I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp–
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my [...]

I want you to think of a mistake you most recently made. A sin. A time your messed up. I now invite you to stop readind this for a moment, and say a prayer asking God for forgiveness and the strength to turn from that sin and run towards Him (repentence).
Did you [...]

A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a mousetrap! Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning, “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse [...]

Do you know why God chose you out of all the billions of people on this planet? God did not choose you to make you famous. God did not choose you to make you rich. God did not choose you to make all your problems go away. God choose you to make you more like [...]

“Is God still talking to us today?” was the question I got the other day. I shared that there is no doubt that He is still talking to us, but perhaps the better question would be, “Are we listening”
I remember hearing a story once (and forgive me for not being able to cite it) [...]

Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe. ~Saint Augustine
A few years ago, leaders in the United Methodist Church looked at Clayton and saw a vibrant, new congregation that existed not for itself, but to usher in His kingdom. A place [...]

Dear church,
Just a friendly reminder. Please pray for us. When I say us, I really mean us, it’s very inclusive.
I don’t know when you pray. Maybe it’s first thing in the morning as part of a daily devotional. Maybe it’s in the shower, or while brushing your teeth, maybe it’s the last thing you do [...]

I once heard that 75 years ago, 95% of church offerings were received in cash and only 5% of the offerings were received by check. Today, we are going through another financial transition as more and more people handle their finances electronically. Some estimates indicate the 60% of people on the U.S. (and [...]

ONCE THERE WERE two brothers who inherited their father’s land. The brothers divided the land in half and each one farmed his own section. Over time, the older brother married and had six children, while the younger brother never married.
One night, the younger brother lay awake. “It’s not fair that each of us has half [...]

I have a friend who is also a pastor and he was telling me how little he made at his first appointment to a church. Struggling to make ends meet, my friend was livid when he confronted his wife with the receipt for a $250 dress she had bought. “How could you do [...]