Refreshing the Pastor’s Soul: In Conversation with Michael Voss’s Reviving the Congregation

Last updated on: September 15, 2014 at 12:28 pm By Bruce Epperly

Leadership is a spiritual issue, especially in congregational life. As Michael Voss notes in his Reviving the Congregation, pastoral leadership involves not only a pastor’s skills but also her or his personal well-being and spiritual life. Pastoral excellence is skill centered and we should always aim at excellence, as Voss notes. But, this excellence ultimately involves the person of the pastor. Her or his prayer life, vision, relationships, overall well-being, response to conflict, and reaction to the stress can either... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – September 14, 2014 – Pentecost 14

Last updated on: September 8, 2014 at 5:55 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – September 14, 2014 – Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost Bruce G. Epperly Exodus 14:19-31 Romans 14:1-12 Matthew 18:21-35 Today’s readings explore forgiveness, pluralism, and deliverance. Our dependence and interdependence with God and others is the framework for understanding the spiritual adventure. The Genesis reading is about God’s deliverance of the Israelites from captivity. God parts the waters to provide a way forward for the Israelites and then causes the waters to return, killing the Egyptian pursuers. No... Read more

Letting Go of Limits and Opening to Divine Possibilities: A Dialogue with Sarah Jakes

Last updated on: September 2, 2014 at 2:45 pm By Bruce Epperly

Every morning as I take my prayer walk along the beaches of Cape Cod, I repeat spiritual affirmations. These affirmations have transformed my mind and approach to the events of my life. They have also opened up new possibilities in terms of creativity and relationships. One particular affirmation I regularly use is: “I let go of limits and open to divine possibilities.” This sentiment would be endorsed by Sarah Jakes, author of the new book Colliding with Destiny (now featured... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – September 7, 2014 – Pentecost 13

Last updated on: August 31, 2014 at 6:25 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – September 7, 2014 – The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Bruce G. Epperly Exodus 12:1-14 Psalm 149 Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 18:15 This week’s scriptures raise issues of divine violence and exclusion as well as God’s protective safety. Like many important religious feasts, the celebration of Passover is shrouded in mystery and ethical ambiguity. On the one hand, God delivers the Hebrew people from oppression in Egypt. Those who follow Moses’ directions escape the plague, and soon will... Read more

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 12 – August 31, 2014

Last updated on: August 27, 2014 at 9:16 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary Exodus 3:1-15 Psalm 105:1-6. 23-26, 45a Romans 12:9-12 Matthew 16:21-28 Once upon a time, a rabbinical gathering considered the question, “Why was the bush burning but not consumed?” The rabbis posited of a variety of answers until one responded, “It was burning and not consumed so that one day, as Moses walked by, he would notice it.” The encounter of God with Moses could take up a sermon series. First, it describes divine communication: God is always... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – August 24, 2014

Last updated on: August 22, 2014 at 3:04 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – August 24, 2014- Eleventh Sunday after the Pentecost Exodus 1:8-2:10 Psalm 124 Romans 12:1-8 Matthew 16:13-20 Today’s readings invite us to ponder our unique vocations and relationship with God. Our gifts shape and are shaped by the community of Christ. In living out our gifts, we share in God’s vision of healing the world. Our gifts are meant for inclusion. God’s presence in our lives goes beyond parochialism, imperialism, and superiority to embrace God’s good earth... Read more

Faith and Failure: Reflections on J.R. Briggs new book “Fail”

Last updated on: August 20, 2014 at 4:52 pm By Bruce Epperly

Book Review: Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure, by J.R. Briggs The phrase “too big to fail” emerged during the banking crisis of 2008. Banks were bailed out, despite the fact that their own greed led to the economic collapse that threatened the livelihood of millions of Americans, depleted retirement accounts, and spiked home foreclosures. While the TARP or government bailout may have been necessary to avert a second Great Depression, those who perpetrated the crisis... Read more

Reconciliation and Grace: The Adventurous Lectionary for August 17, 2014

Last updated on: August 14, 2014 at 3:04 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflections for August 17, 2014 – The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 45:1-15 Psalm 133 Romans 11:1-2a, 29-31 Matthew 15: 21-28 Today’s readings join reconciliation and grace. They call us to a spirituality of stature that embraces those who have harmed us and persons of other faiths and ethnicities. Largeness of spirit looks for common ground and reconciliation despite past conflicts and then aims at healing in the present and future. Joseph has become a person of stature. He... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – August 10, 2014

Last updated on: August 5, 2014 at 4:35 pm By Bruce Epperly

Lectionary Reflections for August 10, 2014 Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b Romans 10:5-15 Matthew 14:22-33 This week’s readings are about God’s safekeeping of fallible, wayward, and mortal humanity. God responds to all who call upon God. God wishes to save persons in distress; in this we can have faith. Still, we must ponder the circuitous routes of salvation and wholeness and the reality that not all prayers for deliverance appear to be answered – violence takes the lives... Read more

Listening for the Still, Small Voice: Reflections on Kristen Vincent’s book “A Bead and a Prayer”

Last updated on: August 1, 2014 at 3:53 pm By Bruce Epperly

“God was not in the wind…God was not in the earthquake…God was not in the fire; and after the fire, the sound of sheer silence.” (I Kings 19:11-12) We are people, used to noise and constant communication that often fragments and distracts rather than unites and focuses. At my local Cape Cod market, I sing along with the golden oldies, often inspiring chuckles and raised eyebrows from fellow shoppers; some even join me in song. As I sip my latte... Read more

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