If I ran a business the way you run the church, it would be bankrupt Raise your hand if you’re a pastor or church leader and you’ve ever heard that complaint! I see that hand…and that one…and that one… This is a common sentiment that gets expressed when poor leadership practices are clearly hurting the church. […]
Read more "Leadership: The relationship between church and business"I hear the world UNITY a lot in Mennonite Church USA these days. I suspect it is because the possibility of division rooted in disagreements looms large. In order to hedge against that reality, there are many calls to unity. It’s not that I don’t believe unity is God’s plan and purpose. I believe it […]
Read more "Avoiding the idol of unity…"What’s at stake for you in this? The first time someone asked me that question, I did the avoidance two-step. I didn’t know how to answer the question. I had never been asked that question before. I wasn’t sure I even understood the question. The more I thought about it – and the clearer the question […]
Read more "MC USA: What’s at Stake for You in This?"You are Loved! The simplest expression of the gospel — and perhaps the starting point for any discussion about God – is this: You are loved. This is one thing I believe Bill Bright got right when he penned a booklet entitled “Have you Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws.” The first three words of […]
Read more "You Are Loved!"We had a problem at church. The carpeting in our basement meeting space was old. The carpet wasn’t just old, it was unraveling at the seams. The estimate to replace the carpet was approximately 15% of our budget – and that’s IF the loose tiles underneath weren’t asbestos. If the tiles were asbestos, the cost would […]
Read more "Striped Carpeting"There were (are) riots in Baltimore. In an press conference on April 28, the Mayor of Baltimore – Stephanie Rawlings-Blake – said, It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we tried to make sure that [the police] were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who […]
Read more "Riot in a padded cell…"In my experience as a pastor for over two decades, I’ve learned many lessons. Here’s the one on my mind today. A strong, strong, strong, majority of people are people of good will. They will receive you and your story – both the negative and positive aspects – and respond in honest, truthful, loving, supportive […]
Read more "Choose who you listen to…"