Imagine: Reaching Out Transforming Lives Empowering Servants
Serving Our Community and God’s World
In chapter one of his book, 5 Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Robert Schnase writes in great detail about the practice of Radical Hospitality. He explains, “Churches characterized by Radical Hospitality are not just friendly and courteous, passively receiving visitors warmly. Instead, they exhibit a restlessness because they realize that so many people do not have relationship [...]
Read Agents of Invitation
This Sunday, January 18th, we will embark on a an exciting 5-part sermon series based on the book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Bishop Robert Schnase. The 5 practices are Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. Bishop Schnase suggests that churches that seek to excel at these [...]
Read The 5 Practices
“My dad is a superhero,” my son, Stuart, pronounced.
Headline: Raleigh, NC – In an unfortunate confluence of events, children and adults alike are being traumatized by an unidentified man wearing tights and a cape, and calling himself “Captain Shares-A-Lot”. “It was so terrifying,” one witness said, as she clutched her sobbing child. “My [...]
So last Saturday my college roommate from WFU got married in his hometown of Sarasota, Florida. My wife and I along with several of my fraternity brothers and their wives made the trip down to Florida for the big event. Most of us stayed in a hotel just blocks away from the wedding site – [...]
Tuesday morning I almost asked for the banner attached to our church sign to be taken down. It is a banner announcing to all the world that we host a Mid-day prayer service on Tuesdays at 12:15 pm. We call the worship service Tuesdays for Troubled Times. We started the service back in early October [...]
Upon hearing that it was stewardship month at the church, a daughter of one of our staff members asked her mother why Pastor Ben’s son, Stuart, got a whole month dedicated to him! Get it? S-t-e-w-a-r-d and S-t-u-a-r-t said aloud sound pretty much alike. You can understand her confusion.
One thing is for certain: I am not [...]
Read Stuart-ship
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it! (John 1:5)
So in case you’re wondering why the lights went out in part of Midtown Raleigh yesterday, let me shed some light on the subject. About 3:30 pm yesterday (Thursday) a tractor trailer attempting to make a delivery to the church turned [...]
No, I’m not talking about me! I’m not asking if you love me, Pastor Ben, though it wouldn’t hurt to hear it if you do. All joking aside, this coming Sunday at St. Mark’s we will finish our sermon series based around Bishop Reuben Job’s Book Three Simple Rules with a look at rule #3 [...]
Read Do You Love Me?
I spent last Thursday through Saturday on the campus of The Scarritt Bennett Center (www.scarrittbennett.org) in Nashville, TN. I was there as part of a design team working on an event for next April entitled A River Deep and Wide. The purpose of the event/conference is to offer a spiritual formation experience in the Christian [...]
Read Expect Great Things
Whether I like it or not it is over. What’s over? Summer! Yes, I know that technically summer lasts until September 21st or thereabouts but I can’t help but feel like summer ends with the arrival of Labor Day. By now, for most of us, vacations have come and gone, a new academic year has [...]
Read Simply Hard Rules
©2008 St. Marks UMC | 4801 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 (directions) | 919 787-0544 | admin@stmarksraleigh.org
St. Marks United Methodist Church is an active, vibrant faith community located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Site Design by Steve Davis. Programming by Scott Reston
