Categories
annual conference renewing the church

Kansas West Annual Conference – Day 3 #ksw2011

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 […]

Categories
life ministry

Fruitfulness: Every Day Living (3 of 4)

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 […]

Categories
changing lives renewing the church transforming the community

Fruitfulness: Distinguishing Busyness (2 of 4)

How do we separate busyness and fruitfulness? Fruitfulness leads to the fruit of the spirit are evidenced among the people. Another way to consider this is to see lives changed, communities transformed and the church renewed. Busyness does not lead to evidence of the fruit of the spirit. Busyness does not lead to changed lives, […]

Categories
ministry

Fruitfulness: Ministry Audits (1 of 4)

It may be common practice to have the financial books of a local church to be regularly audited. Does the leadership of your congregation ever conduct ministry audits for fruitfulness? What would it look like to determine the fruitfulness of a particular ministry area in the church – small groups, UMW, a worship service? Related […]

Categories
leadership ministry

Leading Ideas: What Does a Pastor Do? (3 of 3)

I continue to appreciate the work of Lovett Weems and the entire team at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. The offer a great number of resources for pastors, congregations, students and denominations at http://www.churchleadership.com. I wanted to draw your attention to Leading Ideas – a biweekly newsletter from the Lewis Center. You can find more […]

Categories
leadership ministry

Leading Ideas:What Does a Pastor Do? (2 of 3)

I continue to appreciate the work of Lovett Weems and the entire team at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. The offer a great number of resources for pastors, congregations, students and denominations at http://www.churchleadership.com. I wanted to draw your attention to Leading Ideas – a biweekly newsletter from the Lewis Center. You can find more […]

Categories
communications ministry

Leading Ideas: Welcoming Newcomers (1 of 3)

I continue to appreciate the work of Lovett Weems and the entire team at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. The offer a great number of resources for pastors, congregations, students and denominations at http://www.churchleadership.com. I wanted to draw your attention to Leading Ideas – a biweekly newsletter from the Lewis Center. You can find […]

Categories
ministry renewing the church united methodist church

Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for The United Methodist Church

Summary I recently received a copy of Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church from Abingdon Press to review. I finished reading it yesterday on my day off after Easter Sunday. The book consists of  12 chapters written by different authors, who are all members of Generation X and The United Methodist […]

Categories
communications ministry

Wise and Eloquent Preaching

Nearly every class I have taken, seminar attended or and piece of guidance that I have received about preaching has encouraged me to craft a sermon that is well written and smartly crafted. However when Paul reflects on his ministry, he writes: For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not […]

Categories
renewing the church

SXSW Interactive – Reflections

Here is the collection of my posts from my excellent experience at SXSW Interactive: #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 1 #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 2 #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 3 #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 4 #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 5 SXSW Interactive Trade Show SXSW Interactive – Circus Mashimus SXSW Interactive – […]

Categories
leadership ministry renewing the church

Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results – Review

I recently just finished Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results by Lovett H. Weems, Jr. and Tom Berlin. Along with other members of the senior staff, I read this in preparation for our semi-annual retreat today. I have been considering what it fruitful and effective ministry is like, especially in response to Kevin Watson’s post, […]

Categories
life ministry question and response

Paternity Leave Letter and Details

I have had several clergy friends ask about the details of my recent paternity leave, so I wanted to share some of the questions and my responses, as well as the letter that I used to initiate the process. I was on paid leave for 5 weeks full time and 3 weeks part time. My […]