Help Your Preacher Preach Better #3 (5 Strategies to “Getting” the Sermon)

A while ago, I began a conversation about how congregant could help their preacher preach better. You can read about those here and here. Today I’d like to turn our attention to how congregations can get the most out of a sermon. ———- A sermon, like any form of communication, can go in one ear [...]

What Happened To The 20-Minute Sermon?

I was slightly taken aback when one of our church members – a friend and supporter of mine – joked to her husband that she listens to me 40-minutes every Sunday. Trust me, no one knows better than I do when I stray over my allotted time. In fairness, my sermons are typically about 30-minutes, [...]

What’s Your Hurricane?

The good folks over at The Weather Channel get far too excited about hurricanes! You’ve seen them. Jim Cantore, standing in boots, winds gusting while reeds sway in the background. Alexandra Steele covering the action with eyes glistening. If you didn’t know better, you’d think they were giddy about some beach city on the verge [...]

Your Church Should Be More Like the Mafia

It really should. Can you think of any organization that better fosters commitment and loyalty? “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” Though the title is tongue-in-cheek, La Cosa Nostra as an organization, though criminal, creates for its members a sense of identity, belonging, purpose and deep commitment. Here’s why: [...]

Living At Peace (A September 11th Reflection on Romans 12)

There are any number of scriptures we Christians don’t take seriously, but maybe none are taken less seriously than Romans 12.18-20. Here, the apostle Paul instructs the church this way: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave [...]

My September 11th

This Saturday, September 11th, as a member of Board of Directors for the Peninsula Clergy Network, I am joining clergy from across the Peninsula Bay Area for a ‘Day of Remembrance’, honoring those who suffered and died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Our program is simple, at the Redwood City Courthouse, we are providing a [...]