This is the time of the year when love offerings are discussed in churches.  “Love offering” is a church term for a monetary gift, perhaps for a pastor who is moving or retiring or another valued person where the congregation would like to offer a tangible token of its appreciation. And the question arises: “Are […]

As I went to bed Saturday night I knew I needed to worship Sunday morning.  But I also knew that five days of more than 1,000 United Methodists was at least enough, so Google and I discussed my options.  I found a promising Presbyterian Church half a mile from my hotel. As I got to […]

I had dinner last night with some other members of the East Ohio delegation after we all had a busy and at times frantic day in committees trying to get through our legislation.  They had heard the news about the Trust Clause but they all wanted to know the answer to the same question:  what […]

Friday afternoon in my Local Church Committee we came across three interesting petitions.  The topic was how the annual conference should deal with the assets of a local church that had closed. The petitions came from GCF&A, GBOD and UMRA.  Oh, wait, I forget that you, my dear reader, have not been immersed in United […]

On Sunday morning I woke up but then began dreaming again.  No, I didn’t go back to sleep.  Instead I checked the news. No one had won the Powerball jackpot.  I had four more days to dream. So from now until Wednesday night I can dream and the scale of the dream is amazing.  An […]

Yesterday my wife Chris wrapped up her participation in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  From early Friday morning until yesterday afternoon she and about 1,000 others walked 60 miles around western Cuyahoga County. Many of you are familiar with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a 5k (3.1 mile) walk […]

I have a hunch that there are lots of churches in our Conference that have put off capital campaigns in the last four years or so.  With a struggling economy and plate income a challenge, it just did not seem like the right time to take on a major campaign. But those churches still have […]

If you want to rile up some United Methodists bring up either casino gambling or the use of Native Americans as mascots.  Today I’m doing both.  I hope you’ll look past these offenses to find the message behind my post. Saturday was Faith Day at Progressive Field.  So I packed four Sheetzes in the minivan and headed […]

Last week I heard a business guru give his tool to assess the success of small businesses given the difficult economy the last few years. “If you’re still open, you’re a success.”  But then he admonished them to get out of survival mode and plan for the future. I think that’s where we are with […]

It has become a key phrase in our society:  “You can’t be too safe.”  This notion when it comes to raising children prompted Lenore Skenazy to write Free Range Kids, a book and now a blog.  In it, she reminds us that kids need to go out and play and have fun.  If they end […]