Ode 17

In My Neighborhood the Wind Must Be a Democrat

Yep. The wind must be voting down the Democratic Party lines where I live. Seems that the past few days it has been selectively blowing over the Republican candidates signage. That is just wrong. Weather (!) or not the elements agree with the candidates they shouldn't gang up on one side of the political fence. Those people spent their money on those signs and they should be allowed their right to display them be they Dem or GOP. By the way, I've been stopping along the roadside and putting them back up. Next thing you know fire and earthquakes will be getting involved.

Join Me In Prayer on Election Day

On this coming Tuesday we will have one of the most important elections our country has faced in a long while. A lot of our freedoms are at stake as we seemingly are drifting towards more government control of our lives. I will be opening the church for prayer at 6 AM and it will stay open, manned by some great volunteers, until 7 PM. Come by and make our collective voices heard to the Father above. If you cannot attend for a moment or for a while, take time to lift up your singular voice to God sometime during the day.
Place: Sugarloaf UMC, 1795 Old Peachtree Road, Duluth, GA, 30097
Time: 6 AM through 7 PM
We'll have some good coffee brewing for you early birds!

Serving Those Under You on the Org Chart

This came to me from Lead Like Jesus, one of my daily devotions. I often find my patience tested when bringing people along with paradigm shifting ideas. Patience and prayer is required for me. In fact, yesterday in my prayer time I talked to the Lord about something like this. Read, and have a profitable day!

A servant-hearted leader remains patient and reassuring...

Tears of Joy

Please watch this video when you get the opportunity. I found it on Tim Stevens blog. I really did find myself crying tears of incredible joy. Can you imagine the celebration in heaven?
Tim wrote:
Is it possible for a pastor to baptize someone who is physically several hundred miles away? Evidently one pastor thinks so. Rusty Hutson, the pastor of Cornerstone Methodist Church in Auburn, AL, was in Granger, IN for the Innovate Conference. He believed it was important to baptize Cindy Wall via the internet so she would have to wait until they returned to town. Five days later, Cindy died suddenly of an aortic aneurysm. I am guessing Rusty and his team are grateful they listened to God, stepped out in an innovative faith (after all, they are United Methodists!), and conducted this baptism. I love their creativity and sensitivity to do the right thing. Watch the baptism here...

"Skype" Baptism- Cindy Wall

What a Day

I'm sitting in my room in beautiful Vonore, Tennessee. Wow! I never thought I would be here again but I am taking another class at Hiwassee College that I needed to complete the Course of Study by next summer. This class is taught by a very nice young pastor that is teaching his first class. He is doing a fine job...

Hiwassee College and Other Complaints (I Must Be Really Tired)

I'm off to Hiwassee College up near Knoxville, TN, where I will be taking an evangelism class. I am in a process called the Course of Study with the Methodist church. I do learn some great stuff and also have some WOW! balanced with some really crazy, and outrageous stuff from some of the professors. I have wondered at times if some of these dudes are actually believers in Christ. That is one reason why I so enjoyed my theology class with Medi Volpe. You could see on her face that she loved Jesus and just wanted to make God happy. Very cool. Thanks Medi.
I'm also going to miss dancing with

The Catholic Voice in the Election

Catholic Vote 2008

Arrogant Leadership

I'm in the middle of a paper for a class I am taking beginning Friday up near Knoxville, TN. (I need to find an orange shirt for my own safety. That are some serious Tennessee Vols fans the nearer you get to Knoxville!) So I am thinking of my undone work more than I am about blogging right now. This morning a great devotion came to me via email and I'll share it with you. It is from 'Lead Like Jesus' and deals with the title of this blog. Enjoy.

An EGO-driven leader can create disillusionment and cynicism...

If Everyone....

This morning I got up early to unlock the church for our first Tuesday morning prayer time (starts at 6 if you are interested). What a blessing it has been to see people come a go after spending time in prayer in our sanctuary. What a difference it makes when people pray. Some came and stayed for a long time while others came in, prayed a bit, grabbed a cup of coffee, and hit the road headed for work. I look forward to the coming weeks as we gather to pray.
When I checked my emails I found what I think is a related topic. It came to me from a website called Simple Truths. It asks the question, "What if we all did a good thing at the same time." My version of that question this morning would be, "What would God do through us if we all gathered at the same time to pray?" Think about it and enjoy the good but brief following read.

It all started with a piece of trash...

Matthew Emerzian, a successful music industry executive in Los Angeles, was walking back to his office with a co-worker one afternoon in 2004 when he stopped to pick up a plastic fountain drink cover from the sidewalk and put it in a nearby garbage bin.

“My co-worker quickly asked me what I was doing,” Emerzian recalled. “I explained what I thought to be the obvious,

Modern Theology Taught the Right Way

Medi Volpe has performed admirably as our instructor in the Contemporary Theology class. Today we enjoy our final Saturday in this room. There is no big sigh of relief however, as I start an evangelism class next Saturday. Ugh!