I had a great consultation last week with a pastor who had an interesting dilemma, one that many wish they were in.  The church was about to receive a significant bequest from a member and he was looking for some guidance before meeting with the family to discuss its best use in ministry. I, of […]

I can only ask others to be tolerant of my beliefs if I am tolerant of theirs.

One of the great things about UMCOR is that every dollar you donate makes it to the relief site.  Whether it’s the Philippines, Indiana, Haiti or some not-yet-named place, the field volunteers get the full amount to work with, not the net after administrative fees. 100%  You can’t get much better than that, can you? […]

A friend of mine recounted coming back to church, and it was beautiful.  There may have been some dry eyes in the house, but none of them belonged to me. She told the story of getting up on a Sunday morning a decade ago, putting her then three-year-old daughter in the back seat and setting […]

It should not be news to anyone who is enough of a United Methodist geek to actually read my blog that the UMC and mainline protestant religion in general is on the decline. Fewer people are going to church and nondenominational mega churches are very much in vogue. But there is a new megachurch movement […]

Yesterday was All Saints Day in most of our churches, a time when we honor and remember those members who passed away in the past year. You may have noticed some very strong emotions during that service. There are often tears as we miss those who are no longer with us. I often see smiles […]

Adam Hamilton is the rock star United Methodist pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City. A few weeks ago he talked about the church’s vision for a new sanctuary. Now many pastors hope to get through their entire careers without facing the huge challenge of new worship space. […]

21 years. That’s a big difference. The average age of an American is 35 years. The average age of United Methodist is 56. 21 years. Methodists are, on average, an entire generation older than the rest of our nation. On one hand, this is a beautiful thing. Young families are expensive. We have to buy […]

Decades ago in an attempt to inspire sacrificial giving, you might have heard the admonishment, “Give till it hurts.” But Dr. Jordan Grafman, Director of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and a well-known neuroscientist suggest this is completely wrong. Dr. Grafman and his team used MRI technology to detect what parts of the brain are […]

I was recently part of a discussion about gifts of life insurance to the church and whether or not I like them. (I know, you’re amazed at how exciting my life is, aren’t you?) Given the question “Is life insurance a good gift to give the church?” My answer is a definitive maybe. It depends […]