A year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote "Visiting 50+ Churches in Dallas-Fort Worth," highlighting congregations I had worshipped with since relocating to Texas from Florida. When the pandemic started, I stopped attending worship in person. After experiencing a full year of life without attending corporate worship, I gradually reentered that world. March 7 - I attended my first outdoor worship serviceMarch 14 - I attended my first indoor worship service Now, seven Read More …
United Methodist
Reopening for In Person Worship: 5 Congregations (#1926)
Over the last four weeks I've visited five mainline Protestant congregations in the Dallas - Fort Worth metro area that have recently reopened for worship. All five experiences required that I pre-register to attend, and that I commit to a covenant or list of expectations regarding my participation (i.e., not attend if I had a fever or was experiencing COVID-like symptoms, while attending wear a mask and remain socially distanced from others while indoors, etc.). Additionally, all five Read More …
Giving Thanks: 10 Ministry Experiences (#1900)
Thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not simply a holiday scheduled the fourth Thursday of November. In the spirit of continuing the focus on thankfulness, today I'm reflecting on and giving thanks for the ten different ministry settings I've served. These settings vary in many ways, yet are all committed to making more real God's kin-dom on earth Founding: Less than 10 years ago to more than 150Size: Less than 100 active participants to more than 2,000Denomination: 5 Mainline Protestant Read More …
My 2017 Religious Resolutions . . . So Far (#1677)
Four months ago today I shared my resolutions for the new (church) year: During this church year I resolve to Join (and be actively involved in) a local community of faith Labor to make real on earth God’s realm of justice and peace Write about matters of faith that matter (primarily here on this blog) Teach (and continue learning) about Christianity and the world’s many great religions Discern an answer (or many answers!) to the question “What next?” Progress Report Since Read More …
Christianity is Always Political (#1676)
If your preferred version of Christianity isn't political, then you have likely misunderstood the religion. Willimon on Politics and Christianity Popular author and long-time United Methodist Bishop William H. Willimon delivered the T. B. Maston Lectures in Christian Ethics last year at Hardin-Simmons University. One address - "Say Something Polictical: A Christian Vision of Engaging the World" - appeared in print in the Winter 2016-2017 edition of the Window (a publication of the Read More …
Where’s Greg Worshipping? (#1649)
Over the last twelve and a half months, I have attended 45 worship services in 34 different congregations. Denominations The chart at right illustrates the number of churches I have visited by denominational affiliation (green), the number of services I have attended in congregations affiliated with each denomination (blue), and the percent of all worship services I have attended by denomination (yellow). 75% of all of my worship experiences have occurred in congregations affiliated with four Read More …
My 2016 Search for a Church (#1603)
How does someone with more than fifteen years of parish ministry experience search for a church when presented with the opportunity to connect with a community of faith as an active participant rather than serving as a pastor or staff member? In my case the answer is a work in progress. Last September I relocated to North Texas after living in Southwest Florida for eight years. Immediately, my wife and I started our search for a church. Despite my travel for work, we have managed to Read More …
View from the Pew: 8 Sacred Spaces (#1602)
Soon after relocating to Texas in September of 2015, I wrote "In Search of a Church," explaining a bit about the process my wife and I were undertaking to find a new community of faith to call our own. During this process, I have posted a "view from the pew" photo most weeks on Facebook and Twitter. As someone who has spent most of his life working in a church and a good deal of that time in pastoral leadership, my ability to visit other congregations has been limited (and Read More …
Church Turnaround: An Example (#1495)
Rick McKinley, Director of Congregational Development for the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, recently shared an example of church turnaround. While I encourage you to read his entire account, I want to focus on one significant shift: the role of pastor. Based on what they'd learned about themselves and their community, a strategic change in pastoral leadership was made. They were told that the new pastor wasn't going to hold their hand. Pastoral leadership as they Read More …
Christian Youth: Learning and Living the Faith (#1381)
Princeton Theological Seminary was recently awarded a $1.1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to fund a study that will "provide church leaders with strategies to help children connect with their religion." This study of confirmation in five denominations - United Methodist, Presbyterian, Evangelical Lutheran, Episcopal and African Methodist Episcopal - will include two elements: : (1) a survey of youth and parents about their beliefs, and (2) research that will Read More …