Our church leadership culture has failed. It is past time that we set aside the idolatry of corporate leadership structures and rediscover the vastly different way of leading modeled by Jesus.
Read More...Book Review: Lead like Jesus, not a corporate CEO, says author
May 15, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Book Review: Writer’s journey in faith enlightens and entertains
February 12, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Despite his distinguished career as a writer and United Methodist leader, the Rev. James C. Howell recognizes the awkwardness of writing a memoir. The genre, he notes in his introduction, easily slides into self-obsession and personal analysis
Read More...A campus minister carries meaningful baggage
October 9, 2012 Posted by Leave a Comment
Lately, I’ve been keeping a journal of things that I’ve carried from my car to our campus ministry and vice versa. Here’s a sampling: A thermocouple for a hot water heater. Eighty hamburger patties. A box containing a skill saw, electric sander, staple gun and a speed square. Four bicycle helmets. An electric guitar with amp. Sometimes I imagine what I must look like to other people as I traipse the quarter mile from parking lot to front door with my haul. I can almost hear people saying, “There goes [...]
Read More...Why interruptions are sometimes a good thing
August 16, 2012 Posted by Leave a Comment
“You’re doing it again.” I looked wearily at Joseph, my camp roommate, from where I stood beside our sink. For 1:00 a.m. on the last night of camp, Joseph looked [...]
Read More...Book Review: Resource for teaching local church stewardship
August 6, 2012 Posted by Leave a Comment
Committed to Christ: Six Steps to a Generous Life Bob Crossman Abingdon Press, 2012 With Committed to Christ, the Rev. Bob Crossman and his co-authors provide a stewardship program to guide churches beyond the yearly financial campaigns and into a lifestyle of giving. Dr. Crossman, a longtime pastor and director of the Arkansas Conference New Church Leadership Institute, begins his program with a question of basic commitment to Christ. He then outlines six steps to growth, five of which are based on the membership vows of the UMC: prayer, worship [...]
Read More...Willimon’s latest may help ordained leaders, but won’t reach others
May 27, 2012 Posted by 4 Comments
Bishop: The Art of Questioning Authority by an Authority in Question William H. Willimon Abingdon Press, 2012 Paperback, 200 pages It should come as no surprise to those familiar with [...]
Read More...A plea for perspective after disappointment of GC2012
May 7, 2012 Posted by 1 Comment
Everybody take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. As the mushroom cloud surrounding the end of General Conference slowly dissipates, United Methodist leaders across the nation (I don’t [...]
Read More...Return from exile provides fruitful metaphor for UMC
April 6, 2012 Posted by Leave a Comment
The “wilderness” doesn’t fit. We need a new metaphor. The concept of “wilderness wanderings” has taken a prominent role in conversations about United Methodist leadership, thanks in large part to consultant Gil Rendle’s Journey in the Wilderness (Abingdon Press). The book draws from the story of Israel’s four-decade trek through the Sinai desert following the Exodus, when the nation was marking time before their entry into Canaan. As a description of the UMC’s situation, the wilderness metaphor has a lot to offer. It gets at the failures of our past, [...]
Read More...Please listen beyond the noise
April 4, 2012 Posted by Leave a Comment
Dear 2012 General Conference, Please listen to us. And please don’t. Listen to the people of the United Methodist Church. We everyday pastors, staff, and volunteers have never felt more disconnected from the larger church bureaucracy. We visit hospitals and hold youth retreats and preach and try to serve faithfully. But how do the most important things we do connect with the work of our high-level leaders? The answer, if you ask us, is that it connects very little. The Call to Action report, for example, piles words upon words [...]
Read More...
Can the UMC model a healthy form of debate?
At our campus ministry, we play fantasy football the same way we play any sport. Which is to say, we’re all talk. “Dude, did your girlfriend set your lineup this week?” “Don’t insult his girlfriend like that. She actually understands a thing or two about football.” “Lay off. I don’t even have a girlfriend.” “No wonder, as bad as your team is.” This is the way college guys talk. It’s mostly harmless banter, good-natured insults about things we silently agree are trivial. In mid-October, however, I walked in on a [...]
Read More...