This week at Broadway, we are beginning a new Sunday School curriculum with the children. I am beyond excited for the ways the Shine On Curriculum will help our children meet God in new and imaginative ways. As I prepared to lead our Sunday School teachers through the first week’s lesson, this prayer came to my heart, and it is…
I dreamed of being a member of the CBF Fellows Program from the day the initial cohort formed. As the first ended and the second began, I watched in awe of the way friendships developed and learning led to confidence, joy, and clarity in calling. I desperately wanted to experience such mentorship, community, and growth as I began my ministry at Broadway, but I knew it would be nearly two years before the dream would even be a possible reality.
A week ago, I stood in the third floor Sunday School room at First Baptist Decatur. I looked around the room in the faces of my new friends, and I saw a dream making its way to reality in the eyes and hearts of the 15 other “young” ministers surrounding me.
In 1999, a fresh faced, energetic 12-year-old hopped onto the back of a charter bus with her lifelong best friend, sister, and about 60 other teenagers from her neighborhood church to head to Daytona, Florida, for a week at Passport Youth Camp. After only six years of providing the “youth camping with a mission program,” Passport already had a reputation…
Throughout seminary, I heard about Peer Learning Groups and the value of connecting with fellow ministers on a regular basis. When I worked for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, I wrote articles and blogs about successful peer groups throughout the CBF community. No sooner than I accepted my position at Broadway, I e-mailed friends in town to find out if there…
I do not understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us. …
I don’t remember much about life before elementary school. Since I’ve moved back to Louisville, I’ve met a few people who apparently taught me when I was in preschool at Southern Seminary, and connected with a few friends who must have been in my class, but unfortunately I have no memory of them. If I go back into the deep…
October is Clergy Appreciation Month. Over the next four weeks, I will share the stories of ministers who impacted my life and faith journey. Today, however, I begin Clergy Appreciation Month with a look back on my first year as a full time clergy person. At this time last year, I walked into the church building each day with a…
I don’t know why I remember the Monday Night Football guys, but they lurk somewhere in the recesses of my memory, reminding me of the fearless exuberance I embodied in childhood. Every Monday night after dinner, I would walk my dog, Regis, up the hill by my house to Kennedy Park to swing. Little more than a backyard playground for…
A year ago today, I announced to all my friends that my days of searching for a church were over (at least for the extended future, anyway). After nearly a year of editing resumes, filling out questionnaires, meeting with search committees, falling in and out of love with churches, and starting back over again, I finally found the place where…
As you know, I am approaching the end of this decade of life. In an attempt not to waste this last year and 11 months of my 20s, I made a 30 before 30 bucket list. Normally, I don’t share my New Year’s Resolutions with people, but today, I’m doing something different and difficult for me: Posting my list for…
Rev. on the Edge 