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We were made to worship; which we exhibit as praise. Our service, consequently, emanates from a passion to see that which we praise magnified. We want to multiply it, because we love it, and who doesn’t want to see more of what you love? Every time I eat a chocolate chip cookie, I want another. It doesn’t…

What is your life mission? If you could write a one-line mission statement for your life, how would it read? Jesus gave us a one-line mission statement for his ministry on earth. When we are incorporated into his life, do we then adopt the same mission for ours? Here’s another question: Who reached you? The good Sunday…

“We are made for worship,” according to the literature explaining Matthews UMC’s logo and tag line (Reach. Teach. Praise. Serve.). This explains why people “live for” their favorite team, athlete, musician, job, house, celebrity, etc. We praise what or who we treasure and, therefore, give our heart to that object or person (Matthew 6:21). We…

I am always excited about new things or at least excitement is what I display. When I led my first trip to Nicaragua, I was sweating like Rahab in church. But I faked it and everybody bought it. The trip was awesome. But to be honest, new is also scary, even for someone like me…

I informed my congregation recently that I have been chosen and called to lead a new ministry initiative. Therefore, my last Sunday as pastor of Christ United will be June 30th. In the message on that Sunday morning, I stated that following Jesus is about replacement, not regulation. This is true for our hearts (soul),…

As an introvert, I always believed that email (and IM) were a gift. However, after several years of serving as an associate pastor in a large church, I had a dream: no more emails. There are the typical characteristics of email (e.g. no foolproof way to convey tone, inbox overload through indecisiveness resulting in multiple readings of the…

We have to be reminded (by ourselves, an experience, or others) over and over that Jesus is in the business of change: life change. Change your hearts and change your lives (Mt 3:2, Mt 3:8, Mk 6:12, Rev 3:19, Acts 3:19, etc). Stagnation, however, is evidence that change has ceased and one must examine his…

Several opportunities in which I have had the honor to participate this week have provided for an incredible week. First of all, I enjoyed learning from Brian Zehr who runs Intentional Impact and hails from Community Christian Church. Brian is coaching a group of about 15 of us pastors in the United Methodist tradition regarding…

This past weekend, two young church leaders and I engaged in a classic college pastime: the road trip. We drove 11 hours in two days for the sake of experiencing a typical weekend at Harvest Church; which is the fastest growing United Methodist Church in America and is located in Warner Robins, GA. Opting for…

I have never enjoyed a church meeting as much as I did this past Sunday evening. As I stated on Sunday morning, the fact that I was so looking forward to a church meeting could mean that there is seriously something wrong with me or that I am exactly where I am supposed to be…