With a 4.5 mile run today, I recorded 1,0002 activities with the RunKeeper app. I have had on and off seasons of running over the years. Here’s a snapshot of my mileage each month. One of the gaps in 2018 was when I switched to using MapMyRun for a bit. Now, I am day 260 […]
The space between these buildings fills with morning light. From this view, you have no idea what is on the other side of either wall—a building on one side and one on another. There’s not much space to explore, but there is light. This season of the global pandemic feels a bit like this space. […]
Over the past few days, I have continued in prayer for Charleston. I want to share a portion of my response to the Charleston Church Shootings which I preached this morning at First United Methodist Church. I believe it is important and inadequate. You can find the entire sermon and manuscript online here. Let me […]
At a recent bedtime, I read Bulldozers (Mighty Machines) to our children as one of our stories. After reading, my son stood up and said excitedly, “One day, I going to drive the biggest bulldozer in the world!” I replied with a smile, “You sure could.” In those brief moments, I was struck at how wide the […]
I am a fan of technology. Technology can be used in a variety of ways that vary from mundane, productive, entertaining and more. I have recently started using an app that has made a tangible difference in my behavior in the real world. An app that is helping me make progress on things that I care about […]
Clearly numbers do not tell the whole story of a local church, annual conference or denomination. There are stories of life change that are more important than raw data. One of the challenges of collecting stories is how to report them. It is far easier to look at a graph of worship attendance at our […]
“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Psalm 84:10, NIV This verse reminds me of two things, which happen to be connected together. The first is an experience that I had in college at One […]
This appointive year I am going to work on starting and stopping things to be more healthy, faithful and balanced. Start Creating deeper connections with colleagues in the United Methodist Church More regular exercise Gardening Puttering about the house a bit more Stop Worrying about things that I cannot decide about or avoid Caffeine (This […]
“The problem is: We just don’t do whole things anymore. We don’t read complete books — just excerpts. We don’t listen to whole CDs — just samplings. We don’t sit through whole baseball games — just a few innings. Don’t even write whole sentences. Or read whole stories like this one. We care more about the […]
I hope to build deep social connections with others. I know that deep friendships have a great deal of positive benefit in my life. Friends are people with whom I can share encouragement, accountability, fun, conversation, support and a wide variety of interactions. As a pastor, there are times when I feel the distinction when […]
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:10-11, NIV). I don’t have much of a question about these verses. They are a beautiful […]
There are some strange and wonderful stories about the prophet Elijah. Here is one example from 2 Kings. “Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men” (2 […]
Rev. Andrew Conard 