This Week’s Links

Happy Tuesday! Each week on the blog I get to share some of what I have seen, read, and found interesting and thought provoking over the past week. To help make sense of all of these links, I have grouped them by the following categories: Church and Ministry Thought & Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership Thought & Practice; Millennials; Neighbor Love; Social Media & Blogging; Stewardship; Vocation; and … Continue reading This Week’s Links

Affirmation in Leadership

In my relatively young life I have been lucky enough to have many amazing mentors, leaders, supervisors, and collaborators. They have all been different, but one common trait that the best ones have had is that they are great at giving affirmation. This affirmation has looked different depending on the person, context, and experience. Some of the ways that I have seen and experienced it … Continue reading Affirmation in Leadership

The Problem with Bejeweled Butts

Those poor pews. Early on in a pastor friend of mine’s new call, she heard from a parishoner (a worshiper and congregational member) that the pews in the sanctuary were being unduly scratched and irreparably harmed. The person pointed to people wearing jeans and dress slacks with bejeweled butts as the problem. Apparently this was a major issue that was harming the church. The person … Continue reading The Problem with Bejeweled Butts

This Week’s Links

Happy Tuesday! Each week on the blog I get to share some of what I have seen, read, and found interesting and thought provoking over the past week. To help make sense of all of these links, I have grouped them by the following categories: Church and Ministry Thought & Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership Thought & Practice; Millennials; Neighbor Love; Stewardship; Vocation; and Miscellaneous. I hope that … Continue reading This Week’s Links

This Week’s Links

Happy Tuesday! Each week on the blog I get to share some of what I have seen, read, and found interesting and thought provoking over the past week. To help make sense of all of these links, I have grouped them by the following categories: Church and Ministry Thought & Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership Thought & Practice; Millennials; Neighbor Love; Social Media & Blogging; Stewardship; Vocation; and … Continue reading This Week’s Links

The Problem with thinking “that’s a problem over there, not here”

Today is Martin Luther King Day. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy lives on when people serve, work for equality and justice for all, and work for the common good in expanding the beloved community. Sometimes we miss the point about how much we have yet to do to fulfill King’s “Dream.” As I have mentioned before I’m working in the Pacific Northwest this year, after … Continue reading The Problem with thinking “that’s a problem over there, not here”

Being a Citizen

Last night I did something that I have done on a Tuesday evening in January every year since fourth grade. I watched the State of the Union address. Back in fourth grade, my teacher Mrs. Harmon encouraged me to watch C-SPAN. Maybe she sensed that I cared about government and politics? Or maybe she had the foresight to see that I liked being engaged in … Continue reading Being a Citizen

This Week’s Links

Happy Tuesday! Each week on the blog I get to share some of what I have seen, read, and found interesting and thought provoking over the past week. To help make sense of all of these links, I have grouped them by the following categories: Church and Ministry Thought & Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership Thought & Practice; Millennials; Neighbor Love; Social Media & Blogging; Stewardship; Vocation; and … Continue reading This Week’s Links

This Week’s Links

Happy New Year and Merry Twelfth Day of Christmas! Each week on the blog I get to share some of what I have seen, read, and found interesting and thought provoking over the past week. To help make sense of all of these links, I have grouped them by the following categories: Church and Ministry Thought & Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership Thought & Practice; Millennials; Neighbor … Continue reading This Week’s Links

The Boy Jesus in the Temple & Christmas Surprises

My wife Allison and I both preached at Messiah Lutheran Church in Vancouver, Washington this past weekend, preaching on the gospel text from Luke 2:41-52. What follows is the majority of the text that I preached Saturday evening and Sunday morning.  Grace, peace, and Christmas blessings and surprises to you! I will let you in on a little secret, as someone who has been a … Continue reading The Boy Jesus in the Temple & Christmas Surprises