this day in a variety of ways. In the 19th Century the Easter Parade...
“Good Friday and Easter — the days of God’s overpowering acts in history, acts in which God’s judgement and grace were revealed to all the world — are just around the corner. Judgment in those hours in which Jesus Christ, our Lord, hung on the cross; grace in that...
Our Lenten journey transitions into Holy Week as we walk with Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus will enlist his disciples to usher in this new era of grace and mercy. He will ask them to get the donkey, arrange for the room, eat with him, allow him to wash their feet,...
At the beginning of Lent, I shared this graphic with a small group of young parents during a Sunday school class. This chart was based on some very simple math assuming a 7-year-old child attending public school and getting the 10 hours of sleep per night recommended...
Yesterday we had the gift of receiving our confirmands into this congregation’s membership. As we begin this week, I invite us to take a moment, pausing to reflect and give thanks. We give thanks to God for the Spirit’s movement in our youth, for their desire to...
