by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Oct 25, 2023 | Book Reviews
Imagine you are an alien who earned your interstellar passport and decided to spend a day on planet Earth. Suppose you picked a small town somewhere in the United States. Maybe you wouldn’t be surprised by the stores in which to buy food and other necessities,...
by Bill Rowley | Oct 19, 2023 | Reformation Sunday
Opening Prayers | Calls to Worship | Prayers of the People Prayers of Invocation | Prayers of Confession | Affirmations of Faith Celebrating Reformation Sunday Reformation Sunday this year is October 29, the Sunday preceding October 31. It marks the 506th year since...
by Bill Rowley | Oct 18, 2023 | World Communion Sunday
The Need to Pray In light of the shocking Hamas attack on October 7 and the Israeli response, urgent prayer is needed by Christians for the people of Israel and Palestine. In numbers, 1,400 people were killed in the initial Hamas attack with 199 people taken hostage....
by Scott Bullock | Oct 17, 2023 | Conflict, Politics
Compassion does not demand that we know who is right and who is wrong. In fact, it does not ask for us to know anything at all about [people] except the fact that they are in need. As I facilitated a Lectio Divina reading of Luke 10 this past Wednesday evening, I...
by Mark Roberts | Oct 16, 2023 | Third Third of Life
What’s Really Going On With Your Older Adults When It Comes to Faith and Church? Would you like to know what’s really going on with the older adults in your church? What they’re thinking and feeling? What they’re experiencing in church and the rest of life? If so,...
by Todd Hunter | Oct 10, 2023 | Abuse, Pain
Sandy, bravely revealing his pain, schooled me. He attended a focus group I hosted that sought to create a safe environment wherein a person could express their truest feelings about faith and church. Taking me up on the invitation to keep it real, Sandy dove in: “I...
by Scott Bullock | Oct 3, 2023 | Prayer, Psalms, Worship
My Daily Soundtrack Often, my daily life is filled with a soundtrack of my own choosing. When I sit for long periods of time to do something rather mundane, like reconcile the checkbook, pay bills, or clean up the ever growing email account, I am accompanied by...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 25, 2023 | Humility, Leadership, Ministry
A Rude Awakening Just as I began my seminary education, filled with a love of learning and a hunger to serve God, I attended a lecture. It was given at a nearby think tank, and the presenter was an author whom I admired at the time. It was early fall, and with no term...
by Bill Rowley | Sep 19, 2023 | World Communion Sunday
Opening Prayers | Calls to Worship | Prayers of the People Prayers of Confession | Assurances of Pardon Celebrating World Communion Sunday World Communion Sunday (October 1, 2023) is an excellent occasion to remember together in word, song, and action that Christ has...
by Scott Bullock | Sep 19, 2023 | Book Reviews, Change, Habits, Routines
My Aversion to Self-Help Books & Their Gurus but Why I Recommend This One! I am not one for “self-help” books. I know that I probably could use some more personal coaching advice, but… my habit of going on my own is hard to break. That is why James Clear’s 2021...
