It happened again recently. I heard yet another pastor talking about teaching in an effort to highlight other important aspects of leadership. I’m sure the pastor meant well, as I’m sure all the pastors who take similar lines of thought mean well. An I understand why people would make statements to that effect. Pastoring, after…
Category: Pastoring
An invocation for Memorial Day
This year I was asked to give the benediction at the Memorial Day remembrance in my town. I’ve been asked before, but has always declined the invitation. I’m a strong proponent of the separate of church and state, and find blurring the lines between civil and revealed religion disagreeable. This year, however, I was motivated…
Considering the other
This week I preached on Hebrews 10:19–25. The sermon was ok but, for me, the most compelling section was the last paragraph – so I’ll spend some time unpacking it’s ideas a bit more fully this morning. More and more I’ve been hearing, from Christians near my age and younger, how we don’t need the…
Power Trips
For some reason this week I was thinking about the nature of power versus the nature of authority. In our culture, people tend to use these words as synonyms – and in the last few years they have also tended to take on entirely negative connotations. While our language does recognize a lexical over-lap between…
Worship Zombies
Normally on Monday’s I post my sermon manuscript as my blog entry. Today I’m breaking my typical practice for two reasons. First, while the sermon this week was adequate, I didn’t particularly care for it 1. I thought the manuscript, despite several deep edits, lacked flow. It was ok, but not really worth re-sharing. Second,…
The church of the visitor’s bullpen
When Citizen’s Bank first opened, it took up the “old-time” feel of many of the ballparks constructed during the 90’s and early 2000’s. Open sight-lines, different areas to gather with other fans, and close proximity to the action were all high points for the park. Nowhere was this more readily seen than with the way…
