Category: Blogging
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Pastor Appreciation: A Lay Person’s Perspective
I have been a part of the United Methodist Church well before I was born. As I grew up with my church, I have had the pleasure of meeting many pastors as they rotated through every 4 years, or so. As a lay person, I have known for a long…
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Hey folks, this is Pastor Appreciation Month!
“Hey folks, this is Pastor Appreciation Month! How do you plan to honor your pastor in October?”
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Remember Your “Yes”
A quick scan of any social media will remind you that each day carries significance with it. I’m speaking of course about the significance of National Hamburger Day, National whatever day. Just this past week I saw tons of pictures of daughters because, it was National Daughters Day. What do…
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Thoughts on Saint Patrick by Rev. Derrek Belase
Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day. Folks will wear green to avoid being pinched. Protestants don’t revere saints, but St. Patrick seems to be a different story. Let’s explore why. We know something about St. Patrick. He lived around the second half of the fifth century in Ireland. His life in…
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An Open Letter from Lindsay McClanahan
An Open Letter from Lindsay McClanahan I have struggled to put my thoughts into words on this one issue in my life. See at the end of February the General Conference of the United Methodist Church is going to come together and vote to determine if LGBTQ people are worthy,…
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Reflection on Beer and Hymns
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to TheeHow great Thou art, how great Thou art How Great Thou Art UMH 77 On Feb. 4th we gathered at the Irish Snug and had a good old fashion hymn sing with pints mixed in. It was an uplifting and refreshing time.…
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Thank You for Year Three
This week we will not have a Beardcast so we can tend to us. So I looked at our 2018 listens on Soundcloud and Youtube and put this together. Zach and I want to thank you for listening. Our Top Three Soundcloud Listens No. 1 Beardcast for 10.18.18 Job 38:1-7,33-41…
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Hymnody and the Supposed Sin of John Piper
Article referencedà https://relevantmagazine.com/god/should-john-piper-have-changed-the-name-of-great-is-thy-faithfulness/ I read an article from Relevant magazine recently where John Piper was taken to task for adding a verse to the now classic hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” I must admit, an article that takes John Piper to task for theological stances is normally “click-baity” for me because…
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By Our Fruits.
The discussion around and about…unfortunately usually not with…LGBT inclusion has been building steam in my denomination. I have been praying about my own beliefs for a long time but there has been no question for me on where I stand. Let me tell you why. When I was a Senior…
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Sin: Part 2
Sins against God Sin is any behavior, word, thought, or feeling that moves a human, including ourselves, from human to object. This is where I started with my first Bearded Blog post. I got some pushback because I did not say anything about God. That was on purpose. Sins against…
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United Methodist Social Principles: Rights of Children
Iowa has recently become embroiled in a debate over school vouchers. I should clarify, the most recent iteration of the debate around education in Iowa has centered around Educational Savings Accounts (ESA’s) that would use tax dollars to fund students who choose private school, online learning, or homeschooling to receive…
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Political Responsibility
“The strength of a political system depends upon the full and willing participation of its citizens. The church should continually exert a strong ethical influence upon the state, supporting policies and programs deemed to be just and opposing policies and programs that are unjust.” When reviewing the Social Principles, I…
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Join Us At Renewal 2018
Matt and I head to Denver next week to be a part of the Renewal 2018 Conference at Iliff School of Theology. We are going to be recording live podcasts with presenters from the Renewal Conference, Iliff Alumni, and Current Iliff Students. We look forward to bring you a variety of conversations over the…
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Little By Little
I don’t know about you but my life seems chaotic. Work, kids, church, school, commute, activities; it seems as though I wake up each morning and run a marathon for that day, crash in my bed then start it all over the next day. I feel I am always in…
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“What is God Calling Me To Do?”
“What is God calling me to do?” If I had a nickel for every time I asked myself that question I would have that vacation home I’ve dreamed about for so long. For many years I questioned whether or not something was wrong with me because, unlike so many around…
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Make Someone Smile Every Day
Zach asked that I, as a bearded non-theologian, Google “What is God calling me to do” and react to the 15,800,000 search results. I am afraid, dear readers, Zach didn’t know what he was getting into asking me to do this. At first look, 15,800,000 search results seem overwhelming until…
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Puff Sleeve Theology -6 Tips to Discover Your Calling
Two months ago, I moved back into my old room at my dad’s house – totally living the millennial dream, folks – and I discovered that my brother had convinced my dad to subscribe to Netflix. If you knew my dad, a man who refuses to use electric or gas…
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The Kentucky Fried Chicken Incident!
We can be anywhere and witness God, even in a fast food restaurant. The question is: Are you observant enough to know it when you see it? As Christians, we often go through life, wearing crosses or making some display of our faith to the public, but if…
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I’ve Been Called Weird…
I’ve been called weird and odd in my life. They were just labels I accepted early on, because I couldn’t even explain the way I was in a manner that made sense with the rest of the world happening around me. No one could truly lay a claim to understanding…
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Facebook Prayer Time
Rev. Katie Bishop It is 8:30 pm on Thursday night and I am sitting on my living room couch. My iPad has the latest Upper Room devotional open and my laptop computer is open to a post from my Facebook feed. In the palm of my hand, my phone is…
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Thankfulness in the Ups AND Downs
As I reflect upon the last several weeks, we as people have experienced a lot of grief, fear, devastation, and tragedy. There have been earthquakes, hurricanes, shootings, political decisions, day to day struggles, loved ones have succumbed to illness, others have started treatment for cancer, and the list could go…
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It’s Time #MeToo
#MeToo is popping up all over social media in response to sexual harassment/assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein. The news cannot stop talking about the women who have come forward, his alleged behavior, the women who were paid to keep their mouths shut, and the consequences he is now facing. They…
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What to do?
James 4:17 (CEB) “It is a sin when someone knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it.” Thinking about all the stuff going on in our world. What is the right thing to do? We can say we are praying for the victims but what does that really resolve?…
Bearded Theologians 
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