By Dr. Mike Graves, Scholar in Residence/Minister of Spiritual Formation There is a story in the early church of a man named Philip coming across someone reading from the prophet Isaiah in the Bible. Philip asks the man if he understands what he’s reading, and I love his response, “How can I, Read More...
Seated in their “regular pew,” this couple had sandwiched in between them a woman whose face I did not recognize. After the service, we shook hands in the narthex and they introduced me to their good friend. As we exchanged pleasantries I could feel something “more” was unfolding but wasn’t sure what. Read More...
By Rev. Joe Walker, Minister of Congregational Care I re-learned an important lesson over the summer. As is almost always the case, I learned it more by happy accident than by design. The lesson, simply stated, is that we humans are naturally curious creatures. Recently I have had a lot of conversations here Read More...
On the evening of Sept. 10 I shared the Annual Report of the church at a lovely dinner gathering of church leaders. If you would like a peek, you can find it here. I’m tickled that we produce an annual report because it’s good to pause and look back and see how Read More...
Away. There is something really great about getting away. It isn’t just taking a break, but also finding some perspective, or finding a way to do life with more vigor, more grace. The away time not only refreshes but provides perspective on what is working, what isn’t and what way might bring Read More...
By Barbara George, Director of Membership Development How do you build Community? One neighborhood at a time. My 8th grade class consisted of 53 students; classmates I had grown up with and known my whole, long life. Together we entered our high school of 4,000…1,000 in our freshman class. This could have Read More...
By Rev. Corey Meyer, Director of Mission Partnerships A new thing is taking ground at Country Club Christian Church this fall! Last Sunday, a group of 12 met for brunch after worship at The Well Bar Grill and Rooftop in Waldo to kick off a new ministry called “Roots.” You may have Read More...
Rev. Tyler Heston, Minister to Youth One of the most surprising personal revelations I had in seminary was how much I liked sci-fi. It began when I devoured the entirety of The X-Files series during my sparse free time and continued with films and shows like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Black Mirror, Read More...
Why Preach, Why Listen is the title of a book I read many years ago. But the title still haunts me. Why do I preach and why do you listen? It isn’t to be “preachy,” which has become a negative word that conjures up a haranguing of sorts, where a speaker Read More...
On Sunday morning before church I visited with the police officer who supports our Sunday morning security team. I wanted to know if he was ok because he helped apprehended the shooter who took the life of a pastor’s 25 year old daughter on Friday night with a stray bullet fired into Read More...
Rev. Catherine Stark-Corn, Minister to Children and Families My eldest son has been an intern this summer with a non-profit in northeast KC. Each day after several hours of work, the interns gather with the staff and any other volunteers for lunch. They come together after their morning work, sharing conversation and Read More...
There is a story about Leonardo da Vinci… Early in his career he was painting a picture of Christ and found a beautiful young male to model for his portrait of Jesus. Many years later, Leonardo was painting a picture that included Judas. He walked through the streets of Florence looking for Read More...
It’s as much art and luck as it is science and skill. I’ve spent 26 years both teaching it in my professional role and practicing at it in my private life and it still confounds me at times. When it works well, it feels like a holy miracle. And when it doesn’t Read More...
Dr. Mike Graves, Scholar in Residence If you’re sick and tired of hearing about our recent trip to Israel, my apologies. Ask anyone who went (and who is now over the jet lag and weather-related rerouting) and they will tell you what an amazing adventure it was. Walking in the footsteps of Read More...
By Rev. Tyler Heston, Minister to Youth Last month, 18 of us traveled to Otavalo, Ecuador, for the high school mission trip. We spent a week partnering with FEDICE to work with a community center on renovation projects at their daycare, Mushuk Muyu (“New Seeds”). We spent the week with FEDICE’s executive Read More...
