To my friends, especially those who are not currently connected to a faith community, but wonder about it sometimes.This image is Open Heart's "Mother's Day Family Photo 2023." It was a snapshot of wh...  Read More

I led a retreat for leadership at Open Heart UMC a couple of weeks ago, and one of the things we talked about was the importance of healthy conflict. I shared a video of consultant Patrick Lencioni ta...  Read More

I've been encouraged multiple times in the last few months to remember that I'm supposed to be taking four weeks off from work each year... Including four Sundays. I have a fantastic, "associate pasto...  Read More

A few weeks ago on a Sunday, I presented a prayer card in church. This breath prayer shared in the graphic, is words from the main prayer. These words wake me up many mornings.I shared this card the w...  Read More

So, a crummy thing happened this week. We were robbed.By "we," I mean the faith community I serve.Shortly after 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, October 11th, a person dressed in a big sweatshirt with the h...  Read More

As we get ready to head into a new sermon series, I invite you to read the companion book that creates the thread we are following.Wholehearted Faith, by Rachel Held Evans and Jeff Chu, is available t...  Read More

I actually went on two prayer walks this week. During the first, I shot the photos. The second one, I "mapped" with the Strava app, and picked up garbage... So you'll note the jaggy line as I left the...  Read More

Anytime I put a sermon together, there is a TON of stuff that goes unsaid.I remember in the early days before I was a pastor, starting out on a message weeks ahead of time and by the time I got done w...  Read More

So LAST week, if I'd actually shared a post, I would have reminded us all about the importance of intentional faith development WITH other people, and challenging ourselves to grow... Are you signed u...  Read More

Trying a new thing... Here's a brief, not awesome video, to try to connect with you all, and remind you a bit from last Sunday. :-)......  Read More

I've never been a terribly fancy person. That scarf in the photo is about as fancy as I get.Don't get me wrong. I do have an appreciation for beautiful things, art, good food, etc... But I am pretty l...  Read More

Our fall "Kickoff Sunday" is set for September 11th, which means that's the week we start our new "fall" schedule. I have to put fall in quotes because I'm pretty sure it's still going to feel like su...  Read More