Nothing Stays the Same
While it doesn’t get easier, unless you embrace extreme minimalism, it can be better.
It’s gonna take forever to unpack all these boxes!
And it’s okay to mourn.
Sharpen that Blade
And looking forward, none of us can reach our full potential of wholeness and ministry without the help of others.
Some will sharpen you and increase your wisdom. Others will dull and even pierce you.
I am so grateful to God for how He speaks to me and mentors me through them.
Wheelchair Wheelies and A Little Confetti
It has now become a tradition of mine to celebrate our young people’s baptisms through these means.
My response to such objections would be…
When something happens in Scripture in a set of three, we are to pay attention, and take note.
The Need for Pastors to Experience God’s Presence Today
Reading the text was not enough; I needed to see God through the text.
It must be a constant search for the presence of God, day after day.
When you taste and see how good the presence of God is, even your congregation will experience His presence.
Why Pastors Fail
We all begin with gratitude that we get to partner and co-labor with God.
The pivotal tipping point is when gratitude turns sour.
Eliminate, Delegate & Automate.
Discipleship — We Need It Too
I want to share with you a few ways God has been teaching me to practice self-awareness so that my heart is in a place for discipleship.
It can be easy for us to find ways to preach to the people, but do we take time to slow down for the sermon to touch us?
Discipleship is just as much a part of our journey as pastors as anyone else’s journey.
Who's Disciplining YOU?
When we experience something deep inside of us, this experience becomes a spring, pouring over into the lives of those around us.
We cannot share what we are not experiencing.
Friend, what does discipleship look like in your own life?
The Disciplers We Often Ignore
In the minds of some, those with a disability are to be constantly prayed for until they are healed.
What can you teach a person who is blind about trust when in their daily interactions, they rely upon others for various tasks?
Providentially, God has allowed the disabled and non-disabled community to minister to each other mutually.
Welcoming Worship: A Conversation with MyGeneration Church
“We are very intentional with our worship—from our mid-day start time to our casual dress, snacks, welcome activities, interactive prayers, music, and fellowship. Our non-traditional services take place in a relaxed setting where people can feel comfortable, as if they have known us for years. We want every new visitor to feel at home.”
'Church' Is a Verb
“We are never more connected to the Body of Christ than when we are actively serving, worshipping, celebrating, learning, growing, and loving—when we are ‘churching’ together.”
Peacemaking and Christian Worship: A Conversation with Lisa Clark Diller from Adventist Peace Fellowship
“The Adventist Peace Fellowship wants people to live into the Peaceable Kingdom, and we do this when we exercise our sanctified imaginations. Music is, for most people in 21st century North America, the primary way they experience worship. The songs that we sing and listen to are vital in the forming of our view of God and each other. They help shape us and the community we create in our church.”
“Blessed are the Peacemakers”
“Our worship gatherings provide the rehearsal for us to live His peace in a fractured and tumultuous world. Jesus calls us to bring His peace into our communities. In so doing, we will experience the happiness and blessedness of becoming the children of God.”
2022 Virtual Summit on Abuse
The 2022 Virtual Summit on Abuse will take place on November 13.
Unfortunately, most churches do not address abuse at all.
This year’s Summit will be closed captioned in Spanish and French.
You Need a Mentor
Don't give up and don't go at this alone.
Here's a red flag.
Some Adventists have an issue paying a fair rate (or any at all) for mentorship.
Clergy Echo Chambers: A Conversation with Pastor Lenworth Sealey
I've been trying to operate on a 9 to 5 kind of schedule, doing a little bit more to erect boundaries.
And maybe my desire is not to come between them and God, but that's what a lack of boundaries teaches them. So the first person they turn to is the pastor.
I see it as more of my calling to affix people to Jesus and not the institution. That doesn't mean that I don't want them to be a part of the global community.
Writing Topics for this Newsletter
If you have something you know is worth sharing then share it.
We’ve included an upcoming topic schedule.
Writers are paid for their words.
Staying Adventist After San Antonio
A chaplain colleague who was attending the symposia with me strongly recommended that I attend a session on "moral injury."
How do you remain part of the same church as those who interpret their Adventism very differently than you?
For my spiritual well-being I needed to clarify where I stood morally with my church.