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….
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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,…
On the heels of our District Assembly, I will be spending the summer and fall unpacking the report I gave. If you’re like me, even if you enjoyed the report, it has already slipped from your memory! As a reminder, I landed on four areas of emphasis I’d like us to practice if we hope…
Does the resurrection still matter two weeks after Easter? You bet. Read on. I heard an illustration in a sermon once that went like this: A large bald eagle spotted an otter struggling to cross an ice-clogged river. The eagle, sensing an easy meal, plunged downward and sank his talons into the struggling creature. What…
Brutus came to visit last week. Brutus is the Shepherd mix pup that belongs to Kassi, our son’s girlfriend. For the first 15 minutes of his visit, he scoured the house, nose to the floor, ears perked up, exploring room to room. Cats have a reputation for curiosity, but Brutus couldn’t relax until he’d checked…
I’ve been on a few plane rides lately. Depending on the size of the plane, I often try to get the emergency exit row seats. I’m a little tall for the ever-shrinking standard issue airplane seat. Inevitably, the flight attendant walks through the emergency row procedure with each of the folks seated there. If you’ve…
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