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...

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 ...

 Chapter 4 begins with a whirlwind of events.  First Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness, then he returns to Nazareth only to be rejected, then it's on to Capernaum where he cast out demons and healed the sick. One of the things this chapter does is highlight the difference between a fallen world and the world that Jesus is repairing.  The temptation shows how we fall in the first place - every temptation is a deliberate misuse of power.  Turn these stones into bread.  Fall down and worship me and I will give you all authority on earth.  Throw yourself down off the temple so people will notice you.  Each temptation tried to get Jesus to be inwardly focussed. When Jesus came to Nazareth, his home town, the people there couldn't believe what he was saying.  They knew him as a little boy growing up.  They knew his mother and family.  They already knew who he was - so they thought.  Sadly, those preconceived ideas prevented them...

The main focus of Chapter 3 is John the Baptist.  We move quickly from his birth to his ministry in the wilderness.  The other day at Church someone was asking me why he spent the majority of his life in the desert / wilderness.  The best answer I have is that there was a community of people who thought the temple priesthood was so corrupt, that they moved to the desert to begin anew.  These people were called the Essenes and sought to return to the time of wandering, when Israel followed God completely for 40 years before entering the promised land.  John's parents joined this group, which was interesting since his father, Zechariah was a priest in the Temple.  Something must have happened - we're not sure exactly what, but Zechariah and Elizabeth felt that God was calling them to another way of life, so they left what they knew, with all of its security and predictability, and moved to the desert.  There John grew up, and eventually became a very lar...

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...

I have some supply work this coming Sunday, and I’m excited to be in a pulpit again. The OT text is God’s promise to Abraham - how he was to become the father of many nations - that his descendants would be more numerous than the sands on the seashore or the stars in the heavens. That’s a lot of people.  God made this promise so that Abraham’s offspring would be a blessing to the world. Because of the Jewish people we have a great deal of Scripture, and a moral consciousness that raised the world to new levels.  What strikes me about this promise is how many people are involved. God counted on Abraham having so many descendents that they couldn’t be counted. This many people created a critical mass that influenced the rest of the world.  Today in the Church we need another another critical mass. We need a critical mass of people willing to tell their faith stories. We need so many faith stories out there in the public space, to influence people in a positive, respectful w...

 It's been an exciting week.  Just yesterday I released my Free Guide To Christian Storytelling .  I was able to set up a landing page in Mail Chimp, and people are able to obtain a copy in exchange for their email address.  According to the marketing books I've been reading, an email list is the most valuable thing you own, because you can always connect with past and potential customers. At the same time, I've managed to entice five people so far.  Not bad for a few days but I do want a much larger list.  A larger list means I'm helping more people, and more people are interested in this particular ministry.   Thinking back to what I've learned over the past two months, any internet offer comes down to a Hook, a Story, and an Offer.  The hook grabs people's attention, the story engages on an emotional level, and the offer is the actual resource you're providing.  When I looked at my first landing page, I realized it was all offer, no h...

Still waiting on my new driver's license.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll take my expired passport to the Post Office to see about the PO Box.  That way I can finally get my email system up and running. Throughout this journey I've certainly learned a lot.  Between three books by Russel Brunson, several webinars, and a focussed way of looking at Social Media I've been gaining some new skills.  Just six months ago I wouldn't have known how to set up a landing page for an email list, and then develop an automatic sequence to welcome the new person into this online community.  But now I have a pretty good idea on how to do it. I was reading through another parish profile today, and saw how one of their goals was to increase communication both within the Church and the wider community.  Heck, that's exactly what I've been learning how to do since December.  I'm scarcely six weeks into this project and I've gained some new skills that I think would really benefit ...

Saturday I started some seasonal work.  Just like when I was in seminary, I took a part time job working for Jackson Hewitt doing tax preparation.  It had some mixed feelings.  On the one hand it felt good to put on a tie and go into an office again.  As much as I enjoy my various interests, I find sitting at home pretty agitating - especially when I'm not financially contributing to my family.  At the same time there's this nagging feeling that it's not what I'm supposed to be doing.  I am a minister of Word and Sacrament and haven't found a place to exercise that ministry yet. The storytelling ministry continues to march along.  I'm at the point where I'm waiting for a few moving pieces to come together.  After trying out a few different options for an email list and distributing my free resource, I settled on Mail Chimp.  It's pretty easy, user friendly, and even has a free version.  Even as I scale it's not going to cost me hundreds ...

Between snow days and half days of school I've fallen behind on my blogging and posting.  It's alright though.  My family and I dug out several snow forts in the various piles that accumulated, and I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.  Even while I was shoveling and my arms began to ache, I looked over my shoulder to see my seven year old digging away at the fresh snowbank I just made on the corner of the driveway.  He was hollowing out a side entrance, and throwing the excess snow right where I had just cleared.  I could have gotten mad at him but the scene was just too cute. Snow kind of gives me another glimpse into what God does in the world.  My favorite time is right after the snow fall, where a layer of pure white blankets everything.  It's so pretty and makes everything look so clean.  Then the plows come through, with the salt and the sand, and a layer of grime gets mixed in with everything else.  Mind you these things are ne...

Today I pulled the switch and signed up for Groove.cm.  I was looking for an affordable funnel software but this thing has so much more.  Website, eStores, Funnels, Email - it's all in there. I think I've hit the point where I'm a bit overloaded with what to do.  I've been working on my Free Guide to Christian Storytelling for several weeks now, and I feel like I have it in a format ready to release.  It's going to be a freebie, as are many other things at first.  It's strange in this world there are so many opinions and so much advice out there. While I've been working on this free guide I got an email about a Challenge Masterclass.  It was free so I signed up.  It's had some really great content, put on by Russel Brunson at Clickfunnels, and the speaker is really passionate.  He also tells me that Challenges are the only funnel you need.  "Great," I thought, "Now what should I do with all this other stuff I've been working on. The th...

“Sure,” he said from the other side of the table. “People are going to hear Scriptures that bother them.  I mean I have to hear about Sodom and Gemorrah.” This was 1999 and the man sitting across from me at brunch just came out to me.  Our small college chaplaincy leaned more to the left, and did so while maintaining orthodox beliefs.  I was pretty familiar with the other Christian groups on campus, and I knew I wouldn’t have had this conversation elsewhere. But at The Episcopal Church at Cornell I was able to make a new friend who didn’t fit the typical mold. I appreciated that because I don't fit the typical mold in my own way. As the years progressed he and I became really good friends. Our minds work in similar ways so we would often talk long into the night and forget that time was passing. We developed some code words too. I can remember getting an email about making cinnamon bread - that meant he had just had a difficult conversation and needed company. The bread w...

Today was more of a household chore kind of day. Grocery shopping, cleaning thr kitchen counters, cleaning out my car (really overdue).  BTW - do you know what happens when you leave a cough drop in a cupholder with a few Lego’s?  Well I do now. It’s pretty sticky.  When I get on social media I’m seeing all sorts of ads for free eBooks related to ministry. I see that and think, hey that’s what I want to do.  They have some pretty slick ads, and I wonder if I’ll ever get mine that nice - I’ll probably have to hire a graphic designer. But it does give me hope that people are doing it - just in a different niche than me.  I’ve got my dream all laid out - just working on the execution bit by bit. I want to: Teach individuals how to tell stories as a way of sharing good news.  Train leaders to teach these courses in their congregations.  Provide a year-long program for a Church so they can make storytelling an integral part of their culture.  Among the...

“Conor …” I heard Gurdon Brewster’s warm and raspy voice behind me as I was slipping out after Church.  My summer schedule had been pretty crazy, as my Chuch back home was begging me to play bass each weekend.  I loved to play, but it meant a 90 minute drive from Ithaca to Chittenango and I had a full class schedule at Cornell. “I’m glad you came,” Gurdon said.  I had been slowly making my journey into the Episcopal Church over that year.  In the fall semester, Gurdon agreed to be my subject for a class project.  I was to interview someone over the course of a semester and write a twenty page paper on their religious life.  Gurdon’s first response was, “Wow that’s a lot of talking.”  But we set a schedule over several weeks so as not to overwhelm either of us. During that time he told me stories from his life.  He had the dramatic ones where he worked with both Rev. Martin Luther Kings, and he had his ordinary stories like the one about his childh...

The new email popped up in my inbox.  I didn't recognize the address so I was tempted to skip past it, but then I remembered I had just signed up for a three week webinar.  I got a personal email from the priest running it, and he and I corresponded a bit.  It was nice to make that connection, and I went back and forth about asking if he would like to do some joint projects, but thought I'd let that wait for a few weeks.  The organization is called TryTank, kind of like a think tank but actually trying out the ideas in real time - seeing what comes out of it.  It's nice to see other people doing some innovative ministries. I was really hoping to add some graphics to my Brief Guide to Christian Storytelling, but the phone was ringing today and didn't get much done other than pick a few things out from Canva.  I appreciate the free version because it allows me to do this upfront work while I'm investing more time than dollars. I am continuing my traffic effor...

Today I had one of those really productive days where I sat down for several hours and wrote.  As my fingers danced over the keyboard on my laptop I remember a short note from my 10th grade English teacher - Mrs. Agnew.  She was one of the most encouraging people I ever met, and she and I clicked on so many levels.  She was the first teacher to explain what a thesis was, and gave us an assignment to write a position paper with a clear thesis.  Mine was a commentary on Beavis and Butthead and their cultural impact.  She loved it and gave me 100% on the paper.  At the end of the year she signed my yearbook, told me to have great adventures, and to write about them. So today I heeded Mrs. Agnew's advice and finished a short paper I had been working on for the past month.  Aside from this blog and the social media posts it's going to be my first public offering of my storytelling framework.  I am really excited and apprehensive at the same time. ...

"Can I have one?" "No I can only take out one a day." My friend Dale had just removed a piece of chocolate from this odd looking thing.  It was the size of a piece of paper, thick as a book, and had several little doors opened.  The remaining doors had numbers on them. "That's his Advent Calendar." Dale's mom told me.  "It counts down to Christmas and every day he opens up a new door." I stared at this marvelous thing for I don't know how long.  For a six year old, the idea of waiting for a piece of chocolate was well ... weird.  Given my caffeine intolerance we rarely had chocolate at home, so I had some practice restraining myself.  But at that moment I knew there was something special about this chocolate - I just didn't understand until years later. Another time I was spending the night at Dale's house.  When we woke up on Sunday morning he told me we needed to get ready for Church.  I don't think I had ever been befor...

Years ago I was part of a young adult book group.  Each month was something different, but usually of a spiritual nature.  One author that stuck with us was Anne Lamott.  I can clearly remember a member of our group concluding that in order to have something to say about the spiritual life you needed to have a lot of difficult experiences first.  He kind of sighed and said he didn't have much to contribute because his life to that point was pretty smooth sailing. This memory is in stark contrast to what I recently read in Stories that Stick by Kindra Hall.  In Hall's framework, the first aspect of a good story is one with an identifiable character.  In her thinking, a larger than life character is actually detrimental to a good story, because yor audience can't relate to them.  I think back to the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and how it never quite captured the magic of the original.  One of the reasons is that the characters were almost too perfec...

When I was a boy, I can remember going to the library each week at my elementary school.  One day, after my mother encouraged me, I asked the librarian where all the learning books were.  It was kind of a big question for an eight year old.  The librarian, Mrs. Rodman, took me to a huge wall with floor to ceiling bookshelves and spread her arms wide.  "Here are all the learning books." That captured my attention much more than the word "non-fiction."  I stood there amazed at this wealth of information - biographies, science, history, music - it was all there.  Since that day I've always had a love for books because of the information contained in them. So it comes as no surprise that some of my favorite Christmas gifts are books.  There's the Blood Sugar Solution , that I'm writing about on  HackMyBloodSugar , and then there's another book about storytelling.  This one is Stories That Stick by Kindra Hall.  This is one of those books th...