Challenge. Question. Conflict. Change. How do you practice ministry in a no-win situation? Last week I talked with more than two dozen pastors, ministers, and chaplains. I also talked with ministry mentors and my seminary colleagues. And in my weekly…
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“Patience!” ~Yoda When Luke Skywalker arrives on the stormy, swampy planet Dagobah in search of Yoda, he is impatient. In fact he has no patience at all. He does not know what or who he is seeing. Instead he exudes…
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The following homily was offered on June 23 as part of an action to “Stop Jailing Families” which called on Nashville Mayor Briley and Sheriff Hall to untangle their relationship with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and stop detaining immigrants,…
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The Body Remembers The grass was warm and dry under my bare feet. The labyrinth brought back the familiar feeling of rushing to the center, and long pausing at the middle, and dragging my feet with a desire to stretch…
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Go! Go! Gooooo! Sometimes the main thing holding us back from getting our writing done is simple inaction. We just need to go! Sit down. Open the document and go! We know what needs doing and simply need to do it.…
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Desk A clean desk invites fresh writing. And it can be a ritual or signal that it is the right time and place to write. Recently I visited a man who has started numerous Montessori schools. If he said to me…
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Festival of Young Women PreachersApril 7, 2016 | Eden Seminary | St. Louis, Missouri A Blessing for the Preachers Bless these hands as they handle sacred Scripture, and sacred stories, and sacred moments of the preaching and pastoral life. Bless…
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Sermon Checklist Planning a sermon has a lot of moving parts. Especially for beginners, when you get caught up in the sermon itself, it’s easy to forget logistical details. Here’s a checklist that may help, so you don’t find yourself tripping into the…
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