Warped Church

I took the photo above today on my iPhone. It’s the Front Street Church of God in Hamilton (I occasionally snap a pic of a unique or distinctive church building). But I had no idea the effect I had gotten until I uploaded it to my computer.

And I thought I was pastor of a warped church.

The Beauty of Simplicity

Enjoyed a lovely sojourn in northeast Ohio this week. We and our co-pastors were the guests of Pastors Retreat Network (www.pastorsretreatnetwork.org) at the Valley View Inn near Holmes County, Ohio.

We took the opportunity to visit the Yoder Home in Walnut Creek (where these photos were taken), where we toured the grounds, the one-room schoolhouse (still functioning), and two Amish homes.

Both the retreat itself and the tour reminded me of the beauty of simplicity, as I hope these photos illustrate.

As I’m writing this I’m feasting on a simple meal of Salzburg cheese (bought at Heini’s Cheese store) and homemade sourdough bread (sent home with us from the Valley View Inn). In the midst of my often complicated life, this week was a good reminder of the “one thing needful,” and the few things important. Simplicity is a beautiful thing.

Drive in the Country (with signs attending)

Took a lovely drive in the country today to visit some fine Christian friends. While on the way, I made note of two fun signs. The first one, above, made me think, (notice the name of the street), ”Okay, if this is Urban, I’ve never seen Rural!”

And the next one....


....made me long to be a pastor of a slow church. That would be so great. At least for a season....