Three weeks ago this morning my plane from Liberia by way of Ghana touched down in New York. My adventure had come to a close and on the very long overnight flight I once again got used to things like toilets that flush, drinks with ice and in-flight movies (by the way, The Butler is […]

While I was in Liberia I had the opportunity to attend their Annual Conference.  No less than three speakers devoted some or all of their presentations to stewardship.  I was looking forward to what they had to say.  I wanted to learn more about stewardship in a world where extreme poverty is the norm and […]

  For the first time in my life I’m part of a posse.  You know, a posse, when famous people travel they bring an entourage, a group of hangers on who like to bask in the star’s limelight. At the Liberia Annual Conference Kathy and Danny Dickriede are most definitely rock stars.  Danny’s quick smile […]

A different kind of brand   Marketers say that a brand is what people think when they consider a product.  Rolls Royce, for instance, has branded itself differently from a Yugo; a Rolex is different from a Timex. For the last six days I have been interested to see what the United Methodist brand is […]

Last week before I left I got a voice mail from a colleague.  “I hear you’re going to Liberia.  I just got back yesterday and I want to send some stuff over with you if you have room.  Call me.” I called Jim and told him that if I had room in my suitcase and […]

By the time this blog post goes live, I will be somewhere between my home and my home for the next two weeks:  Liberia in Western Africa. The Foundation has been blessed by an endowment fund that for the last 20 years has sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Camphor Mission Station in Liberian jungle.  So […]

If you’re a regular reader of this space you know that missions are important to me.  In fact, if I could only have the church do one thing, I would skip worship, Sunday School and (gasp!) even committee meetings and just do missions.  But clearly missions would be more difficult without the other things. How […]

Chick Lane probably is not a name a lot of United Methodists are familiar with, but he’s a favorite read of mine.  Chick is the Director of the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary, a Lutheran school in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has just retired and on his way out he posted the following to […]

A New Year’s Prayer Author Unknown May God make your year a happy one! Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain, But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes; Not by making your path easy, But by making you sturdy to travel any path; Not by taking hardships from you, But […]

It was reported to be the largest gathering of world leaders in history.  The funeral services for Nelson Mandela were held in a cold rain in a soccer stadium, but a hundred thousand or so people still came out to celebrate his life and mourn his loss. His contributions went beyond partisan politics and redefined […]