It’s been months since my sabbatical ended, and I am still processing. Because of holidays, inclement weather and other hiccups, I didn’t give my official sabbatical report to our church for quite a while. The extra time to process was…
Kneeling by wildflowers
“Gone to the fields to be lovely. Be back when I’m through blooming.” From the poem Camas Lilies by Lynn Unger As a general rule, I believe in attempting to live out of a mentality of abundance over scarcity. However,…
A sabbatical gift of grace and rest and exploration
I have been in full time ministry for 24 years. Wow. That doesn’t seem possible. Actually, that is almost half my life. Mostly, I am grateful for every second — even the most challenging moments have taught me more about…
Life lessons from being a single person at church
It was a particularly lonely moment in my life the first time I joined a church on my own. I had joined several churches up to that point (I am a pastor’s kid) but this was the first time without…
Enduring lessons from Holy Week
The sanctuary is still and the lights are out. The afternoon sunlight filters in through the ample windows along each side of the church. Every few minutes someone enters quietly and begins the journey of these seven stations. This has…
When my dad asked me to preach a revival in his church, I took a crew of encouragers instead
“Would you be willing to come and preach a revival for us?” my dad asked when I answered the phone that day driving down Main Street (hands-free, of course). I asked him specifically what he was looking for and he…