-
Roger Ross, Director of Congregational Excellence for The Missouri Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, recently wrote a book entitled, Come Back – Returning to the Life You Were Made For. In the book, Ross references something called a “Cynicism Spiral” – a spiral of emotions whose end result is being stuck in cynicism.…
-
Pastor’s Note
Recently, I read a statement that said this: What many church leaders are about to face is this truth: Unchurched people aren’t looking for Christendom. They’re looking for Christ. Some may ask, “What’s the difference?” To that, I would advise you to ask someone—a friend, family member, or even a stranger—who does not go to…
-
From the Pastor
The day we have been waiting for has come – the day of the vaccine! It’s just that – as with most anything in life – the announcement and the reality are somewhat mutually exclusive. Yes, there is a vaccine; no, it is not as widely available as many had hoped. So what do we…
-
Pastor’s Note
We are going to have fun, whether you like it or not! Ever felt like saying that? Well, it just so happens that we have this little snowman who, every time I walk by, has some way-too-happy remark to make about the season in which we find ourselves. At first, it was kind of entertaining,…
-
Pastor’s Note
What if tomorrow you woke up with only the things you thanked God for today? These were the words on the tear-off page of a daily thought calendar resting on the ledge at the bottom of the stairs. Not necessarily what I had anticipated, but a very worthwhile sentiment. And then it hit me…this was…
-
Pastor’s Note
Sunday morning, September 20, 2020; a day of rejoicing…a time of reflecting. It seems that one of my most-treasured reference books had come up missing. Gone. If I had made one trip through my bookshelves, computer bags, and back seats of my cars, I had made twenty. How could I have been so careless with…
-
From the Pastor
…and just when I thought I had heard everything about our present pandemic, I read an article about the cognitive dissonance that is happening within societies during COVID-19 (The Atlantic, 7/12/2020, online). What on earth is cognitive dissonance? Here is the best way I can explain it: if you immediately decided this article is not…
-
Pastor’s Note
Last month, I wrote about how the words wait and hope are tied together in the ancient Hebrew language; and about asking ourselves, in what – or in Whom – our hoping and waiting is placed? Well, June will mark the re-start of in-person worship at St. Andrew’s. For many, the waiting and hoping will…
-
Pastor’s Note
When was the last time you emptied your trash? We take out the garbage, delete an email, discard an old document, but how often do we empty the trash? Taking the garbage out of the house is good, but until the trash truck comes (or we take it to the burn pile or dump) that…
-
Pastor’s Note
Space…the final frontier…climb aboard the Starship Enterprise where every episode is an adventure to new planets, new life forms, new alliances, new struggles, new victories, new insights…new…new… It may just be me, but how is it that something “new” is associated with that which is “final”? Would it not make more sense if “final” was…