by Eddie Pipkin Image by ambermb from Pixabay The pandemic interlude had a dramatic impact on ministry. Looking back on that era, we can see ways that things that felt like they were going to be monumental permanent shifts were really just temporary blips. We can see ways that what was inevitable was [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by BeccaH from Pixabay You may or may not have seen a recent article from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership identifying ministry trends for 2024. You will already be familiar with them in some form, since you are likely dealing with them in practical ways. The Lewis Center, [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay Jim Harbaugh, coach of the national champion Michigan Wolverines football team, is famous for, among other things, motivating his players with an old family motto, “Who’s got it better than us?” It’s a phrase that works on multiple levels, and just as it helped [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by majolala from Pixabay Last week I wrote about the collision of different schedules and lifestyle logistics when people in the same household are visiting together over the holidays. I made the argument that, rather than tension and drama resulting from the intersection of those differences, a beautiful synthesis [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by 955169 from Pixabay During the holiday season, we travelled a lot, and we hosted a lot. That means that sometimes we had guests sharing our home (no less than four different sets of guests over a month), and sometimes we were hosted by different sets of friends in [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by Bob Dmyt from Pixabay It’s that time of year when we are either eager to give gifts or compelled to give gifts or, most likely, experiencing both compulsion and obligation in the giving of gifts, depending on the recipient. There are people we have been excited about sharing [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by M W from Pixabay We’ve been sampling the wide range of local Christmas events that our metro area has to offer, from formal orchestral performances to school holiday concerts, and it’s been a blast so far. From fancy synchronized light presentations to neighborhood decorating contests, carefully curated Festivals [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by mcmurryjulie from Pixabay I was catching up on the sports news from the weekend – don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I loooove sports – and in reading about the Kansas City vs. Green Bay football game on Sunday night from the storied frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by Keith Johnston from Pixabay My wife and I attended our last home football game of the year last week. It’s been a fun inaugural year in the Big 12 for my beloved UCF Knights. Lots of ups and downs, but we ended on happy note with a victory [...]
by Eddie Pipkin Image by Alexa from Pixabay Do you ever get worked over a mistake someone else made – just to realize upon reflection that it’s your own darn fault? Apologies to the late, great Jimmy Buffett for paraphrasing his stolen “Margaritaville” lyric, but he captures the thought process so well: the [...]
