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October 2025

October 08, 2025

Why Beth Felker Jones is Protestant

I am wrestling with the fact that I am wrestling with this book.

December 2020

December 28, 2020

Sanctifying the Computer

What we need, I think, is not a bifurcation between "real" and "online" life, but...

September 2020

September 02, 2020

The Summer of the Dryer Ball

There is no logical, or sacramental, or doctrinal connection between the persistent dryer ball that...

April 2020

April 01, 2020

I Want to Bless People. In Person.

It cut me like a knife with the imperfection of it all - not the...

January 2019

January 28, 2019

Even Your Dimes

I had anticipated I'd be writing a post early last week, following up on my...

September 2017

September 26, 2017

The Use of Money

How we Earn, Save, and Give our money is all meant to give life to...

June 2017

June 08, 2017

Why Are There So Few Mainline Celebrities?

The chilly relationship between mainline Protestantism and the popular marketplace has become a stable feature...

May 2017

May 11, 2017

How to form wise Christian institutional leaders in an uncertain world

Our patterns of education and formation must nurture practical wisdom, encourage unlikely friendships and seed...

May 05, 2017

Why Matt Overton started a social enterprise at his church

Social enterprises might be a risky and unusual form of ministry, but a youth pastor...

April 2017

April 22, 2017

Every dying church in America has a community garden. Here’s a different idea

Struggling congregations tend to chase after popular strategies rather than do what Jesus commanded --...

March 2017

March 15, 2017

The pastoral vocation in the age of President Trump

Donald Trump may be a different kind of leader, perhaps even a threat to our...

February 2017

February 05, 2017

Refugee ministry: Can any church do this?

Not every congregation can do ministry with refugees. But every church can show up in...

January 2017

January 10, 2017

Paul Behaving Badly: Of Paradoxes, Jerks, Infallible Scriptures, and Grace

This post is a participation in a Patheos Book Club on the book Paul Behaving Badly....

September 2016

September 28, 2016

iphones, Vision, and the Church

Both authenticity and connection are essential elements of a vital faith community, and should be...

September 13, 2016

The wind, the fire, and the balloons: How Jesus Saves the World from Us by Morgan Guyton

I've never met Morgan Guyton. The closest I've come is that he spent a couple...

September 12, 2016

Making Disciples of Jesus Christ: The Second Sentence

By Mike Coyner Our United Methodist mission statement has a second sentence. Most people seem...

September 10, 2016

Leading as an introvert

After years of trying to force himself to be an extrovert, a pastor discovers that...

August 2016

August 26, 2016

My 20/20 Predictions, Part 2

By Mike Coyner My last E-pistle shared my predictions for what things will be like...

August 24, 2016

My 20/20 Predictions, Part 1

By Mike Coyner Hindsight is always 20/20 they say, but I want to try my...

August 22, 2016

People want to know how their work matters

Many leaders think they don’t have the time to help others understand their work within...

August 13, 2016

Jesus did not command us to agree with one another; Jesus commanded us to love one another

By Mike Coyner Sometimes you hear something, and you just want to say "A-ha!" I...

August 04, 2016

Helping and Not Hurting

Spiritual maturity as leaders requires us to know how to help just enough not to...

July 2016

July 27, 2016

Are you working for the Pharaoh?

I love the Faith and Work Collective over at Asbury Seminary's Seedbed. Yes, I'm an...

July 26, 2016

Don’t Shrink the Church or the Gospel

By Mike Coyner Acts Chapter 20 records that Paul gathered the leaders of the church...

July 20, 2016

Wisdom from Galatians for the Anxious Us

This post is a contribution to the Patheos Book Club on God Unbound: Wisdom from...

July 07, 2016

We’re made to work

People are called to work, not just to provide for themselves, but to help the...

January 2016

January 19, 2016

From the archives: Good fruit, thorny endeavor

One of the great joys of serving The Kern Family Foundation as a regional director...

December 2015

December 02, 2015

VIDEO: How Faithful Churches Create Flourishing Communities

Here's an inspiring talk on a vision for churches and their communities delivered by Charlie...

November 2015

November 12, 2015

Are you a functional atheist?

By Mike Coyner Last week during our Learning Forum for active UM bishops, I heard...

October 2015

October 23, 2015

Chasing problems is a key to social innovation

Innovation begins with carefully listening to a community and defining the problems it’s facing. Then...