Who Met Jesus in Your Church on Sunday?

Director of Evangelsim and Congregational Development Amy Shanholzter shares the following reflection of her church experience this past Sunday:
We celebrated Every Member A New Member in church on Sunday.  We took the congregational pledge to be evangelists – to be sure that the hearts and minds and doors of St. Paul’s UMC are wide open.  [...]

Two Churches: 300

Funny how the mind works.  This past Sunday was All Saints Day, and for the first time, I was at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in downtown Charleston to see how they celebrate the day.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Rev’d Monty Brown.
I have to agree.

Over 300 banners are hung anywhere space can be found.

It’s a way [...]

Every Member, A New Member

Every Member A New Member – What Will You Do?
At Commission Possible, Bishop Lyght invited every church to ask every member to renew their membership vows using the vows as recently revised at General Conference to include a commitment to uphold the church with “their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service and their witness.” [...]

A Commission Possible Reflection…

This is a little piece I’ve been working on for the past month or so…
I post it today as a reflection on what’s next as we go out from Commission Possible.  There were well over a thousand of us in Summersville this weekend, and and I don’t believe that any of us who were there [...]

Commission Possible now underway

And so it begins. Commission Possible officially started this afternoon at the Nazarene Camp in Summersville.  A steady stream of cars came through the gates starting around 11 this morning.
Now, folks are listening to what Dr. Kwasi Kena has to say about Evangelism and the small church.
One thing he’s talking about that’s really stuck [...]

Risk

You remember being a kid and jumping from the top of the jungle gym?

I sure do.  I was in third grade at Albany Elementary School in southeastern Ohio.  Everyday during recess we’d run out to the playground and work our way up to the fourth set of bars from the ground.  Jumping from the first [...]

Five Questions with Bishop Scott Jones

As we count down the days left before Commission Possible in Summersville, check this space for previews, features, and interviews to get us ready.  Today, it’s an interview with Bishop Scott Jameson Jones.

What strikes me most about the Bishop’s story is that he’s just like many of us.  Faith journeys take time, and you never [...]

Scar Stories III: Back on the Street

Arlington Court is the Greenwich Village of Charleston. Funky, artistic, and diverse are all words I’d use to describe it. And, just like in bigger cities, the haves and have-nots circle each other cautiously. No touching allowed…
Homeless people have been showing up and sleeping on some of our neighbors’ steps. There’s [...]

Scar stories, part I

Two dirty mops. A box full of unopened Depends undergarments.
All in a morning’s work.
“I saw this in the dumpster last night,” he said. “Figured I might be able to use some of it, maybe sell it for the cash.” I didn’t ask him who would buy the stuff or what he would do with [...]

Biker Church

After reading this, you may want to drive to NC and try this church out. I know I do. These folks have something goin’ on, as Rev. Amy Shanholtzer recently found out. Here are her thoughts:

I’ve never ridden a motorcycle. But, I have gone to church at a biker church. And, [...]