“Hanging By A Moment” It was a quick cut—a passing comment, really, that served as a glancing blow among preteen girls around a sticky Formica table in a crowded middle school cafeteria. Faces are now fuzzy, a kaleidoscope of teased hair and blue eyeshadow and jean jackets and Swatches. But the words are as searing … [Read more…]
“Changing Lanes” Coming to his hometown, (Jesus) began teaching the people in the synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with … [Read more…]
“Psalm 139 and the Whole Person” I’ve shared before that one of my favorite emails each week is a devotion written by a friend from college and a colleague of mine, Heather. Heather serves as a hospital chaplain in North Carolina. Heather’s message, part of a message she shared in a memorial service, is a … [Read more…]
“Words Matter” The other morning, while I was driving into town, I heard a conversation on the radio station about teachers. This week is teacher appreciation week, and the morning show was sharing stories about the impact of teachers in their lives, both good and bad. Some of the stories were about hurtful things teachers … [Read more…]
“General Happenings” The United Methodist General Conference has been meeting over the past 2 weeks. (Real quickly, for those not familiar, the General Conference is a gathering of representatives from across the globe the discuss and revise our Book of Discipline, the official rules, procedures, and teachings of the denomination. This meeting typically takes place … [Read more…]
“The Nature of Witness” So, for those of you who don’t know me well, I have a confession to make: I LOVE a good disaster or dystopian story. If meteors are barreling toward Earth, there’s been a nuclear meltdown, or society has been disrupted by an alien invasion–I’m totally in! For me, these stories are … [Read more…]
“From the Bishop” For our focus this week, I thought I’d share with you some thoughts from our Bishop as he and our denomination prepare for a very important event in the life of the UMC. I appreciate the words he shared and hope you will too. Blessings, Chris We are in General Conference season. … [Read more…]
“Letting Go” No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they … [Read more…]
“Do Not Worry” Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33-34 I’m a bit of a worrier. I internalize things a lot and … [Read more…]
In Christ, you are a New Creation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 At our annual goals-setting retreat in the Fall of 2022, the church’s Administrative Board established a goal of developing and implementing an updated and unique graphic identity for Nelson Memorial. The idea was to agree upon one graphic identity – one logo – to represent … [Read more…]