It took about 3 months to finish this one phone call. When I was done, I had written a book called The Rector and the Vestry. It is available on Amazon.
In November of 2019, I was speaking with a friend and colleague in ministry. He is the Rector of a small but growing […]
Can you walk on water? Well, now you can!
A few years ago I read about the “Jesus Shoe,” which sells for over $3,000! These shoes were regular Nike brand shoes (Air Max 97’s) whose soles had been injected with certified ‘blessed-by-a-priest’ water from the Jordan River! […]
Nearly 400 years ago, the people of a small German hamlet were worried that the Black Death, the Bubonic Plague, would wipe out their village as it had much of Western Europe. Bavaria is a pastoral area just north of the Swiss Alps. It is famously beautiful and serene. But the leadership of the small town of Oberammergau were […]
The Bible is filled with passages that declare the wonder and majesty of our God. He is extraordinary in every way. Isaiah described a scene so holy that it left him nearly speechless! (Isaiah 6) God’s ways can be supernatural, and the way He works and moves in our lives can be spectacular and miraculous.
But not ordinarily.
Mother’s Day sermons, at least in certain circles, can be a bit controversial. After all, Mother’s Day is not a liturgical holiday, an official part of the Church calendar.
So, should you preach Mother’s Day sermons? In a word, yes. This year (2021), let me say it even more strongly, “You’d better!”
Recently, a Lutheran pastor asked me a simple question. He was thinking of affiliating with either the Anglican Communion or the Roman Catholic Church. He wanted to know how we (Anglicans) understand Apostolic Succession. I am assuming he wanted to be in a church that had an unbroken line of succession to the first Apostles, namely to Peter and finally, […]
When the story of Jesus’s crucifixion is told in the Gospel, Jesus is said to have spoken these words in Aramaic: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” (“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”)
Perhaps because these words are the most famous of Psalm 22, their […]
There is a rather common saying that the Book of Common Prayer is composed of 85% bible passages. It is true. As J.I. Packer once said, “The Book of Common Prayer” is the Bible arranged for worship. I like that.
(To learn more about the Book of Common Prayer, read our Rookie Anglican […]
In college, I was a medical technology major for about a semester. During the school year, I found a low-paying job at the local hospital to work in the lab as a helper. One morning, I met a pathologist who invited me to come to help with an autopsy. So I did.
That was my […]
When Jesus was crucified on His Cross, the last words He spoke before he died are extraordinary examples of what was in His heart. Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” This is one of the most passionate and intense moments in the entire Scripture—the Son of God crying out the opening […]
Psalm 22 is a pilgrimage from the depths of pain and suffering to the final proclamation of victory. Jesus knew the entire psalm by heart and understood the psalm as a prophetic depiction of his own death but also a prophetic declaration of hope and victory at the end. The Psalm on the Cross is a […]
These were the dying words of Jesus as he hung on the cross on Mount Calvary. But what did He mean by them?
These words are read as part of the “Seven Last Words of Jesus from The Cross”. And they raise […]
It is that time of year when new Vestry members are elected, selected, and then seated as their congregation’s leadership board. Usually, there is an outgoing class of three or four making up one-third of the total Vestry. And of course, after the election or selection process in a parish, there is an incoming class of three or four.
That is […]
I have a unique position in the church today. I used to be a Rector of a large church in North Dallas. (Christ Church in Plano, TX). But I am no longer a Rector. Instead, I have the good fortune to hang out, teach, coach, and encourage a lot of Rectors. During this challenging year, most of this has been […]
Even if your shopping is complete and the gifts are wrapped, the pastor knows that there is one more thing to do before Christmas morning. Hold Christmas Eve Services.
Whether you are preaching, celebrating the Eucharist, leading the prayers, singing the carols, handing out bulletins, or greeting people at the door, it is a big moment in the annual life cycle […]
Christmas Eve is rough on preachers; at least for this one.
The atmosphere for a truly great sermon is all there: scenery, families, music, lighting, Scripture, attendance, joy, and a holy hope in every heart and on every face. But my Christmas Eve sermons (33 and counting) are never equal to this setting. They always seem weak […]
What does it mean to have a ‘personal relationship’ with Jesus Christ? One thing it does not mean is ‘customized’. In this excerpt from When the Lord is My Shepherd: Finding Hope in a Hard Time, we go deeper into the pastoral connections that we are promised.
Believing that the Lord is a shepherd is a pastoral […]
The following is an excerpt from When the Lord is My Shepherd: Finding Hope in a Hard Time by David Roseberry.
Without any apology or explanation, David says that the Lord is a Shepherd to him. And not just like—God is a Shepherd. David, above anyone else, would know what a shepherd does. David was a shepherd himself. […]
The following post is an excerpt (chapter 3) of When the Lord is My Shepherd: Finding Hope in a Hard Time.
I am happy to share one of the 23 daily readings on the 23rd Psalm that I wrote in the early days of the Pandemic. We were all locked down with plenty of time on our hands. […]
The Evergreen Project is an initiative of the Anglican Church in North America to help pastors and congregations grow in generosity and stewardship ministry. The main work of the Evergreen Project is collecting, creating, and curating the best resources for a thriving church.
Early in January of 2020, I began writing a series of devotional readings for an annual program for the Anglican Church in North America. I had a great theme and a catchy working title, but this book is not that.
Why?
Because two weeks after I started outlining the work, I ran into a wall.
COVID-19. The Coronavirus. The Pandemic.
It changed everything. Oh, […]
If your church is just riding out the pandemic, hoping that you can get back to normal, you are missing the opportunity of the century to reimagine the ministry of your congregation for the century ahead.
The main activity of every congregation has been upended. Sunday worship, which has been the core of church life for 2000 in most places, is […]
I was glad to have our friend Ed Stetzer join us and provide some insight and clarity for the decision that many people in the church (Rectors, Bishops, and members of the Vestry) are going to have to make. The video replay is here (on The Evergreen Project Youtube Channel). It should be watched and replayed for all Vestry […]
