As I begin with some final words today, I just want to remind all of you about the ministry we’ve shared in together for the past 11 years. Some think that these are things that only the pastor does, but in fact they are ministries that all of us—in some way, shape, or form—do together. Let me give you my list from our years together: 80 baptisms (and for most of these you, as a congregation, have made promises to support these families too)… 35 weddings (and many of these...
Last week, I talked about churches that reach out and are ‘other focused’ … and churches that, unfortunately, are ‘inward focused’ and truly live for themselves. The truth is, what we’re doing here was never to be about us. The Church is all about Christ and his vision and mission for us as his Body. If you remember, we were also encouraged in this direction by words from Bishop Jung (spoken at AC 2013): “We are not a church geared for survival, but a church that reaches out to a...
So … who do I belong to? That’s the question you were asked last week—still applicable today. And if I say I belong to Jesus Christ, then what does that mean? What does it mean to truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ? The most practical and powerful way to get believers headed in the direction of spiritual maturity (becoming a disciple) is to help them establish habits in their lives that promote spiritual growth. [We here at DUMC are very serious about this!] Sometimes these habits are called ‘spiritual...
I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this or not … but the world we live can be very un-Christian at times… How in the world can we live this life that Christ has called us to live … when we live in a world that is so dead-set against Christ and his ways? How in the world can we live Christian lives … in such an un-Christian context? I’m sure that Titus was asking himself the same questions, as Paul left him on the island of Crete, to lay...
Folks, as we begin today, ask yourself this question: What does the Bible mean to me? What difference does the Word of God make in my life? As was mentioned in the ‘Intro to Worship’ today, my Jewish brother from Jerusalem always says of Israel, “We are a people of God’s Word. If we’re not, we have no business being here.” We feel the same here at the Dodgeville United Methodist Church. If we are not a people of God’s Word, we have no business being here … because that...
The summer that Jane and I met, we were both on staff at Asbury Acres United Methodist Church Camp, Almond, Wisconsin. When we could, we attended church on Sunday mornings as a staff that summer. That was the summer that I learned what kind of a pastor I never wanted to be… Oh, I stayed involved in the church even that summer—as a guest. I and others from the staff would do special music and help out where we could. The pastor, however, seemed to spend most of his...