Working with words

Once Carl Sandburg remarked about a preacher: “I won’t take my religion from any man who never works except with his mouth.”  I wonder if Sandburg would give us preachers a break if we also worked with pens, and not just with our mouths.  Since Sandburg is dead, we’ll never know.  But if you like [...]

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Sermon for 1st Advent: Watching at the Gate

I’m preaching this sermon next Sunday, November 30, 2008, on the first Sunday in Advent for Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.  It’s a strange text for the coming of Christmas…or is it?  Have a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful first Advent Sunday.   Watching At The Gate Mark 13:24-37 24“But in those days, [...]

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Happy Thanksgiving!

We had our community Thanksgiving service last Sunday night so I’m done until Sunday.  This year Debbie and I are  celebrating Thanksgiving with our youngest daughter and her family.  I hope your Thanksgiving brings you lots of turkey, football, and family — not necessarily in that order.  I’ll be Twittering during the holiday, but leaving [...]

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101 Outreach Ideas for Small Churches

I’m playing around here and this is the rough draft of  101 Outreach Ideas for Small Churches.  Any others you want to add?  I’d love to hear any stories you have about any outreach ideas you’ve used.  I’m working on a book, and would like to include real stories from real churches.  Time for your 15-minutes [...]

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Sermon: A Thanksgiving Prayer

Here’s the sermon I’m preaching tomorrow, from Ephesians 1:15-23, titled A Thanksgiving Prayer.  Have a wonderful Lord’s Day tomorrow, and a great Thanksgiving season!  A Thanksgiving Prayer   Ephesians 1:15-23 NIV 15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped [...]

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Prayers for significant public gatherings

This week I was asked to pray at the swearing in of our new county treasurer, who is also a member of our church.  I wrote Prayer for A New County Treasurer for that occasion.  I also wrote  Prayer for the Opening of Court a couple of years ago.  Both were well-received and hopefully were [...]

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Review: American Earth by Bill McKibben

“In wildness is the preservation of the world,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in his groundbreaking book, Walden.   With Thoreau as a starting point, Bill McKibben has assembled the finest, most comprehensive anthology of American environmental writing one could hope to find.  The combined work of 101 authors, running almost 1,000 pages, American Earth chronicles the [...]

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“8-Track of the Year” nominations now being accepted

As 2008 draws to a close, we turn our thoughts to the prestigious “8-Track of the Year” awards.  For those too young to remember, 8-track tapes were all the rage back in the 1970s.  A big, clunky endless loop tape was the hottest technology available.  You could actually play them in your car!  Imagine, music [...]

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The future is here and it’s mobile

I got tired of lugging my laptop to meetings, so I got a Blackberry before I went to NOC2008 in San Diego.  Of course, when I got there, everyone I saw had an iPhone or a BB, so I’m not exactly on the cutting edge here, but I’m still impressed.  I had no idea you [...]

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You Can’t Change a Tribe

I’m reading Seth Godin’s new book, Tribes.  Godin packs his small book with pithy observations about the nature of “tribes” and the qualities tribes are looking for in leaders.  Although he doesn’t explicitly say this, it occurred to me that a small church is a tribe.  Small churches tend to be held together by families, [...]

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