We Have Seen His Star

January 6th marks Epiphany on the liturgical calendar. I haven’t checked with Hallmark, but I doubt that sales of Epiphany cards are contributing anything to greeting card sales’ bottom line.  Many have taken down their Christmas decorations, and congregational leaders have turned their attention to officer training, annual meetings and perhaps even planning for Lent. It’s too bad that so … Read More

A Bigger Table

John Pavlovitz’ new book, A Bigger Table, published this fall by Westminster John Knox Press, is a thought-provoking and helpful addition to the conversation about what it means to navigate change in the 21st century Church. I was delighted to be asked to review A Bigger Table for the Englewood Review of Books, an Indiana gem.  You’re welcome to read the review here. … Read More

A Rich, Robust, Rodeo of Resources

I’m so impressed by the array of articles, books, podcasts, and blog posts that pop up all the time around congregational enrichment and vitality and how challenging and rich it is to lead in these times. There’s no shortage of really interesting and thoughtful offerings. The only shortage, I suspect, is the amount of time one has to explore the … Read More

In life and death, we belong to God.

It’s good to be back in Indiana and back to Wabash Valley. This week our esteemed Stated Clerk and Stated Clerk-elect and I have enjoyed time with clerks and pastors and others in two locations, where we heard stories of joy and encouragement and goal-setting. The heart of the time was spent in peer review of Session records, and the … Read More

Broken, Holy Hallelujahs

In the winter of 2015, I was nominated to serve as a chaplain at Presbyterian House at the Chautauqua Institute for this coming week. The end of the summer of 2017 seemed a long way off. It wasn’t all that far off. I heard from the people at Presbyterian House, asking for my plans for worship on Sunday, August 20. … Read More