Eddie Pipkin

About Eddie Pipkin

Eddie Pipkin has 30 years in ministry experience at churches in Georgia and Florida, primarily in the United Methodist Church. His ministry leadership includes stints in youth and children's ministry, creative worship design, outreach and missions, communications, special event coordination, and leadership development. He currently resides in Orlando, Florida. His original careers were in journalism and teaching at the college level, and he has a Master's Degree in English from the University of Central Florida (with an emphasis in creative writing). He also has worked as an independent editor, and he has an alter-ego known as the Rapping Lamb. He is an avid cyclist, outdoorsman and pie aficionado.

Machete Musings

by Eddie Pipkin I had a lot of work to do to clear overgrowth down by the lake.  There were months’ worth of vines, out-of-control ruellia simplex, and invasive wild taro.  And you can’t whack taro with a string trimmer, because it’s a juicy plant whose sap produces profound itching if it gets on your [...]

Machete Musings2025-06-13T07:53:08-04:00

Cruise Ministry

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay I went with the guys to see the latest Mission Impossible movie.  It’s an eight-film series, and Tom Cruise has been making them (and I’ve been going to the theater to see them) since 1996.  That’s a long time!  Superspy action-adventure flicks may or [...]

Cruise Ministry2025-06-05T18:34:25-04:00

A Like-ly Development

by Eddie Pipkin Image by AstralEmber from Pixabay It’s the 20th anniversary (more or less) of the invention of the Like button, the thumbs-up graphic used by Facebook and other social media platforms to show approval of a post.  It’s hard to imagine a world in which we lived without an instantaneous, one-tap [...]

A Like-ly Development2025-05-29T16:38:23-04:00

Graduation Expectations

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Elly from Pixabay It’s the time of year when we celebrate graduates.  We pause our worship services to recognize those who have achieved academic success. We attend parties for those we know who have put in the work to earn that diploma.  Or we might even have a [...]

Graduation Expectations2025-05-21T15:58:13-04:00

The Lane Less Travelled

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Greg Reese from Pixabay We make a regular six-hour interstate drive up I-75 once a month.  We trek up the infamous Interstate from central Florida to central Georgia and back again to visit my mom.  We’ve been making that drive for many years, so we know it well, [...]

The Lane Less Travelled2025-05-08T08:37:16-04:00

Earned Ovation

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Mark Thomas from Pixabay In case you missed it, a lawyer arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court last week got a standing ovation.  First of all, that’s not a thing that happens in the hallowed halls of the nation’s most sacred courtroom.  Secondly, the ovation was initiated by [...]

Earned Ovation2025-05-01T08:02:56-04:00

Unmarked Doors

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Peter H from Pixabay While I was travelling during Holy Week, I had an identical experience at two separate places of worship that threw me off kilter and made me wonder how much thought the good folks at both venues were giving to the experiences of drop-ins.  On [...]

Unmarked Doors2025-04-24T15:24:00-04:00

Why You Should Put Your Old Wine in New Wineskins

by Eddie Pipkin Image by 悍匪 社交 from Pixabay I’m in Virginia this week, visiting with an old friend who has changed things up by moving from the big city to a small bucolic town where she bought a 115-year-old house with great bones and quirky character.  This friend has a sophisticated sense [...]

Why You Should Put Your Old Wine in New Wineskins2025-04-18T08:26:53-04:00

Three Key Ideas to Better Discipleship

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay I heard a good story recently from a pastor friend who had made time for parishioners who had requested an ‘urgent’ meeting.  Their emergency?  They were greatly concerned that the church he led isn’t “doing discipleship right.”  As long as there has [...]

Three Key Ideas to Better Discipleship2025-04-09T18:14:47-04:00

Glass Half Empty

by Eddie Pipkin Image by Anja from Pixabay It’s plenty easy to cruise along with something that’s “good enough.”  Right now, I have a busted stereo in my 2002 Jeep, so I keep telling myself how awesome it is to ride along without the distraction of music or news, just my own thoughts [...]

Glass Half Empty2025-04-03T06:30:55-04:00