August 2023: Infant Jazz Hands - Infant Jazz-Hands, Saul of Tarsus, and the Everlasting Love of God Almost two years ago now, when my twin girls Eve and Adah were only a few weeks old, I made a joking-but-also-serious Facebook post about them. The post was about how, of all the things I wanted to teach my daughters—things about the love of Jesus, about the ways of the world, about the innumerable joys and struggles of life—there was one lesson I desperately wished I could get through to them right away. That urgent lesson was, and I quote, “DADDY CAN’T PUT FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH IF YOUR HANDS ARE IN THE WAY.” One friend (who happens to be a theology professor) commented on the post, pointing out the profoundly theological nature… Read More July 2023: Evangelism - As of the time I’m writing this, we’ve been walking through the Acts of the Apostles together on Sunday mornings for seven weeks. If you’ve been able to join us, you may have noticed at least one prominent theme that keeps surfacing again and again in the text: the announcement of the Good News about Jesus. It goes by many names and comes in many forms. Evangelism. Preaching the gospel. Sharing our faith. Making Christ known. Proclaiming God’s Word. Whatever phrase we use, the idea is the same. God has a message of hope for humanity—hope through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—and it’s the duty and the joy of Christian people to make sure that message reaches the whole world. Where have we… Read More June 2023: The Acts of the Holy Spirit - If you’ve joined us in worship over the last few weeks, you know that we’ve been walking through the book of Acts as we pray for God’s guidance and empowerment. The full Greek name of the book of Acts is best translated “The Acts of the Apostles.” Preachers smarter than me have sometimes called the book by a different name: “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” I like that informal renaming because it so beautifully describes the heart of the book of Acts. Now, of course, most immediately it is the Apostles—the “sent ones” of God—whose actions are described in the book. However, you will find as you read though the many narratives and discourses of the book that it is the Holy Spirit, the… Read More May 2023: Practical Faith Lessons From Leviticus - 3 Practical Faith Lessons from Leviticus If you’ve been joining us in worship recently, you know that we’ve been digging into Leviticus—perhaps the least loved, least read, least understood book of the Bible—to see what this ancient biblical law book has to say to us today. For this month’s edition of The Voice, I want to share just a few of the priceless lessons we find waiting for us in the pages of Leviticus. Here are three practical faith lessons for today from this much neglected portion of God’s most holy word: 1.) Our lives should look different from the rest of the world. God told the people of Israel, “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated… Read More April 2023: The Fullness of God’s Love - Sisters and brothers of FUMC Decatur, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! As I write this from the pastor’s office, I find that I’m filled with gratitude for your faithfulness to Christ through this church. The more I learn about the history of Decatur and the vital role the people called Methodists have played here for more than a century and a half, the more sincerely I thank God for bringing me here and allowing me to serve as minister among you. It’s a special honor to arrive here so close to Holy Week and Easter. The events of that first Holy Week and Easter were the ultimate revelation of God’s love for human beings. Nothing shows… Read More March 2023: Meet Dr. Nick McRae - We are excited to introduce you to the new pastor of FUMC Decatur, Rev. Dr. Nick McRae! We look forward to this new chapter in the life of First United Methodist Church of Decatur and can't wait to see how the Lord works through Nick in our church. Welcome Rev. McRae and family! Rev. Dr. Nick McRae grew up on a farm outside of LaFayette, Georgia, and was raised by a family with deep roots in the evangelical Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. Intending to be an English professor, he earned a B.A. at the University of West Georgia, an M.F.A. at Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in English at the University of North Texas, where he taught English composition and creative writing courses. Nick discerned a… Read More
November 2022: Give Time to Jesus - Greetings folks. It’s hard to believe that we are getting to the end of the year. The busy time. Halloween is upon us. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. Then Advent. Then Christmas. The song says “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” But there are many among us who don’t look forward to this season. Maybe they have lost a loved one, or struggling financially, or hasn’t had a good experience with that in the past. Our Advent studies show that we celebrate the peace, joy, hope, and love of the Jesus story. We are drawn into the little town of Bethlehem, amidst the animals and the dirt. Past the crowd and into the space where Mary and Joseph bed down… Read More September 2022: Words are Powerful - "Words are the most powerful thing in the universe... Words are containers. They contain faith, or fear, and they produce after their kind." — Charles Capps I’ve noticed, and more so lately, that people don’t think through what they say to others. I think people feel like their right to express themselves doesn’t have boundaries. This week, a pastor friend called out someone who had said some hateful things. And he made a joke about it to keep it light. He was then berated relentlessly by people from everywhere. The last thing I read was a man telling him that he was a sorry excuse for a Christian and that he would burn in hell. Couple things bother me: First, why was this person so… Read More August 2022: The Race Before us - Greetings friends. It has been a fast few weeks. I wanted to say a quick thank you for the many gifts that we received in our grandparent shower. We are blessed to be a part of such a loving and supportive community. Little Indy arrived on June 30th, and our lives have been completely changed. He is way more than we could have asked or imagined. No doubt, he is a blessing from above. We celebrated a year in Decatur on the 11th. Christi and I have enjoyed our time and getting to know everyone. I know I still have many to meet and much work to do. And I am excited about where God is leading us. On the 12th, I wrecked my truck.… Read More July 2022: Keep Moving Forward - Greetings from the nerve center of the church. (I’m referring to my office. haha) First, I want to say “thank you” for the wonderful showering of gifts for Christi and I. Your generosity amazes us. At the time of writing this article, we are less than 3 days away from Indy making his appearance and changing our lives forever. Next, this week we will celebrate our year anniversary in your church. We have seen lotsa changes in the last 12 months. I hope mostly for the good. Some were difficult. But I think that we are growing and maturing. We are making disciples and seeking to take care of the people in our mission field. We are seeing children, and youth, and the senior members… Read More