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Normally, I write these blog posts hoping that readers will share 5-10 minutes to think, pray and/or act on a topic. Today, I am asking that, if you will still grant me the time, that you can help the Holy Spirit inspire future sermons and preaching series via workshop and prayer.  Through my daily Bible reading, regular prayer life, conversations with people and the needs of our church and community the Holy Spirit will inspire each sermon and upcoming series. This September I am going on a five-day prayer, planning, and writing retreat for the preaching and worship needs for this winter and all ofRead More →

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This week we began our work of Moving Forward as a congregation with Ministry Architects as consultants Mike Crain and MerLynne Byrne were on-site for a Quick Start Summit.Read More →

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eyond just believing in Jesus, we are called to behave like Jesus as we carry out the ministry he entrusts to us, in our daily lives, not just our Sunday mornings.  Notice that while Jesus regularly taught in a synagogue to interpret God’s presence and importance in the world in his day, he also taught and healed and ate and hung out with LOTS of people OUTSIDE of the synagogue. Read More →

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It seems like the culture wars are continuing to heat up. SCOTUS rulings. Primaries. Outrage in every form of media. Death of migrants. In the culture wars we face today, there is real harm being done, often to those without the resources to insulate themselves from the worst effects of the culture wars ravaging our society.Read More →

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June commemorates (LGBTQ) Pride Month that is celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. If you don’t know, the Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. This movement advocates for LGBTQ rights locally, nationally, and globally.  United Methodists also support and advocate for equal rights for all persons regardless of sexual orientation. In our Social Principles we boldly state that:  “Certain basic human rights and civil liberties are due [to] all persons. We are committed to supporting those rights and liberties for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation.Read More →

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How to Witness to Your Faith In case you missed it, this past Sunday was Confirmation Sunday. We had the joy of 11 students from three different Confirmation classes making a profession of their Christian faith and how they plan to live out their faith through the life of the United Methodist Church of Geneva. The collection of these student witnesses is truly inspiring. Seriously, if you missed it, I strongly recommend you spend even just a few minutes watching and receiving their testimonies. You can click here to watch their collective witness on our YouTube channel.   My pastoral experience tells me those reading thisRead More →

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United Methodists on Abortion With the recent leak of the draft SCOTUS ruling on Roe v. Wade, the question about what United Methodists believe about abortion and women’s rights has been coming up in conversation recently.  United Methodists develop positions, or Principles, on matters in our Social World: by gathering a global team to discern, draft, study Scripture and pray over the many important social concerns facing our world today. Using our Wesleyan Quadrilateral, a team drafts a statement that is then later considered, adapted and voted upon by the General Conference of The United Methodist Church, which is the only body that can speakRead More →

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You Won’t Have to Stand Up on Mother’s Day In most churches Mother’s Day is the third highest attended worship service (after Christmas Eve and Easter) and I credit the power of a mom, grandma, or motherly influence to bring family to church. In fact, I’ll be preaching about the faithful influence of women on our faith development this Mother’s Day by looking at the midwives of the Exodus story. (It’s a sermon inspired by the excellent book Defiant: What the Women of Exodus Teach Us about Freedom by Kelley Nikondeha.)  But unlike in some churches, we won’t be singling out mothers or women byRead More →