“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.”   Mahatma Gandhi Dear Friends, I’m thinking, this week, about prayer and its importance in our lives.  We often speak about prayer as if it’s a “given” in our lives and yet, prayer is, by no means, that.  For many,...

I owe everything to the gift of Pentecost. For fifty days the facts of the Gospel were complete, but no conversions were recorded. Pentecost registered three thousand souls. It is by fire that a holy passion is kindled in the soul whereby we live the life of God. The...

“Only transformed people transform people.” Richard Rohr   Dear Friends, Over the past couple of weeks, I have been addressing the question concerning the purpose of the church in my Sunday morning messages.  I have suggested that our purpose can be best be...

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, wo that you may...

Dear Friends, After taking some time away to see some beautiful sights(Lake Tahoe and Ashland, Oregon), I am looking forward to my “return engagement” with you in our Sunday morning worship this week.  I will be concluding my sermon series on the radical teachings...

"At the end it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It's about what you've given back." Denzel Washington Dear Friends, How do you measure success?  This, of course, is a...

Dear Friends, As we are all aware, there is a lot of talk these days about whether we are a Christian nation.  We have listened tothe debate as it rages back and forth—from those who suggest that our nation’s founders uniformly intended for...

Dear Friends, There is a word that we don’t hear much about anymore in many church circles.  It is a word that used to be quitepopular.  In fact, committees were formed and conferences held to ensure that this word would remain a key word in...

Dear Friends, It’s not the way I was hoping that we would begin our newyear.  I was hoping for the lingering warmth of “season’s greetings” and the untainted hope of a fresh start as we try to figure out how we can best live together in peace and...