Today Susanne and I will take our first trip since we have retired. We are leaving this afternoon and flying to the state of Maine. We will be staying with our friends; this will be our third trip to the state in the last four years. I officiate a wedding as well as preach on Sunday morning in Gardner, Maine. My official retirement date was June 17. We have spent…
Read MoreThank You
About a week ago, I gave my last official report to the pastors and congregations I have served for the last eleven years. I entered pastoral ministry in late 1981 and, forty-one years later, had the opportunity to say goodbye and thank you. I was once again reminded of how many people helped me along the way. It all starts with God. His grace, mercy, and blessings have attended me…
Read MoreSow Sparingly..Reap Sparingly!
This past Sunday, I was asked to preach at one of the churches in our district. It was the first church I preached at when I was elected District Superintendent 9 years ago. It was a joy for us to be a part of the church service in North Vernon, Indiana. Pastor Caleb Reynolds is doing an outstanding job. He told me that he was in a series on stewardship,…
Read MoreWhat Is Your Perspective? Is God for me? Or…
Today is going to be a great day! I believe that the world is conspiring for me and going out of its way to bless me! Unlike the paranoid who thinks everyone and everything is conspiring against them. The word Pronoia is a neologism coined to describe a state of mind that is the opposite of paranoia. Whereas a person suffering from feelings of paranoia feels that persons or entities…
Read MoreAre You Thirsty?
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Have you ever been thirsty? I mean so dry all you can think about is water, just a drink of cold, clear water. You are so thirsty that nothing else matters; you are consumed with the desire for water. Being thirsty is an…
Read MoreWhat Is A Leader?
What are the characteristics, attributes, and skills that go into the making of a leader? There may well be dozens of items that could be listed allow me to list nine: Honesty/integrity. There is no school to attend, no course to take and no immunization that will make you an honest person. You either are or you are not an honest person. Integrity and honesty are much like oxygen, not…
Read MoreThe Blessing Box
I had dinner with Pastor Aaron Chester and his wife Reagan tonight. I was in Connersville Indiana to conduct his pastoral review. Pastor and Mrs Chester told me about the blessing box ministry that was started by the Gortner Memorial church. The boxes are installed throughout the community. Individuals, congregations, schools, and clubs keep the boxes stocked with food, personal hygiene, and cleaning…
Read MoreDecoration Day! Memorial Day!
This weekend most Americans will celebrate a three-day weekend. Memorial Day began as “Decoration Day” toward the end of the Civil War. People would decorate the graves of both Union and Confederate fallen soldiers. It began being celebrated across the country during WWI. It was not until 1971 that Memorial Day became a holiday. My grandparents always referred to it as Decoration Day. This was the designation it went by…
Read MoreThe Power of Relationships!
Relationships are the building blocks of life and most often a source of disappointment and pain. Our greatest joy and our most profound sadness are usually associated with relationships. Sometimes it is the same person who delivers both joy and sorrow. Through out our lives we all experience relationship problems. It could be a spouse, a child, a friend, an employee, or co-worker or a neighbor.…
Read MoreThen I Met Jesus
Today I installed Todd Reynolds as pastor at the Church of the Nazarene in Morristown. Four years ago I wrote a blog about this town, and church and Byron Carmony. It is all still true today. So this is a blog resisted: Today I preached at our church in Morristown Indiana. Morristown is a town of 1200 people in Shelby County Indiana. There are two…
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