I preached around forty sermons this year at Fort Myers Congregational United Church of Christ (Fort Myers, FL). According to YouTube views, the most popular messages are That's the Book for Me – watch / read - a 16 min. message on the Bible (warning: this is the first and only sermon I have ever preached that includes singing) Titleless – watch / read – a 13 min. message on humility Surprising Salaries – watch / read – a 12 min. message on generosity Personal Read More …
In Search of a Church (#1592)
Transition is the word that best describes my year so far. In March my wife, Susan, relocated from Naples, Florida to Denton, Texas for her dream job. This summer we sold our three homes in Florida and bought one in Texas (where we plan to live after extensive renovations are completed) . Last week I relocated to Texas to join Susan and to begin my new role overseeing employee education for a healthcare company. We are officially in search of a church (along with good Read More …
No Sermon Sunday #1 (#1591)
I did not preach today, and I will not be preaching again anytime soon. Last Sunday I preached my final sermon as Transitional Pastor of Fort Myers Congregational United Church of Christ (Fort Myers, FL). During my nine months there and for ten months while serving as Interim Senior Pastor of United Church (Marco Island, FL), it was my habit to post my sermon here each Sunday. Those posts contained the Scripture reading, a sermon excerpt (along with a link to the manuscript and Read More …
So Many Life Changes (#1590)
Whether or not you have ever heard of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale also known as the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, you are likely familiar with the idea that people who experience many significant life changes in a relatively short period of time are at an increased risk for illness. This scale is a well known and frequently utilized way to self-assess the amount of change a person has experienced. Each life change has a numeric score associated with it, and the total of Read More …
Sermon: 1967 Sundays and Counting (#1589)
Sermon Text: 2 Corinthians 13:11, 14 Sermon Excerpt What in the name of God is going on here? What in the name of God is going on with Fort Myers Congregational United Church of Christ? Nine months ago I started my first sermon as your Transitional Pastor with that same question. After journeying with you for some time, I can begin to answer the question. FMC UCC is doing a lot, and all we are doing we do in God’s name. While it would be impossible to share all that has happened Read More …
Topical Tuesdays (#1588)
Last Tuesday I facilitated the final session of an educational event I called "Topical Tuesdays." When I started my current transitional (interim) ministry I learned that the previous pastor conducted a mid-week Bible study using the Sunday lectionary texts from which he would develop his sermon. Since I opted to preach more topically, I substituted a topical conversation for Bible study. This year's sermon series included: Fruitful Practices (inspired by Five Practices Read More …
Sermon: A Sin Problem? (#1587)
Sermon Text: Mark 2:16-17 Sermon Excerpt A few years ago Stephen Prothero, a bestselling author and professor of religion at Boston University, wrote a fascinating book titled God is Not One. In this text he explores the eight world religions he thinks are currently the most important. For each religion he presents the problem that religion is trying to solve, the solution to that problem, and techniques that can be used to move toward the solution. Professor Prothero proposes that Read More …
Leaving Parish Ministry (#1586)
For the last fifteen years I have served in a variety of parish based ministry positions in Mainline Protestant congregations ranging in size from a few hundred to a few thousand. My job titles have included Director of Ministries with Children and Families Youth Director (and Youth Minister) Associate Pastor Interim Senior Pastor Transitional Pastor Director of Education (and Director of Adult Education). The job title I have held the greatest number of times is Read More …
Sermon: Stating Our Faith (#1585)
Sermon Text: Colossians 1:15-20 Sermon Excerpt As a resident of Southwest Florida for the last several years, I have been blessed to expand my horizons in many ways – including learning from many of you about what everyday life was like before I was born. I understand many of you grew up in a time I call “BT” – Before Television. In the world before every home had a television and every television had the ability to receive dozens of channels, there was radio. Perhaps Read More …
Twitter: My First 6 Years (#1584)
I started my social media journey in 2009 by launching this blog, opening a Facebook account, and beginning to tweet. At that time, I realized I was anything but an early adopter of Facebook (stats show around 300 million active users by the time I joined) or blogging (stats show around 125 million active bloggers started blogging before I did). I was, however, a part of Twitter before it really took off (stats show only about 15 million active accounts at the time I Read More …