This Sunday, May 19, is Pentecost Sunday in the Church calendar of celebrations!
Pentecost is a day we remember the sending of the Holy Spirit empowering the followers of Jesus.  Once the Holy Spirit came upon them like fire, the Bible says, the disciples of Jesus were immediatley sent out into the streets to proclaim the Good News of God's...

You should have received an old fashioned letter from me this week! (If it hasn't arrived yet please give the U.S. Postal Service another day or two to get it to you.)

Typically, pastors do not get excited at the prospect of doing a major capital campaign in their church but I am an exception to that "rule". Our church has about $1.5 ...

I like movies.  I’m not sure where my “love” of the movies came from, I have just always liked movies.  One of the things Shelly and I like to do most for an evening “out” is to scrutinize the listing on Fandango of the movies currently playing and choose one we think we will both like.  (Of course a ...

I spent Monday through Wednesday at a gathering of United Methodist pastors from the top ten percent of churches by size in our denomination. This annual event is the “Large Church Initiative” gathering. This year it was in Tampa, Florida. Sometimes you just have to do what needs doing and suffer through it! I’m just joking, of ...

“The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people.”

This hymn, written as a children’s song in 1972, has a more powerful message than may be at first evident. Those are powerful words.

On the day of Pentecost (celebrated this year on 5/21), the followers of Jesus ...

Psalm 104 verse 30 says of God, “when you send forth your spirit, they (all creation) are created; and you renew the face of the (earth).”

I want to share these paragraphs which I read earlier this week:
The message of the Spirit is abundance, not scarcity. So how should the church today take this message into the streets? Last fall, our ...

Having structures in place that facilitate ministry is important to the future ministry of any church.  With the appropriate structures comes the opportunity to replicate the core vision and purpose into tangible results.  Leadership is provided to ensure that the outcomes align with the vision.   Also, the responsibilities are ...

The past few years I have been in need of renewal.
 
I have been on a journey with God that I don’t always understand. 
 
Things I thought I knew haven’t been as reliable.  Strategies that have worked in the past aren’t so fail-safe. 
 
How cool is that!
 
Deeper purpose.  Narrower vision.  ...

Lent takes the last turn on it’s forty day journey.
 
We have each been asked to take a journey of prayer this year.
We have prayed:
     What does following Jesus mean in my life.
     What do we need to change to follow Jesus’ call to fish for people.
     Where does God want ...

I am currently reading a business book titled, “The Org.”  It is subtitled “The Underlying Logic of the Office.”  It caught my attention because it has an entire chapter about the United Methodist Church and our outdated mode of organization.  They likened the denomination to a franchise organization.  ...

In September the Church Council asked a Task Force made up of myself, Kathy Savage (Chair of the Council), Harold Utley (Lay Leader), Harry Bruce (Finance), Chuck Albers (Staff/Parish), and Mike Keller (Trustees), to work on nominations and structure.  That group brought a recommendation to the November Church Council meeting that would start ...

Recently I ran across a sentence in a book I was reading that stopped me cold.  It went something like this: Culture trumps vision every time.

Reading those words catapulted me into an “Aha!” moment.  It is a moment which will not pass anytime soon. 

I began to have language to express a feeling that was troubling ...

Welcome!
This is the consistent spot on our website where I will share weekly updates and thoughts about where we are headed as a church.  This will be the main communication venue for details about decisions the leadership is making and how that fits into accomplishing our purpose. 

The purpose of Mason United Methodist Church is to ...