Settling into a new place can take some time, and sometimes learning a new routine. Like when the recycling comes. One day I noticed the following on our recycling can.

Sometimes, we receive a “smile” in the most unlikely and unexpected places!

My Sundays are now way different than they have been for the past almost three decades. As a pastor of a specific church, I had the blessing of really getting to know the people in my church. Every Sunday I had the opportunity to worship with the same church family. People knew me by name, and I knew their name. I was very familiar with the challenges of ministry in my church setting. Over a twenty-nine year span I have served ten churches (this includes a two-point charge, and a three-point charge) in three different states (Texas, Alaska, and Arizona). In most of my churches Sundays included leading worship services—and preaching—in multiple services. I don’t know the specific number of sermons that I have preached, but the number is in the thousands.

“We heard testimonies of broken people who are already feeding hundreds in their communities. At times, it was honest and raw. At times it was healing and almost hopeful,” said Florida area Bishop Kenneth H. Carter Jr., who toured the state after Hurricane Irma.

We made the decision to move out of our Sahara office for several reasons – the most important one being that we wanted to expand our network and team, moving out and beyond our walls and usual patterns of travel.  As a Superintendent, I have begun to practice what the United Methodist Book of Discipline calls the DS into being – a Missional Strategist (Par 419.1).

What a difficult time it is right now. Fires are absolutely devastating parts of our country. Hurricanes do what they do to add to the destruction. I think about how many lives have been absolutely torn apart by the disasters and I know it is more than I want to think about or imagine. These major traumas capture our attention. In many ways, I am grateful for the stories of human compassion that have shared through it all. At a time when it seems that our nation, our world is growing in selfishness and anger, my soul needs to know that kindness and compassion is still a part of us.