Greetings from San Antonio

The Soul Fiesta Conference is wonderful. We had a mini-retreat for clergy yesterday with author and pastor Trevor Hudson. He also preached a sermon on the wedding at Galilee during worship last night. Worship was over two hours long but it was worth every moment. If you worship at Grace or read the sermons online, I am sure you will be hearing about some of Trevor's thoughts on Christian transformation.

Today I am off to downtown San Antonio to consider spirituality in the midst of the city's homeless population. Travis Park UMC is hosting this break-out session. I am looking forward to it.

More later.

peace,

will

On the road again

When I first got into ministry, I didn't figure pastors traveled that much. However, it turns out I do get out of town quite a bit. Today I am off to San Antonio for Soul Fiesta. This is a dual purpose trip. First, it is something that I want to attend. Second, it qualifies for continuing education which I am required to complete a certain amount of each year.

This conference is for lay people and clergy and will explore spiritual vitality in our congregations. This is a national conference and it is quite fortunate that it is being hosted right in San Antonio. They have brought in a lot of top notch presenters including Marjorie Thompson author of the Book Soul Feast.

I will be back in plenty of time for church on Sunday. So, see you then!

peace,

will

Sanctuary outside the sanctuary

A momma cat settled into a little corner outside our sanctuary to have her kittens. It may be hard to tell from the photo, but there are three. Two are dark colored and one is pure white.

If you are an animal lover and are willing to help with the eventual relocation of these kittens, e-mail or call the office.

peace,

will

This Week's Sermon

Sunday's sermon has been posted. If you read it, feel free to return to this post for comments or questions.

Sermon 19 - "Lifted Up!"

Peace,

will

Sunday Preview

Scriptures: Numbers 21:4-9
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21

Sermon Title: "Lifted Up!"

This Sunday I am faced with the challenge of preaching on one of the most well-known pieces of scripture in the entire Bible, John 3:16. So many of us know this scripture, some even memorized it as children, but we don't take many opportunities to hear it afresh. What can be so appealing about the words of John 3:16 is that they simply and succinctly represent the good news of Jesus Christ. When we read them carefully and in the context of the words that surround them, they also represent a rich, in-depth understanding of the Gospel. On Sunday, I will try to help us to see these well-known words with fresh eyes and hear them with fresh ears.

See you Sunday!

peace,


will

P.S. The Labyrinth will be available again Sunday for walking prayer from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, as our Lenten series, "Journey to the Cross" continues. Come any time. There will also be a contemplative prayer service in the sanctuary at 5:00 p.m. You can walk the Labyrinth before, during, or after this common service.

Sometimes Deep, Sometimes Not

I think this weblog is a fairly accurate reflection of my life. Sometimes, in my posts, I share deeply theological and spiritual insights and sometimes I just post about the mundane, day to day parts of my life.

Spring is here, (It is hard for a man from New York to say that on March 21^st.) so I spent most of Saturday bringing the yard at the parsonage back to life. I raked and mowed and trimmed and fertilized. In case you think I am one of those men who enjoys yard work, I am not. I love being outside, I don’t mind working with my hands, but I do not enjoy yard work.

I am however, fascinated by fertilizer, especially the chemical kind. As I spread it on the lawn, I can’t help but think about how many lives it has saved. I put it on my lawn just to keep the lawn a nice pretty green and full. It keeps my grass healthy so that Violet won’t create so much mud when she runs around. However, worldwide, mass-producible, chemical fertilizers have increased crop-yields and allowed more crops to grow in more places therefore keeping people from starving to death.

Of course, now there are places where we use too much of the stuff and threaten the eco-system. But without it, there would be a lot more hungry people. (And my lawn wouldn’t be so green.)

peace,

will

Awake and Hungry

(click on the photo for a larger view)

In case you didn't know, turtles hibernate. How deep their hibernation depends on the climate and the turtle. Our big one, Simone, got up a few times during the winter, had a little snack and went back to sleep. The small one, Simon, slept straight through. The recent stretch of warm weather has woken them both and Simone is especially hungry. The picture shows her attacking a cherry tomato. On her plate is also some lettuce, grapes, strawberries, mushrooms and peaches. Simon better hurry or there won't be any left.

peace,

will

The Joy of Bible Study

One of the neat things about being a pastor is that you get to do a lot of different things. However, if I had to choose one part of the job to do exclusively, I think I would just teach Bible studies. The Bible is the most transformative pieces of writing ever created. As a church, we tend to just sort of poke around in it, picking out little pieces and ignoring most of it. I find when people really dig into it, explore it and engage it, lives are changed.

While individual study of the Bible is important and rewarding, group Bible studies are amazing. The dynamics learning and understanding are taken to a whole new level when people of different backgrounds gather around the text. People are able to hear and understand the message in whole new ways through the experiences of others. As a group leader, it is occasionally awe inspiring to give a group a little guidance and background and then let them turn them loose with the text. The insights and revelations they produce in groups rival the most impressive thinking of top theologians and Biblical scholars.

Right now, I am actually teaching two Bible studies, Disciple I, (the picture up top is from one the sessions of that class.) and The Bible from Scratch, The New Testament for Beginners. These two classes are some of the best hours of my week.

If you have never engaged in a real, in depth Bible study, I hope you will consider it. I will be offering another group study soon. Watch the blog for more info.

peace,

will

This Week's Sermon

Sunday's sermon is posted for review.

Sermon #18- Choosing Something More


peace,

will

Sunday Preview

Here is what is in store for worship this Sunday:

Scripture: Mark 8:31-38

Sermon Title: "Choosing Something More"

This Sunday we will take a look at one of those slightly odd and troubling exchanges in the Bible. Jesus is telling his disciples about what is on the road ahead. He tells them about his coming rejection, death and resurrection. Peter doesn't like this much and starts to reprimand Jesus. Jesus stops him in his tracks and says one of the harshest things Jesus ever says in the Bible, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

This is more than just a harsh reprimand; it is the beginning of another explanation of what is at the core of Gospel and the temptation we have to make it something else. It is a temptation that we all face as individuals and as a church. I hope you will be there Sunday as we continue our journey through Lent and explore this text together.

Remember that throughout these remaining Sundays of Lent, the Labyrinth will be available from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the Grace church fellowship hall. A brief communal service will also be provided in the sanctuary each week beginning at 5:00 p.m.

See you Sunday!
peace,



will

Has anyone seen Will?

In case anyone has wondered where I have been, I spent most of the week in Kerrville. Monday and Tuesday I was at Mount Wesley in Kerrville for the annual Bishop's Convocation. In case you are wondering what a convocation is, it comes from the verb convoke, which means to cause to assemble for a meeting. Basically, the Bishop's convocation is an opportunity for all the clergy (pastors) of the Southwest Texas Annual Conference to gather to worship, study, meet in small groups and share fellowship. It is one of the only times that we all get to see each other since we are spread out from the valley, to Austin, to San Angelo and everywhere in between. It was nice to see some of my colleagues that I haven't seen in a while. Bishop Sharon Christopher of the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference also did a great two part presentation of the need for spiritual vitality among clergy.

I spent Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday at my Covenant Connection meeting. I didn't get back in town until last night. Sometimes I get frustrated when I have to be out of town a lot. However, it is truly a blessing to be a part of the United Methodist Church. Gatherings like these remind us that we are not alone as pastors or as a church, but are working together with churches all around the world. Together, we are able to do a lot more for God's kingdom than we can on our own.

I hope to see you Sunday!

peace,

will

Leadership and Vision

I had the true blessing of spending this past Saturday with the leadership of Grace United Methodist Church at our annual leadership retreat. I was so pleased that so many (I think we had around 50) of our leaders willingly gave up their Saturday and spent it considering the life, ministry and future of Grace United Methodist Church.

We spent the first half of the day working through a program called Developing Discipleship Systems, created by Dan Glover, Director of Discipleship at Greenville Evangelical United Methodist Church in, Greenville, Ohio. The program made it clear once again how important it is for us to be a place of radical hospitality. We must send a clear signal to everyone who even comes near our doors that they are welcome at Grace! Dan’s program also reminded us all about how, as a church, we need to be intentional about helping our members grow and develop in faith and spirituality. In order to truly help people to become disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to do more than simply get them busy doing the work of the church. We need to continue to provide opportunities for people to grow in their faith in small group ministries that attend to their educational and relational growth.

We spent the second half of our day thinking and praying about the future of Grace. Pastor John got us started by sharing a piece of his vision and then we all spent some time absorbing the beauty of creation at the Berry’s Lonesome Dove Ranch and listening for God’s gentle whisper of guidance.

Grace United Methodist Church is a vibrant, loving, dedicated community of faith. Churches like Grace can’t help but grow, but growth can be a difficult thing. If we are going to be truly open to the abundant possibilities that God may place before us, we will have to make plans that allow room for more ministries, more missions and a lot more people.

I hope you will ask some of our church leaders about what they learned and discovered in our time together. Their vision and excitement along with everyone’s faith, trust and hope will pave a future greater than even we can imagine.

peace,

will

The Gospel vs. H.R. 4437

I want to share an interested editorial piece from this mornings New York Times. Wherever you are on the issue of immigration, it brings up some interesting issues on our roles as citizens and our roles as Christians.

The Gospel vs. H.R. 4437

As always, I love to hear your comments.

peace,

will

Settling into Lent

We had an amazing turnout at our Ash Wednesday service last night. I don't know that I have ever seen the sanctuary that full. If you were there, I hope that you found the service meaningful and I hope it will add to the meaning of the entire season of lent.

Don't forget that all through Lent we will be offering a special Sunday evening experience Journey to the Cross from 5:00 to 5:45. It will be a time for prayer and meditation as well as an opportunity to walk a labyrinth, an ancient means of prayer in the Christian tradition.

There is more information about Journey to the Cross as well as a lot of great information about lent in this week's newsletter.

peace,

will