Two Chalices from Goodwill

Earlier this week, in the midst of making my downtown rounds, I wandered into Goodwill. The purpose was twofold. We’d be putting a LouieConnect kiosk in there very soon, and I wanted to see what the space they had planned for it looked like. But I also browsed, as I always do, since all the …

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Tables, not Walls

This past Sunday, I was honored to preach at Middletown Christian Church. We were starting a sermon series called "Something Better", where we're following the Revised Common Lectionary passages that challenge us to see that God is always offering us something better than what we think we want. The text is Luke 12:13-21, and you …

Redeeming Easter (for my children)

Easter was different for me this year, as it was the first time I sat in the pews for Easter worship since high school, so the morning was already going to be tough. For some reason my wife and I decided that we could get our kids up and dressed for the early service at …

Losing Sacred Space

Like everyone else, I watched with shock and sadness yesterday as a fire consumed the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. It took me back to a time ten years ago when I pastored a church that lost its building to a fire. It wasn’t as old or as big as Notre Dame, it wasn’t a …

Out of the Depths and a “Blue Christmas”

Christmas is great for some people, and terrible for others. When some people are sending out Christmas Cards of their perfect looking families, others are pained by the recent loss of a loved one or are being reminded at their estrangement from someone. While some of us are going to parties, others are being reminded …

The Next Piece of Paper pt. 2- the Second Half of Life

In my last post, I promised to talk about how I’m attempting to answer the question of what happens now that I’ve stopped collecting pieces of paper. That was a few months ago. I’ve tried several times to put a coherent answer together, but it never seemed quite right. In the last few months, several …

The Next Piece of Paper- pt. 1

I’m almost thirty eight years old, and I’ve run out of pieces of paper to collect. When I was a kid, my dad would always give what he called “Speech Number Two” (Speech Number One was probably about not beating up my little brother, to which I clearly did not listen). The speech was always …

Church, No Questions Asked

Recently I was at the early morning roll calls at one of the police precincts in Louisville to train the officers on how to use LouieConnect. (For those that aren't aware of what I'm up to now, I will post more info soon, as I'm only now able to begin writing about the life changes …

Choosing Hope, Choosing Life

My heart is heavy hearing about the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain this week. Many people have reacted with confusion, wondering why two people with “so much going for them” would take their lives. That question shows us why depression is such a demon. It robs you of the ability to draw satisfaction …

Big Changes for the Kelley Family

This announcement came out to the church today, and we're sharing with the rest of the world To my Christ UMC family: This summer my family and I will be relocating to Louisville, KY. My wife, Jessica, has the opportunity to advance her career with Westminster John Knox Press, and I will be taking a …