May 7, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, At a time when the headlines seem to be dominated by bad news, I thought it might be nice to share some good news about the Good News. For years, the trends in church attendance and so on have been depressing. There are signs that a revival may be under way, […]
Apr 30, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, This Sunday’s Gospel shares an encounter Jesus had with his disciples after his resurrection. He first finds them fishing. They’ve fished all night long, but they caught nothing. Jesus tells them to try again, casting their net on the other side of the boat. This time, the net becomes so full […]
Apr 23, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, One of the things I love about the Gospel according to St. John is that there are a couple of places where the evangelist speaks directly to us, the reader. It’s a bit like in a play or a TV show when one of the characters speaks directly to the audience, […]
Apr 16, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, Tomorrow we begin our annual pilgrimage through the three holiest days of the year: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Eve. In these liturgies, we are drawn into the heart of our faith. The theological term for this foundation on which our whole faith is built is the Paschal Mystery —the […]
Apr 9, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, This Sunday we begin our annual journey through the solemnity, betrayal, sorrow, pain, grief, and ultimate joy of Holy Week. Our week begins with a short collect as we bless the palms this Sunday: Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with […]
Apr 2, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, I’ve recently had the opportunity to chat with leaders at a few rapidly growing churches. It’s striking that none of them are growing because of a gimmick or some fancy trick. They are simply preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and running a solid operation—good administration with healthy governance. But that’s […]
Mar 26, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, You may have seen the news. Forward Movement has received a $4 million grant from the J. C. Flowers Foundation to fund transformational discipleship resources for the Episcopal Church. The centerpiece of the four-year project will be a new video-based course to help new-ish Christians go deeper as disciples of Jesus […]
Mar 19, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, The Holy Spirit is sweeping through the church, leading us toward revitalization and a fresh desire to make disciples of all nations. I really believe that. The signs are all around. Forward Movement is growing to meet the needs of today’s church. As is always the case, God has blessed us […]
Mar 12, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, During my recent travels, I had an inspiring conversation with a rideshare driver. He had a cross hanging from the rearview mirror, so I asked him to tell me about his church. Then I asked him how he became a Christian, because we were in a country that had a low […]
Mar 5, 2025
Dear friends in Christ, Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Amidst all the chaos and difficulties of our present world, it might seem that Lent is an unwelcome guest. More sorrow! More hardship! But I think Lent is the gift we all need. As for me, I’m looking forward to a season that […]