I have been in Youth Ministry for over fifteen years and one thing I have learned is that attitude is everything!  If you take a group of teenagers to an event or activity, your attitude matters.  If you complain about everything that happens in the event, they hear what you say and it happens to [...]

  November 15, 2012 Dear New York Annual Conference Family: Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Last week, I visited Staten Island to share with the survivors and relief workers responding to Hurricane Sandy. Friends, the view on the ground revealed a level of devastation that has created a [...]

I have been in Phoenix, Arizona this week presenting on Vital Congregations at the Religious Researchers Association of scholars and researchers in the field.  This conference is jointly associated with the Society of Social Scientists of Religion.  Since this is only the 2nd Academic Conference I have ever participated in, it has been a fascinating [...]

Dear New York Annual Conference Family: In the midst of the devastation of Hurricane Sandy we can report that God is still good. There are no reports of personal injury or serious damage to any NYAC church facilities. The initial assessment indicates churches are experiencing scattered loss of power, inconsistent cell phone and Internet access [...]

          Matthew 13:1-9 Today, the pastor at the congregation I worshiped at brought new meaning to “odds and probabilities,” for me.  He was expounding on the Matthew 13 scripture about the farmer and the seeds.  He said, “If you think about it, the odds aren’t really great for the farmer.”  Here [...]

What is competent leadership in a diverse, changing world? 1. Self-awareness—deep understanding of one’s cultural values, strengths and weakness, and the privilege and power that come with one’s roles and cultural background 2. Appreciation of differences as opportunities, rather than as problems 3. Commitment to pluralistic understanding of issues while being able to make faithful [...]

  A VISION OF HOPE: Reflecting the Kingdom of God I just spent a couple days with the clergy leaders of the New York Annual Conference at their TRI-DISTRICT gathering.  There were a couple things that I really want to highlight that are hope-filled and visionary!  First of all, it’s important to acknowledge that New [...]

  Lessons from the Kresge Kids By Sharon Yancey Isaiah 25:6 And the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain. They started praying weeks before the van left to pick up children who had been invited to Anna Kresge UMC in Cedartown. They weren’t sure who would be [...]

Glory Sighting:On being seen and not heard One Sunday last month, the Rev. Scott Knowlton set up to preach his 8:30 worship service at Mason United Methodist Church near Huntington, W.Va. “I was going to talk about Jacob and Esau,” said Knowlton. Then he noticed that a deaf young man, Eric Hayes, was sitting in [...]

Getting to Know the Neighbors                   Here’s the scene about three months ago: a 25 years old pastor, single (doesn’t even own a dog), fresh out of divinity school, and commissioned a week earlier comes rolling into his new town of 800 people following a moving van hauling what little he owns. That guy was [...]