Anchor Images: When Words Fail

16Dec

Anchor Images: When Words Fail This month I am focusing in this blog on what I call “anchor images”–those symbols that can help us live with a core message throughout a worship series. I believe strongly in the power of symbols to help us express sometimes what […]

FAQ: Creative Worship & Burnout

09Dec

Last week’s blog was about “anchor images.” This term describes a strong metaphor, a symbol, that can anchor a worship series and give us a focal point throughout. In this week’s FAQ blog, I want to visit the question that inevitably comes up in the afternoon […]

Empty Chairs – Remembering and Ritualizing

30Sep

As a researcher and teacher of ritual studies, I am fascinated by the ways we commemorate, or mark, important passages and happenings. I just spent time teaching at a gathering with all the clergy of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church and some of […]

Birth Announcement

16Sep

I’ve birthed many things in my lifetime–no babies–but certainly every project, every class I’ve taught, every new worship series, every big conference… each new endeavor is like the process of pregnancy and birth. Well, friends, today I can say “It’s a…a… […]

Conference “Season”

09Jun

It is the end of another “conference season” for me. This year started earlier and ended earlier because of General Conference. I did fewer annual conferences simply because of the work of GC so here it is June 9 and I’m headed home tomorrow to […]

Worship Design Studio Photo Shoot & Workshop

07Feb

I am so excited to announce that the time is approaching when we will be staging the sanctuary of beautiful Skyline Community UCC to look like a “dream” Worship Design Studio for ritual artists of all kinds. This will be the new portal to the completely […]

Taking Stock in the New Year – Newsletter & An Inspirational Letter

28Dec

At a workshop I was teaching a few years ago, a participant dragged a man forward to meet me at the conclusion. I hadn’t noticed him that day. She introduced him as her pastor and told me that she had called him half-way through the day and said, “You HAVE to […]

Taking Stock in the New Year – Newsletter & An Inspirational Letter

11Dec

At a workshop I was teaching a few years ago, a participant dragged a man forward to meet me at the conclusion. I hadn’t noticed him that day. She introduced him as her pastor and told me that she had called him half-way through the day and said, “You HAVE to […]

Rejuvenation at Lake Tahoe

27Oct

I just finished leading my ninth retreat here at Lake Tahoe for worship leaders. This was the fourth Worship Design Studio Tahoe event and we had a whopping 75 people that tipped the scales to 500 total sojourners to my retreats since 2007! Teams from four denominations […]

Worship & Song!

04Mar

I just finished keynoting, teaching and leading worship at an event in Nashville that unveiled a new United Methodist songbook called “Worship & Song.” It was a glorious time of getting to be with friends, colleagues, make new friends and sing, sing, […]