Posts with the category “philips-focus”

I choose to remain a United Methodist because we know our denomination is more than a "fad" or a "short-lived movement." We can learn from our rich history, and we can be sparred some of the same mist...  Read More

We are happy to announce that Mrs. Nicci Fahle will be joining our church staff as our part-time Children's Ministry Director. Nicci and her husband Brodie have been in our congregation for a long tim...  Read More

In previous weeks of Beacon articles, I have praised our congregation, staff, and lay leadership. In this article, I want to lift up some additional ministry teams and offer praise for their good mini...  Read More

As a part of our Nation's fabric, one tradition is customary to give a State of the Union Address for late January. Somewhere along the way, I began a tradition by giving the "state of the church" eac...  Read More

In previous Beacon articles, I have praised our steadfast congregation and last week our phenomenal staff! Today, I praise our amazing lay leadership! As we move forward from the most challenging year...  Read More

In the last ten months, we have not had "church" as usual. We have had to adapt, be flexible, and exercise additional caution at most every turn. Through it all, we have found a way to move forward wi...  Read More

The events of the last week have been disturbing, sobering, and saddening. We have so much division in our country! There is so much anger and angst. What do we do to channel the powder keg of emotion...  Read More

We have begun this week our 21 days of worship online for 2021! I hope you are joining in each day at 6 am or at a time that works for you. The 21 days will offer a daily key to thriving. Practicing t...  Read More

This week we flip the calendar into a new year! I do not remember, in my lifetime, more anticipation of starting a new year. Most people wrote 2020 off months ago as the strangest, most chaotic, crazi...  Read More

WE SURE HAVE MISSED SEEING YOU IN PERSON! In recent weeks, the pastors visited friends and members in their neighborhoods. This allowed us the opportunity to visit with some persons we have not seen s...  Read More

Just like that, Advent has arrived. The leftovers from Thanksgiving were still delicious when the quick shift happened last weekend. In just hours, we moved from turkey, dressing, and wonderful family...  Read More

Type your new text here. One of the most asked questions I receive is “what is happening with the church?” In this Beacon update, I will briefly list some of the happenings I am aware of around Shalim...  Read More

As I write this article, I am still a bit "foggy-headed" from virtually no sleep last night. We knew Sally was coming; however, she intensified in the middle of the night, dropped even more rain, and ...  Read More

My feet do not always touch the ground these days, and my steps are light! I am overly excited about discipleship opportunities picking up through our church. The dream of having abundant discipleship...  Read More

In this Beacon article, I am introducing a new style to my writing. This article will be strictly bullet points. They will go fast…make that a flash. I am going to have some fun and hope you do well r...  Read More

2020 is unlike any year in our lifetime! This year I believe it will be a watershed for the future. Those who cling to the past will be disappointed. Our "new normal" will not be about going back to t...  Read More

We are moving as a congregation to 1,000 persons in discipleship groups every week! We are actively moving toward this goal this Fall. There are immediate discipleship opportunities upcoming just ahea...  Read More

Our congregation is blessed to have an abundance of trained Stephen Ministers. They would love to help you during your time of need. This help could come immediately through our church. In this week’s...  Read More

There is good news for this Sunday! I am delighted to announce we will have guest preacher Reverend Carlos Jones, the Senior Pastor of Campton First Baptist Church of Laurel Hill in North Okaloosa Cou...  Read More

One of the take-aways from my time as a District Superintendent was that there are no two churches exactly alike. I supervised 103 churches and, amazingly, each church had their own identity. Shalimar...  Read More

Shalimar UMC welcomes a new pastor July 1st. Reverend Matt Langford officially begins as one of our Associate Pastors. Matt’s focus is to be the preaching pastor for our 11:07am service and of course ...  Read More

Last week, I wrote about 10 phrases I would like to never hear in the church again and suggested we have a funeral for them. This week, I want to focus on the positive! Our staff contributed to this l...  Read More

These are very unusual times. As we seek to adjust to the very unstable new normal, it seems like the target keeps moving. What do you even aim for anyway? I suggest we focus on what is productive and...  Read More

On behalf of our congregation, I would like to congratulate our very own Rev. Dr. Brad Bradford. As of July 1st, Brad became a United Methodist Church Clergy Person in Full Connection, Order of Deacon...  Read More

Well it happened today. We have moved into the second half of 2020, the most unforgettable year of our lifetime. I am reminded of the line by Needlenose Ned from the movie Groundhog Day when he says, ...  Read More

We have heard so many stories about police brutality and the need for reform in recent weeks. George Floyd’s death triggered a firestorm of events that have revealed the continued evil of racism in th...  Read More

2020 may go down as the most unforgettable year of our lifetime. In less than six months, we have had three crises. First, the Covid-19 pandemic and the sickness and suffering that is occurring along ...  Read More

In this edition of the Beacon, I wanted to honor and pay tribute to Rev. Brian Dale. I met Brian back in May of 2016. Our District Superintendent (DS), Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon, let me know of a United Met...  Read More

A football coach hoping to increase offensive production might commit to the spread offense, which means the defense is forced to spread out to cover up to five wide receivers. If a team does this wel...  Read More

As you know by now, Rev. Brian Dale has been appointed to Bagdad United Methodist Church and will be leaving in the coming weeks. As his time with us winds down, I want to invite the congregation to p...  Read More

It has been a while since I wrote a focus about the general happenings around Shalimar UMC, so I thought I would give it a whirl for this week’s Beacon. Some may assume that not much is happening righ...  Read More

The other day, Karen asked me “Why are you doing what you normally do on Saturday?” I responded, “It is Saturday!” Have you ever lost track of the days of the week? Do you need your phone to not only ...  Read More

Our resident Bishop, David Graves, has asked each local church to form a Covid-19 task force which will be needed to navigate safely and with confidence to reenter in person worship and other ministry...  Read More

Our church continues strong in ministry during these most challenging times! How is this possible? Our congregation and staff are stepping up and stepping into ministry during this important time for ...  Read More

Baffled, blindsided, upside down world…are these not the most bizarre times we can ever remember? Can any of you even recall a time so strange? Just think about how our world has changed in just the l...  Read More

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just put out the order for Florida residents to stay at home unless they are pursuing essential activities. President Donald Trump has also asked for continued social dis...  Read More