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church leadership ministry renewing the church united methodist church

National Congregations Study Participation

Early this week, I received a letter informing me that Berryton UMC was a participant int he 3rd wave of the National Congregations Study (NCS) and that I was “one of a small number of religious leaders from across the U.S. chosen randomly to again represent [my] religious community in the 4th wave of the […]

Categories
life

Columbus Day 2011

Columbus Day, Columbus Day. Each year the United States, along with other countries in the Western Hemisphere commemorate the landing of Christopher Columbus in the “New World.” There is much that could be said about the legacy that Columbus left, but instead of diving in to what could be a quagmire, I’ll ask instead: How […]

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Bible

Scripture Monday – Amos 8:11

“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land — not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Amos 8:11, NIV. What a powerful illustration! The previous chapters of Amos outlined many possibilities for physical difficulties for the people, however […]

Categories
communications life

Facebook is Worthless for the Future

Let me explain… Throughout my life, I have kept a regular journal on and off throughout the years. I have a stack of journals from elementary, high school and college in our basement. Currently, I have been keeping a one sentence journal up to date. I am looking at options (Office Drop for the outsource […]

Categories
fun life

Labor Day

Today is Labor Day, of which I did not know the origin until consulting Wikipedia, which reports: “Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 6 in 2010). The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City.[1] In the […]

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changing lives kansas ministry

Institut(ion): In Every Sense of the Word (3 of 5)

I spent last week at a youth camp, Institute 2010: God’s All Stars, which is a ministry of the Conference Council on Youth Ministry of the Kansas East Annual Conference. This post is part of a series reflecting on the week and making applications for the local church. Institute is an institution with the good and […]

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changing lives renewing the church

2010 Resurrection Online Micro Church Leader Training

I have continued to pitch micro churches as a way of finding renewal within The United Methodist Church and building Christian communities where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians. I am currently working on training leaders to launch these faith communities. I hope that by the end of August there […]

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life ministry

Speedlinking – May 7, 2010

Bad behavior is a post that matches up with my own experience. Foreign Service Institute’s Extensive Language Courses Are Available Free Online – Amazing. I may have to try the service referenced at I just hired an assistant for $30 a month… I have found that, for some, Resurrection Online is Church for Church Leaders. […]

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ministry renewing the church

The End of Cokesbury, Abingdon Press and UMR Communications?

Cokesbury, Abingdon Press and UMR Communications each have long histories. How much of a future do they have? I recently read an article that referenced this video put together by a publishing company. What are your thoughts, feelings or opinions on the future of Methodist publications?

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renewing the church

Audio Recording of Significant Church History

Sometimes history can be found just under our noses. Sometimes in our attics. And every so often we can find it in our local church archives! Such is the discovery of a rare audio recording of the Evangelical United Brethren Declaration of Union worship service of 1946. The recording was made on two transcription disks […]

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church ministry

A People’s History of Christianity

I recently read A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story, the latest book from Diana Butler Bass. Bass takes the reader on a jaunt through the history of the church from the first century right up to today dividing the years into: early, medieval, reformation, modern and contemporary Christianity. In each […]

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faith question and response

Non-biblical support for Christian claims about Jesus?

Last week, I received several questions from a Resurrection member who had been using a DVD series to study as a part of a small group. I will take some time today and over the next few days to respond as I believe that there may be others who are interested as well. Always feel […]