Skip to main content

A New Chapter: Putting Old Tools To New Use

 I've begun a new chapter in my life.  A few months ago my family moved to Cherry Hill, NJ after living in Norfolk, VA for over sixteen years.  My wife got a great call in Philadelphia, and I'm currently looking for my next call.  In the mean time I'm keeping busy.

I decided to take my skills in Congregational Development and bring them to the online world.  I launched a Facebook page called Ministry Development, and I'm following Russell Brunson's model in Expert Secrets to reach as wide an audience as possible.

My goal for this phase is to dedicate 2024 to learning, developing, and teaching the art of storytelling as a vehicle for sharing faith.  This is remarkably different from the idea that many people have in their heads.  In some quick Facebook polls, I found that many people fear sharing their faith for one of two reasons.  The first is that they have had bad experiences with evangelists in the past - the kind where someone would get in your face and tell you to believe what they believe - or else ...  The other fear is that they just don't know enough about theology, or don't know how to share effectively.

What I'm proposing though, is that instead of those distasteful ideas of sharing, simply share stories from your own life.  There is the Good News with a capital "G" - and there is a time and place for that.  But for most people, they are in a much better position to share their own unique good news, with a small "g."  These stories are the particular moments of grace that happen to us in our every day lives.  One story from my life is from Ash Wednesday in 1998.  I tried walking past the Chapel where The Episcopal Church at Cornell was having its Ash Wednesday service.  Suddenly my legs felt like concrete and I couldn't move past it.  This was very distressing because it was lunch time and I was hungry.  But something told me I needed to be in that service.  And now here I am almost 24 years later as an ordained priest.

My goals for the Facebook Page are to share stories like this one, along with the frameworks I use to create them.  Then I would like to teach these frameworks in live settings to parishes that will have me, and possibly even develop a 12 month program to create a culture of storytelling in your congregation.  I'm excited for the possibilities that this project holds.

Again this is a new chapter in my life.  I'm grateful for all the people who are a part of it, and I look forward to those moments when our stories overlap.  But in the meantime, tell your stories.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapters 8 and 9

Weekends can be a busy thing around the holidays.  Ironically Advent invites us to slow down while the world around us is speeding up with decorating, parties, shopping, etc.  That's why a challenge like reading a chapter of Luke every day is important - it refocusses you. Chapter 8 starts out with a parable about a farmer sowing seeds.  Most of the seed ends up useless, while the seed that fell on good soil yielded a massive harvest.  When the disciples asked what the parable is about, Jesus described it in terms of the Word of God, often falling on hearts that are either unwilling or unready, and it doesn't take hold.  But for some, it lands on a heart that's willing and ready, and bears much fruit. This sets the stage for two miracles that come next - the calming of the sea and the healing of a demoniac.  Jesus and the disciples went out on a boat, and a big storm came upon them.  While everyone else was panicking, Jesus was fast asleep in the stern...

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapters 1 and 2

It's been a long time since I published here - about 10 months.  My life has taken some twists and turns.  As I went along I reflected on last year's journey, and my plan to launch Parish Development Ministries.  When I look back at everything I intended to do, I do think I had a decent road map.  But I didn't do a lot of it.  As it turns out, my heart really is in parish ministry, and I'm really glad to be back in that role. Last summer I accepted a call to St. Mary's Church in Wayne, PA.  So we moved again, and I'm settling into this new and wonderful place.  Since it is a year of new things, I decided to launch an Advent Challenge for the new year.  Things worked out nicely.  There are 24 days of Advent this year, and it's Year C, when we'll be reading the Gospel of Luke.  Since Luke has 24 chapters, it just makes sense to read one chapter a day this month, and be prepared for Christmas. Luke is an interesting Gospel.  He has one...

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapter 5

Luke was a genius when it came to structuring this Gospel.  Chapter 5 is framed on two sides by calling of disciples, with two miraculous healings in between them. The chapter starts with Jesus calling Peter, James, and John, and as part of the calling provides them with a huge catch of fish.  The payload was so big that several other boats were brought in, yet they all started to sink because they were so full.  When Peter expressed his unworthiness, Jesus simply told him to follow, and Jesus would make him fish for people. This miracle foreshadowed the role Peter would play in the early Church.  On the first day of Pentecost in Acts, Peter's preaching converts several thousand souls in one day, and tradition holds that they returned home and began their own local Churches in their communities.  But the question remains, what are all of these conversions for? The next two sections in Luke 5 gives us a clue as to the answer.  First Jesus heals a leper, and ...