Our Pastors’ Writings

  There’s a psalm in the Bible which states, “How good and pleasant it is when families live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1). I think we would all agree that where a group of people is united, they’re likely to experience a lot less friction than they would being divided. The problem is that it’s easy to have a wrong idea about what it means to be united. And this wrong notion can lead to a misunderstanding of what we…

  April Tower-Chimes: The Seasons of Life We recently had to put our 13-year old cat, Lucy, to sleep after it was discovered she’d developed cancer. We’re grateful that on her last day with us she seemed to be pain-free, and even her trip to the vet was relatively stress-free. In her final moments we told her we loved her, gave thanks for the joy that she was for our family, and tearfully bid her good-bye. After a lifetime of…

  March Tower-Chimes: Keeping the Right Perspective Who among us doesn’t prefer stability over instability, predictability over unpredictability? By nature, most of of are wired to want things to be stable. This is why the precarious state of The United Methodist Church over the past few years has resulted in soaring levels of anxiety within the denomination. It would be difficult for any elderly life-long member of the UMC to point to a time in their life when denominational anxiety…

  February 2023: Radical Discipleship: Our Calling Radical discipleship. Is this something good? The word radical has mostly negative connotations these days. These days, “radical” has mostly political undertones, and to be labeled a “radical” is usually not a good thing. With it, we associate words such as revolutionary, extremist, insurgent, rebellious, and militant. In this sense, few of us see being a radical as a good thing. But radical has another meaning: relating to the fundamental nature of something;…

  January 2023: My Pastoral Life in Review: That Was Then, This Is Now At the end of every calendar year, it’s not uncommon to review the ups and downs and the ins and outs of the previous twelve months. TV shows will recall the year’s top stores; radio stations will review the year’s biggest hits; pop-culture magazines will highlight the celebrities died; and Spotify users will be told which songs in their library they listened to the most. All…

  Does it bother you when you see the word “Christmas” written out as “Xmas”? If so, you’re not alone. Around Christmas each year, there are some who openly decry the use of the abbreviation Xmas as a kind of blasphemy against Christianity, arguing that it “Xs Christ out of Christmas.” In response to the modern debates about the public display of manger scenes and substituting “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays,” many have become sensitive to anything that smacks of…

  Pastor’s Article – July 2022 Tower Chimes There are times when doing the right thing and doing what we have the right to do are juxtaposed with each other. When this happens, I believe the Christian has a duty, if you will, to forego their rights in order to do the right thing. For example, let’s assume, for the sake of argument, we live in an location where the main supply of water is subject to changes in seasonal…