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Some Baking Aspirations in 2025

Looking ahead to 2025, I look back to the summer worship series we did on some short stories Jesus told. I enjoy learning new things about familiar stories of Jesus. In particular, I like the parable of the yeast or leaven in Matthew 13:33-35.

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine writes, “leaven in antiquity is what we today call sourdough starter…it is essential for baking…the starter serves as the leavening agent when it is subsequently mixed in with more dough” (short stories by Jesus, 108, 111).

Yeast expands what it is added to. Leavened bread or congregations are the expanded product of the process, not the sum of their ingredients. There is a multiplying and transforming effect with the addition of yeast or sourdough starter.

And then there is this description of the sourdough starter. “Wild yeast and bacteria occur naturally in flour and also in the air we breathe. By creating a sourdough starter you are essentially cultivating a concentrated source of wild yeast and bacteria which you can then use to make bread and other baked goods” (https://pineapplefarmhouse.com/how-does-sourdough-starter-work/).

While I have more baking aspirations than actual baked goods to show, I like the spiritual insights here.

In the Kingdom of Heaven, God cultivates concentrated sources of grace for us to grow in faith.

These are some of my concentrated sources of grace:

  • Study — Loving God with my mind, and looking into ideas, messages, or opportunities with curious and critical perspectives.
  • Prayer — I experience this as a spiritual gift and as safe & honest time with God.
  • Grief — This has been a positive element in my life and ministry. I affirm Susan Piver’s observation in “The Importance of Sadness” that “Despair is what happens when you fight sadness. Compassion is what happens when you don’t.”

Another fascinating insight for me is the amount of flour. Again Dr. Levine writes, “Three measures, in first century terms, is not synonymous with three cups. Three measures of flour is somewhere between forty and sixty pounds (see the New International Version). The dough would be far too much for one woman to knead on her own, and the yield would be far too much for one person to consume” (short stories by Jesus, 121).

The Kingdom of Heaven is social and communal, more than any one individual experience or life. It involves all of us.

What are your concentrated sources of grace? What has slowly grown and gradually transformed your life and faith? Are you adding these concentrated sources to your spiritual and social lives? What has transformed our congregation?

Let’s be ready to join those larger-than-any-one-of-us baking efforts that God has already started as we give thanks for the slow and powerful and nourishing presence of the Kingdom of Heaven as 2025 begins. Amen.

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Renewing Our Built-In Features

Along one branch of my family tree I am a 3rd generation US-born citizen. My great grandparents on my Mom’s side emigrated from Prussia to Wisconsin. Green Lake, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, and Ripon were among the Wisconsin places I remember hearing about growing up. I am writing this article at the end of my spiritual renewal leave, an annual leave available to pastors.

This year we were in Wisconsin Dells at a resort we have visited in the past. Beverly and I, and our youngest daughter and her husband had the weekend together and I stayed the rest of the week. On Saturday, we toured Taliesin (“shining brow” in Welsh), the home and estate of Frank Lloyd Wright near Spring Green, Wisconsin. I bought the book, Frank Lloyd Wright and His Manner of Thought by Jerome Klinkowitz, and Wright became an unexpected companion with me on this year’s leave.

One of the most powerful stories is about his designing The Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and how it survived two earthquakes. Louis Sullivan, one of Wright’s earliest employers in Chicago, commented on his work, “This man…began his solution with the fixed fact of earthquakes as a basis and made an emotional study of their nature and movements.” Sullivan continued “The second move was…to devise a system of construction such as should absorb and dispose of the powerful shocks, waves and violent tremors, and yet maintain its integrity as a fabricated structure.”

Klinkowitz summarizes, “The Imperial survives not because it is stronger than an earthquake but because the earthquake’s nature is built into its design.”

I am returning in time for Election Day, Tuesday, November 5.  Earthquakes, shocks, waves, and violent tremors are apt descriptions of the political campaigning we have endured these last several months. The vile, racist, and menacing rhetoric about immigrants that has incited threats and violence against immigrant communities is one example of the tremors that are designed to divide us and reverberate throughout our shared political life. These threats and effects seem to be built into the design of our political system and clearly harm the integrity of our community relationships.

But you know what else is built into our design? Being created in the image of God. We have clear and intimate access to God’s love and justice in Jesus Christ.

You know what else we can claim? The divine energy affirmed in our baptism vows to “renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world” and “resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”

We are this very human-divine creation full of grace and sin; blessed and burdened with loving God, our neighbors, and ourselves. We are preparing to celebrate Christ’s birth again this year. An affirmation of faith that God joins this human-divine life with us in person to show us the ways that make for peace. And his mother Mary reminds us of the tremors that come to those who seek to consolidate power and control the lives of citizens and neighbors:

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:52-53).

I don’t know what the coming months will hold for us as a nation, community, or Church. But I know that renewing the built-in features of our humanity that God provides will give us the strength we need to keep building a loving community for people to experience God’s redeeming love.

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I thank God again for educators this year.

Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
(Psalm 86:11)

You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
(Psalm 16:11)

It is now as a grandfather that I connect with the rhythm of a new school year. This year the youngest child of our oldest daughter and son-in-law goes to Kindergarten or as she refers to it “five-year old school.” We are not in on the decisions about outfits, lunches, and homework for the next day but I am still drawn to the importance of the season.

I am reminded of the collective effort that makes a school system successful and I thank God again for educators this year. 

The picture about the best teachers inspires me. I feel that is how Jesus used parables in his teaching. And the teacher–student relationship is described by Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese sage and philosopher, who is credited with the proverb: “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.”

This is the life we share as disciples of Jesus Christ. If I am curious and eager to learn, it also reflects my belief that there are valuable teachers to find. Having a teachable spirit allows us to respond with more wisdom and compassion and insight in current situations. Especially situations of conflict and disturbance.

Rev. Gil Rendle, congregational consultant and author, identifies an important contrast to discern as we walk together on the path of life. If technical work is the application of solutions to problems, then adaptive work is needed when one is faced with a situation that is not a problem but is instead a changed environment…If technical work leads directly to action, then adaptive work requires learning (Rendle, Quietly Courageous, 28).

I struggle with learning to live in a harshly divisive environment that is intentionally provoked by misinformation and disinformation. And I strive to remember the desire of the Psalmist to be given an undivided heart that is filled with wonder at the greatness of God and the fullness of joy that God provides. I am drawn to Jesus and other educators who show us where to look and allow us to see what is needed in our time of ministry.

Who is appearing in your life these days and what are you learning about how to live well? May God bless us in our life-long learning.

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Some Early Fun Work with AI and Preaching

Since March I have been using two AI resources for my preaching: https://pulpitai.com/ and riverside.fm. I don’t use them to create content but rather to curate and process my sermons for further communication.

With PulpitAI I upload the audio and it produces an array of resources including:

I can copy and edit all of the generated content. This has been so helpful in creating Tuesday emails to the congregation with reflections from Sunday’s sermon and Facebook quotes.

I have a paid subscription to PulpitAI. An additional treat was that the creator of the application wanted to meet with new subscribers one-on-one. So, in early March I met with Michael Whittle for 30 minutes to talk about how I want to use the app and their development plans.

I am using the free version of Riverside.fm for now. I upload the video and it processes it in a number of ways. The most helpful is the generation of five video clips that I can edit. They are approximately one minute which makes them ideal for Facebook Reels. I sometimes use from one to three videos throughout the week on our Church Facebook page.

I continue to watch and learn about the liabilities and concerns of AI. I have had a good early experience with these two resources and plan to keep using them. I would enjoy talking with others about these resources and learn how they are using AI in their ministry or line of work.

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The years it takes to make disciples

I recall Walter Wangerin, Jr., pastor and author, telling the story of an invitation for a home visit he received early in his ministry from an elderly woman. He said it felt more like a summons to appear. She formally received him in her home and they had tea. When he inquired about her interest in having him visit, she said that she knew his father and wanted to see how his son had turned out.

I appreciate serving a relatively older congregation in my early 60s and seeing what we look like or how we have turned out through years of discipleship.

The mission of The United Methodist Church follows the Great Commission from Jesus to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Relationships usually do not mature in a moment, but are nurtured and grown through the years. At this point in my life I am grateful for disciple-making that happens over time.

I am interested in this aspect of ministry now because of the contentious and divisive atmosphere of the larger church and our political climate in these most recent years. The corrosive and combative nature of our rhetoric with each other is painful. I sometimes feel exhausted and discouraged in the midst of it.

So, I got to thinking about the long-term effects of acting and speaking and thinking in certain ways. I find I am less interested in the content of theological or political arguments these days because many of them are approached in bad faith and not for the purpose of learning from each other. My greater concern is how we turn out because of the beliefs we hold and actions we take.

Theology is a major contributing factor to the kind of disciples of Jesus Christ we become through the years. What we believe about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, sin, humanity, and salvation both shape and are shaped by our worldview. That’s why we focused on the Apostle’s Creed after Easter.

So, how might we assess the quality of our discipleship? How might we figure out how we are turning out? John Wesley felt that good places to learn these qualities included the Ten Commandments and Old Testament Prophets, and the teachings of Jesus especially the Sermon on the Mount. We can add the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and Micah 6:8.

Our current worship series on “A Church that Loves Like God” reflects our commitment to growing a loving community while we gather, connect, learn and serve. We care about how people turn out because of their involvement in our congregation. As we enter our 5th year of ministry together I am grateful for your faithfulness and the ways we are turning out because we have been summoned by God to be full of love.

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Easter Maps with Intentional Empty Spaces

Look, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed… (1 Corinthians 15:51).

For the first time in the 15th and 16th centuries, mapmakers began to draw maps with intentional empty spaces. It was the first admission that they did not know what was out there, prompted by what they were learning through expeditions of discovery about what really was out there. Prior to this time, maps simply left unfamiliar areas out or filled them with imaginary monsters (Quietly Courageous: Leading the Church in a Changing World, 29).

This method of demarcating spaces by incorporating monsters also characterizes maps and accounts of distant places from the ancient world to the Enlightenment era. Old maps frequently depict hideous monsters in the unexplored regions of the known world (https://historycollection.com/where-the-wild-things-werent-a-dozen-map-monsters-from-history/).

Ancient mapmakers “may have been motivated by what art historians call horror vacui, the artist’s fear of leaving unadorned spaces on their work. Chet Van Duzer, a historian of cartography, has found dozens of maps on which cartographers appear to have filled the empty spaces on their maps with non-existent mountains, monsters, cities, and other gratuitous illustrations” (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/maps-history-horror-vacui-art-cartography-blank-spaces).

The desire to fill or remove empty spaces on our maps, in our world, and within our souls reflects our anxiety and uneasiness at not knowing everything. It also reflects our determination to solve the mysteries of our existence. We want to move from mystery to mastery of our lives. Here is how the writer of Ecclesiastes names this condition:

God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

We live with multiple unsolved mysteries in our Christian faith:

  • Trinity (“God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!”; Father/Son/Holy Ghost)
  • Sacraments (baptism and communion; sacraments are even called Mysteries in the Eastern Church)
  • Resurrection

Holy Week and Easter bring us face to face with the mysterious depths of sin, death, grace, and love. The drama of Holy Week reveals the betrayal and violence against Jesus for revealing God’s loving presence and judgment to the world.

Resurrection then is the ultimate mystery we live with and learn from. It resists final explanations which for me is a sign of hope. We cannot account for everything in the world through our human understanding alone. God joins us in this existence through Jesus Christ who has died, is risen, and will come again.

May the mystery of Holy Week and Easter bring you closer to God and bring us closer to each other as we travel together using the maps of resurrection and hope and love through Jesus Christ.

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Tough Minds & Tender Hearts in 2024

30+ years ago we offered a choir cantata in the Church we were serving. I will not forget the grieving father who sang “When the River Gets High, Sail On.” We had learned that he and his wife lost their young adult child. They preserved her room in their house and quietly held their faith as they were grieving. I was touched by his voice and willingness to sing in the presence of his grief.

Recently I found my grandparents’ church membership booklets for Sunnyside Presbyterian Church in South Bend, Indiana. I was baptized there in 1962.“When You Join the Church: A Booklet for those who are facing the question of their relationship to the Church. Issued as as a part of the Adult Program of Christian Education” states this as the third element of practicing Christ’s way of living:

The Christian way of living involves an intelligent courage, a persistent refusal to be discouraged regarding either oneself or the Christian program. The Christian religion makes much of ideals, and ideals are discouraging because they seem so far from attainment. But no worthy Christian ideal can ever be easy to attain. Bringing about Christian conditions in society is often a long process. It may take ages. All any Christian is called to do is to set the movement forward as much as (they) can.

I am inspired by the combination of intelligent courage, hope (a persistent refusal to be discouraged), and a commitment to do what we can to move forward.

Throughout my ministry I have returned to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Tough Minds and Tender Hearts sermon:

A French philosopher said, “No man is strong unless he bears within his character antitheses strongly marked.” The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites. Not ordinarily do men achieve this balance of opposites. The idealists are not usually realistic, and the realists are not usually idealistic…Jesus recognized the need for blending opposites. He knew that his disciples would face a difficult and hostile world, where they would confront the recalcitrance of political officials and the intransigence of the protectors of the old order.

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to receive the power of Jesus’ tough mind and tender heart.

We have the opportunity to bring clear minds and peaceful hearts into 2024 and face the challenges it will hold. No doubt high rivers of concern and risk await us. And so I am grateful for another year of ministry together in Greenville and thank God for the long-term gifts of intelligent courage, hope, and a commitment to move forward.

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Together with Christ at the Right Time

Pete Blinkilde shared a brief review of recent pastors in his October 8 sermon. He spoke about having the right pastor at the right time for the needs of the Church. It was a review he did genuinely and with integrity.

I responded on the pastor side of things that being a pastor does not make sense apart from a congregation. MY being a pastor does not make sense apart from Beverly, my wife. Her love and grace and ministry are amazing. Our compatible vocations (medical social worker and pastor) are also a blessing.

As a congregation you shape what kind of pastors we are as we cooperatively figure out what works best in this time and place. Together we discover what gifts we bring and what gifts are needed. Which means in one sense you also are the right congregation at the right time for me.


As we enter November with All Saints’ Day I see Pete’s phrase in an expanded way to understand that saints are the right people at the right time for God’s purposes. It is a wonderful time to remember and give thanks like we do in this worship prayer:

Everlasting God, this day revives in us memories of loved ones who are no more. What happiness we shared when they walked among us. What joy when loving and being loved, we lived our lives together.

And isn’t this a helpful and inspiring way to think about the birth of Jesus? Right person at the right time for God’s purposes for the world that God loves?

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children (Galatians 4:4-5).

With Christ God makes the time right all the time. Sometimes we show up for each other with gifts of mercy or compassion to listen to grief and pain. Sometimes we show up for each other with gifts of joy and peace to rejoice in healing or restoration or forgiveness. By faith we understand that what God does with us right here in Greenville is what God does all over the world. And we have the encouragement of the writer of Colossians to act accordingly:

Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone (Colossians 4:5-6).

May God bless us to be the right people at the right time with Christ during this All Saints – Thanksgiving – Advent – Christmas season. Praise God from whom all time and blessings flow.

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Moving Closer to God and One Another

“God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, including the depths of God…We haven’t received the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit so that we can know the things given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10,12)

Today someone may hear the Good News for the very first time. And today someone may hear the Good News for the very last time.

We are coming through trying times in our congregation and, as Pastor Jane Duffey preached earlier in August, we are “braving a new wilderness” in the Church.

I believe that when we gather for worship or fellowship or discernment about disaffiliation, what’s at stake is that we are seeking a spiritual home with feelings and memories and wondering, Can I belong here? Some of us are listening for how God’s Word is handled and presented in worship and by the preacher. Some of us may hear a call to repentance and find the room to change that God has been providing for us all along. Some of us may not even be able to say why we are here as we carry great grief and deep questions into this sanctuary.

What we discover time and again is that in this house of prayer, this Body of Christ, we imperfectly hold wisdom and passion, follow Jesus, love our neighbors, and seek God’s guidance in the Word and God’s presence in the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday, August 27, we took a straw poll after worship about whether to remain in The United Methodist Church or to disaffiliate. After The Way Forward question-and-answer document from the Leadership Board, two Town Hall meetings, a financial report from our Treasurer, and countless scattered conversations, membership inquiries, phone calls, email threads, text messages, and letters through the US mail, 94 votes were cast:

56 (60%) votes to remain United Methodist
38 (40%) votes to Disaffiliate

Per our conditions for the vote, the Disaffiliate choice needed at least 60% for the disaffiliation process to continue. So, we remain a United Methodist Church and the disaffiliation process is done.

We have learned more about the relationship of who we are and who we think we are in this process. In some ways, this is a natural and continuous discovery process. It is a type of ongoing revelation. But our journey of considering staying United Methodist or disaffiliating is filled with soul-searching grief and will continue to unfold in the coming days and weeks and months.

In his book, The Active Life, Parker Palmer writes: “There is the experience we commonly call disillusionment, when a trusted friend lets us down, an institution we had relied on fails us, a vision we had believed in turns out to be a hoax, or—worst of all—when we discover ourselves to be less than we had thought. Many of us try hard to avoid such experiences, and when we are in the midst of them we go through a kind of dying…As our illusions are removed, like barriers on a road, we have a chance to take that road farther toward truth.

God’s revealing work through the Spirit will keep us going into a future filled with hope and disillusionment. So we can join the Psalmist in affirming as a Body of Christ: Make your ways known to us, Lord; teach us your paths. Lead us in your truth—teach it to us—because you are the God who saves us. We put our hope in you all day long (Psalm 25:4).

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What Do You Bring to the Open Table?

One of the strong and appealing affirmations of being United Methodist is the invitation I am privileged to give each time we celebrate Holy Communion. It is the invitation to an open table. The communion table does not belong to us – it is the Lord’s Table and the Lord’s Supper that we share. All who desire to know the forgiveness, love, mercy, and salvation that come in Christ Jesus are welcome.

It is an understanding of Holy Communion as both a confirming and a converting ordinance that leads United Methodists today to practice an open Communion. All who desire to live and lead a Christian life, regardless of age, ability, or denomination, are invited to the Lord’s table for the holy meal (The Meaning of Holy Communion in The United Methodist Church, 23).

Another part of the invitation is to speak about who we are or what we bring to the Lord’s Table. A lot may be going on for us in the celebration of Holy Communion. In the New Testament, at least six major ideas about Holy Communion are present: thanksgiving, fellowship, remembrance, sacrifice, action of the Holy Spirit, and eschatology (This Holy Mystery, 8).

So, coming to the Lord’s Table may be an experience of:

CONFIRMATION – Your walk with God is strong and time in the Word is enlightening. You come to the Table saying, “Yes.”
CONVERSION/CONFESSION – John Wesley called open communion a “converting ordinance.” You come to the Table saying, “It’s time to change.”
CONFUSION – God’s grace or personal events have called into question beliefs or perspectives you hold. You come to the Table saying, “I need help understanding.”
CONCERN – There is a burden on your heart or distress in your soul. You come to the Table saying, “I need resolution, relief, or peace.”
CURIOSITY – There is a desire to pursue knowledge, wisdom, or a deeper experience of grace. You come to the Table saying, “Show me more.”

As a means of grace, Holy Communion is a vital part of knowing God’s love no matter our condition. It gives all of us the opportunity to receive what God most wants to give us for faithful and fruitful lives in our part of God’s world.

See also An open table: How United Methodists understand communion.