Senior Writer’s Block
By December 1, you’ve probably been hearing Christmas music and seeing Christmas decorations, lights and ads for weeks. And as a church leader, you’ve probably been planning Advent and Christmas worship services since late summer or early fall. But really, can people ever get enough of Christmas? Should the season and what it represents be…
Ironically, not all pastors are fans of Pastor Appreciation Month, Clergy Appreciation Sunday or whatever title their churches use each October. They’d prefer that the effort to support pastors be ongoing, even automatic. That’s because clergy appreciation goes beyond the occasional “thank you.” It involves making tangible efforts to meet a range of needs for…
Politics and preaching don’t mix, most people assume. But do pastors really need to steer clear of political topics and cultural debates? Should ministers and teachers reveal their political leanings during sermons and Bible classes? Is it okay to address tough issues that divide modern-day congregants? These questions often arise in America’s churches, especially as…
Summertime in ministry often means moving time, particularly for pastors in the Methodist tribe who criss-cross the country just before July 1. If you’re passing a moving van on the highway any time between June 15 and the Fourth of July, there’s a pretty good chance a set of John Wesley’s journals is somewhere inside. But it…
The belief that a congregation might sing in a courageous manner was suggested first, as far as I know, by one of the world’s great preachers, John Wesley (thus the interest for pastors). In his “Directions for Singing” in Select Hymns (1761), he advises congregations to “sing lustily and with a good courage.” In point…
I’ve heard plenty of pastors say they’re “not comfortable” preaching from the Old Testament (OT). And some will say they rarely preach from the OT texts, usually with a highbrow tone that implies, “I am one of the enlightened ones; only publicans still preach from that dusty, arcane, irrelevant and hopelessly out-of-touch body of work.”…
Christmas Eve is almost here, but we know it’s been on your mind for a while. You started planning sometime in September or October, psyching yourself up for the big night like a pro football player prepping for the Super Bowl. You ordered the manger-themed bulletin covers and decided to get a few more than…
In Homer’s Iliad, a scene depicts a footrace between Odysseus, the hero, and his rival Ajax. As the race plays out, Ajax breaks out to a big lead and it soon becomes obvious that Odysseus is going to lose. As they come down the home stretch, Odysseus does what athletes seem to have been doing…
One of my daily rituals is pulling into my favorite coffee shop first thing in the morning for a quick cup to go. It’s the kind of place that has those pump pots all lined up on the counter with exotic names and flavors aplenty, but I’m a creature of habit so I always get…
Fall is part of that time on the church calendar known as ‘common’ or ‘ordinary’ time, but if your church is like a lot of others, there’s a good chance you’re also getting ready to celebrate the most important unofficial season of the church year. I’m referring, of course, to stewardship season — the roll-out…
