Today, as I’m sitting in a hospital waiting for my mother to come out of recovery for her knee surgery, I’m reminded that today is World Mental Health Day. Here are five things that are on my mind a lot when it comes to mental illness… 1. Mental Illness deserves the same treatment as physical […]
World Mental Health Day: 5 Thoughts from a Pastor’s Perspective… Read More »
As you may have gathered from the first and second posts just like this… I like tech tools that make life easier. I’m not a naturally organized person, so I have to fight to find tools that help. Here are some of the latest tools I’ve been using in ministry. Hope there’s something here that
5 *More* Tech Tools for Pastors and Other Busy Professionals Read More »
Here’s something I’ve noticed, and maybe you have too… there are some things that we don’t talk about at church. When I say church I don’t mean Northwood Presbyterian Church in San Antonio or First Baptist Church of Anytown or Hope Bible Church in Largecity… I mean church in general. Any church. Some things are
The Things We Don’t Talk About at Church… Read More »
Kelly Allen for Moderator www.kellyformoderator.com OK, warning… this post might be boring if you are not Presbyterian (USA). I say might because it’s also a post mostly about friendship and what it means to be a good friend, which I think applies to everyone. Every other year in the Presbyterian church we all get together and vote
On Friendship, Mentorship, and Kelly Allen for Moderator of the PCUSA Read More »
The Saturday before Easter, my lovely congregation will be holding a little Easter Egg hunt with cupcakes, cascarones, music and laughter. Some pastors might argue this is liturgically, theologically or spiritually inappropriate. I don’t think so, and here are four reasons why. 1. The Easter date was chosen to coincide with a pagan festival… there’s
Four Reasons Why This Pastor Encourages Egg Hunts in Churches Read More »
Last Sunday we read the story of Bartimaeus who stands at the side of the road and asks Jesus for healing. “Son of David,” he cries “have mercy on me.” The crowd tries to shush him, but this makes him even more determined. (Anybody ever had that happen to you? The more you are asked
Sermon Remix: Jesus is the Son of David Read More »
After seeing how much everyone enjoyed the last post of tech tools, I thought I’d offer up five more tools that I use on a regular basis. We’ll keep the series going until folks get sick of it, or I run out of tools, whichever comes first! Zamzar is a file conversion tool. It works
5 MORE Techie Tools for Pastors (and everyone!) Read More »
In today’s sermon about belief, I referenced Marcus Borg’s book Speaking Christian. I read this specific quote: “Believe comes from the old english be loef which means ‘to hold dear.” To believe meant not only confidence and trust in a person but also to hold that person dear — to belove that person. Believing and beloving
Sermon Remix: Be loef Read More »
On Sunday we concluded our sermon series on the creeds by concluding with the Brief Statement of Faith. I highlighted the beauty in the phrase “In a broken and fearful world” and concluded by offering my own retelling of the parable of the pot. — Bonus link. I’ve really been enjoying this version of
The Parable of the Pot (Sermon Remix) Read More »
Karl who? Does Barth rhyme with hearth? When I decided to do a sermon series on creeds of the Presbyterian Church, I knew I’d be including the Barmen Declaration. I love the story behind it. Written in 1934 by a number of people, most notably Swiss Theologian (and Princeton Theological Seminary’s patron saint) Karl Barth.
Karl Barth and the Barmen Declaration Read More »
