NEWSLETTER.

Yesterday Jill and I had the chance to visit a unique ministry site in Carrol, Ohio. A ministry led by Pastor Kevin Seymour called, Three Strands, meets at this location. The setting is kind of a biker hangout and fight club all together. Most of the interior is painted black, but a closer look reveals signs of the gospel everywhere. The walls have some murals that depict salvation and the battle of good versus evil. There are cold water therapy tanks that double as baptismals when a biker or fighter comes to Christ. The boxing ring has “Jesus Saves” on…

On January 7th, I wrote the following: “…Today we celebrate God’s revelation to us. The Gentile kings knew it, God the Father announced it, and Jesus gave his closest friends a glimpse of it. May the glory of Jesus shine on our minds and hearts today.” The next morning I awoke to the reminder that 68 years ago, missionary to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, was speared to death by the very people he came to win. Elliot and five other missionaries had a covenant to do no harm to those among whom they ministered. When the Auca warriors lifted their spears, the men…

We are quickly approaching the Day of Epiphany on January 6th, a day when the church has historically remembered the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Many cultures have celebrations on the Day of Epiphany, or as it is often called, Three Kings Day.  One of the traditions is to share a Three Kings Cake, baked to resemble a crown, with various fruits and candies representing the jewels of a crown.  Often, baked inside the cake is a baby Jesus figurine.  The person who finds the figurine in their piece of cake is…

Is there anything that makes us more tense than the holiday season? Think of the tensions of this season; financial tension, relationship tension, job tension, family tension, calendar tension… it feels like one more thing and you’re just going to fly apart. In fact, there’s even a tension that exists between the understanding of Christmas and the understanding of Advent. One isn’t really a synonym for the other.  Everywhere around us it’s already Christmas, so why am I trying to talk to you about Advent? In our world, Christmas begins when the big box stores tell us, usually around October….

Sam Barber My perspective of the church has expanded in the past eighteen months as a superintendent. Our district is represented by a diverse demographic of folks from nearly every walk of life. SCO represents, I think, a snapshot of the Kingdom in all its differing beauty. I’m seriously considering a little emphasis called, “D.S. for a Day,” where I invite a different pastor to join me on a Sunday in a church very different from the one they pastor. My reasoning for this is that my view of God and God’s work has expanded greatly as I’ve witnessed the…

Back in the old days, you know, when I was the pastor of a church, I wanted to give my congregation a little lesson in Advent theology. I had our props person make me a five foot tall “1” and a matching “2.” I had them placed on the stage before church started and more than one person had questions. I ignored them. Our praise team even worked around the numbers during the singing portion of worship. When the message time arrived, you could see the anticipation on the faces of the crowd as they wondered, “Why is there a…

Everywhere we look right now we are invited to consider gratitude. I see pastors preaching good sermons on it, social media posts chiding me to embrace it, and stores urging me to buy something to express it. Gratitude is a good thing even though we sometimes get “marketed” during seasons like Thanksgiving. I try to be grateful. I do my best to send an actual thank you card when someone does something special for me. I try to say thank you when I order at a drive through or talk to customer service. I hope you do these things as…

“Are you less busy at the moment? I have a request for you to manage confidentially…” Did you get this message from me last Sunday afternoon? Some of you did. Thanks for reaching out and checking before making the mistake of getting involved. It was a scam! This has happened before, but this particular scammer did some homework, I think. The email address had several components that seemed legitimate, the cause seemed like something a pastor might deem important, and the distribution list was to people that I contact all the time. At least three shreds of truth but the underlying…

I was reflecting on the “Journey of Grace” NDI event we held last Saturday. Dr. Scott Rainey, our global NDI President, ministered to us powerfully. The story of how his family came to faith in Christ gives us hope for seeing those who are far from God come to know him. If you couldn’t be with us, I’ll summarize by saying that Dr. Rainey’s parents were as far from God as anyone you know, but a local congregation—more specifically a couple of dedicated servants of God in that congregation, built a relationship with his parents and they came to faith….

He blinked his bleary eyes open trying to determine if the sound that woke him was real or only a dream. He pulled the blanket up around his shoulders and crept toward the entryway. Peering out into the dim light of dawn, his worst fears materialized—they were surrounded. Tiptoeing back, he shook his companion awake, his panicked whisper describing the horses, chariots, soldiers, and swords he saw outlined against the horizon. His fears were met with words of comfort and a prayer as his mentor prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, that he may see.” Almost like magic, the servant could…