Not too long ago, I received a series of fascinating words from three fortune cookies. Here is the first one: Listen to the wisdom of the old. This is just good wisdom. I learn a great deal in conversation with those that have more experience than myself. In what ways do you find this to […]
John Wesley either quotes this passage or something very similar is attributed to him. Can you help clarify for me? 2 Kings 10:15 “After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab son of Rekab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I […]
Connecting with people is one of the most important roles of being a pastor. I was inspired by Valeria Maltoni with her list of 100 Ways to Connect. I selected my top 10 from the list at Conversation Agent. Introduce Peers Tell Stories Stay offline when you’re tired or argumentative Brag about your fans’ products […]
Memorial Day has been and continues to be an important part of my life. I remember going to the cemetery to put flowers on the graves of family members. This ritual has been engrained in my mind. I won’t be going to that same cemetery today, however I will be spending time with family. It […]
Day 3 of Annual Conference went well. Here are some of the highlights: We took the 5 finger vote in response to the Great Plan for the Great Plains, in which we are considering the possibility of one annual conference across the states of Kansas and Nebraska We passed resolutions to close seven United Methodist […]
The second full day at the Kansas West Annual Conference gathering in Hutchinson, KS was good. Here are some highlights of the day: I received 4 votes in the very first clergy ballot for General Conference 2012. This was a pleasant surprise. I had not submitted a profile sheet to be considered. I wonder who […]
It was a good first full day of Kansas West Annual Conference. Some of my reflections from the day: The Great Plans for the Great Plains conversation about a new annual conference across Kansas and Nebraska continues to be a lively. The Kansas State Fairgrounds has provided an excellent venue for meeting. (Although, I still […]
Today we are headed to the Kansas West Annual Conference. This year it is being held at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, KS. This will be our son’s first trip to Annual Conference. Perhaps more exciting than that, this is where my parents live, so he will get to spend a good deal of […]
There are some strange and wonderful stories about the prophet Elisha. Here is one example from 2 Kings. “From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” He turned around, […]
Last week, I had a series of posts about fruitfulness. As I have thought more about this topic, I wondered, How long do you wait? How long do you wait: before naming that you have been busy and not bearing fruit? to make a change? to celebrate fruit that is being born? before checking something […]
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 […]
How do we help people live fruitfully in their day to day life? Ultimately, the church is not about keeping a variety of interesting programs running and giving people something that to do that is segmented from the rest of their lives. We are about equipping people to live fruitfully in their every day life […]
Rev. Andrew Conard 