From a Pastor's Point of View

faith choices

  • Walking Around the Fire is Not an Option!

    I have to admit that I do not like walking through the fire.  I like to tiptoe around it.  Try to avoid it, and wrap it up in a pretty bow.  Maybe if I ignore the fire, I won’t be… Continue reading

  • The Beauty of the Sacred

    My preaching text this week is John 12:1-8.  It is one of the few passages in the Gospel of John that is mentioned in the other Gospels.  It is the story of Mary washing the feet of Jesus with oil… Continue reading

  • Lent is the Season of…

    When I left my childhood faith and embraced the United Methodist tradition, one of the many practices that I never observed until converting was Lent.  I just thought the season was reserved for Catholics, and I didn’t give it a… Continue reading

  • A New Start: A New Beginning

    Here we are in a new year.  Many of us set new goals, with new expectations in both our personal and professional lives.  Yes, we are given a chance to start over.  We are encouraged to change our way of… Continue reading

  • We Know What We Know

    First of all, I have to say that I am a very grateful pastor as I have learned how loving and caring my congregation truly is.  We have been inundated by prayers, food, and words of hope and inspiration to… Continue reading

  • Preserve Our Memories Well

    Recently I was visiting with a wonderful man who served in the military during World War II.  He told me some amazing stories of love, sadness and deliverance.  I finished my conversation with him expressing a feeling of gratitude for… Continue reading

  • Are Our Traditions Inclusive?

    I once heard a pastor comment on how his congregation “speaks their own language.”  The key to becoming accepted into this body of believers is to understand and use the language of the congregation.  I started thinking about this bold… Continue reading

  • What Must I Do To Be Made Whole?

    “But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14So… Continue reading

  • Our gifts to the world and our gifts to God

    “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 25:21 NRSV). The religious scholars knew that they had Jesus right where they wanted him.  They asked, “Is it lawful… Continue reading

  • Let us love one another

    As we approach the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I am reminded of a story from my own life that changed me profoundly.  Long before the terrorist attacks I befriended a family.  They were, and still are, kind and understanding.  I… Continue reading