Category: Pastor’s Blog
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Dancing Joy – Praising God through Dance
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever. ~Psalm 30:11-12 Just a few days ago we finished our Vacation Bible School with our VBS Themed Sunday worship. All week…
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Organized Chaos – Youth Ministry
Nora Ephron: You wrote on the back of one album, “I accept chaos but does chaos accept me.” Bob Dylan: Chaos is a friend of mine. It’s like I accept him, does he accept me. I have “Chaos is a friend of mine” tattooed around my left ankle. I have loved Bob Dylan’s music since I was…
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Reading is Fundamental – Literature, Learning, & Faith
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. Daniel 1:17a For the Hebrew hero Daniel and his friends in the book of Daniel, reading, literature, and learning. The writer of the book of Daniel reminds us that it’s God who gives this knowledge, this understanding, this…
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Spirit-Filled – Festival of Homiletics 2018: Part 7
Start at part 1 of this series on experiences from the Festival of Homiletics 2018 here! I did not expect this week. I had forgotten what an intensive like this could be like. It brought me back to those Spirit-filled intensives at seminary. Filled with colleagues, with kindred spirits, with inspiration and wisdom, and with a…
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Silence and Song – Festival of Homiletics 2018: Part 6
Start at part 1 of this series on experiences from the Festival of Homiletics 2018 here! When the second to last day of the Festival began with just the sermon of comfort I needed from Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Rev. Mariann Budde. Followed by a second worship with an incredibly moving sermon by Anthony Bailey around…
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God’s Faithfulness & the Faithful – Festival of Homiletics 2018: Part 5
Start at part 1 of this series on experiences from the Festival of Homiletics 2018 here! I have nearly 30 pages of bullet points written from those five days. And there is one word that comes up on nearly every single page. The theme for the week as I mentioned before was “Preaching and Politics”, but…
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Anxiety and Hope – Festival of Homiletics 2018: Part 4
Start at part 1 of this series on experiences from the Festival of Homiletics 2018 here! One of the most difficult things about the theme for this year’s Festival is that politics create in many of us, and I know in myself, a certain level of anxiety. No matter what, because of the ways we might…
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Called to Unity – Festival of Homiletics 2018: Part 3
Start at part 1 of this series on experiences from the Festival of Homiletics 2018 here! Honestly, I was not thrilled to learn about the theme for this year’s Festival. I would have much preferred preaching on the borders, prophetic voices, story-telling, dreams, or any of the other themes that have come up in the twenty-six…
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Learning, Flexibility, and Themes – Festival of Homiletics 2018: Part 2
Read Part 1 of this series on experiences from the Festival of Homiletics 2018 here! Why “Continue Education”? Continuing education is such an important piece to our ministry. As pastors, we call our people to be in continual learning as we grow together in our maturity in Christ. And so, as a pastor, continuing education…
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How Did I Get Here? – Festival of Homiletics: 2018 Part 1
This last week, I attended the “Festival of Homiletics” in Washington D.C. as part of my continuing education. Throughout this incredible, life-giving week, I found myself asking, “How did I get here?”