My Dream for The PCC in 2015

1 January 2015jeremybellsmith

I have a dream for this Presbyterian Church of ours. We’re engaging in conversation around what full inclusion looks like for persons from the LGBTQ […]

A New Way Forward

20 September 2014jeremybellsmith

I’m torn about a letter that came across my desk recently. Its asks for full inclusion for people from the LGBT community in our national […]

Wrestling with God

16 January 2014jeremybellsmith

Wrestling with my son just helped me teach him the Bible. We were doing our usual pre-dinner devotional routine. Tonight, it was the Spark story […]

Life Lessons from Zip Lining

12 September 2013jeremybellsmith

This past July, my nine year old, adrenaline-junkie daughter and I couldn’t resist going zip-lining down Marble Mountain near Corner Brook, NF. Its advertised to […]

The Truth about Transformation

22 August 2013jeremybellsmith

Transformation is a wonderful thing. It can be slow, sometimes imperceptible, but it’s results can be delicious. There’s a pear tree in my backyard that […]

Objectives Revisited

17 August 2013jeremybellsmith

I’ve written about our leadership team’s work setting core values and objectives. Last Friday, we held another meeting to set new objectives for this quarter, […]

Transitions can be Tough

14 August 2013jeremybellsmith

Transitions are tough. Even good ones, like a wedding or going to school, can be times of stress. My little guy just started kindergarten in […]

Teaching Kids about Money

1 August 2013jeremybellsmith

Has this ever happened to you? Our family was in Target today, doing some back-to-school shopping when my almost 4 year old said he really, […]

Shaping Faith at Bedtimes

11 July 2013jeremybellsmith

My wife and I aren’t experts at this, but we’ve come to believe that we are our kids’ first encounter with God’s love, and their first examples of what it means to be a Christ follower.

A Mission of Burgers and Dogs

4 July 2013jeremybellsmith

Please forgive me, but I need to boast. Burns Church in Ashburn did something on Canada Day that was pretty amazing in my books. We […]

The #1 Parenting Tip? Consistency

27 June 2013jeremybellsmith

Ok, I’m not an expert, but as I’ve been listening to what’s going on around me, I can’t help hearing lots of talk about parenting. […]

It’s the Little Things

20 June 2013jeremybellsmith

Sometimes, a little thing can make a big difference. A little while ago, I was having a crappy week. The car was acting up and […]

Confirmation as Coming of Age

13 June 2013jeremybellsmith

In our branch of the church, many teens are invited to “confirm” their faith, to own for themselves the promises their parents or godparents took […]

Stewards-by-Design

6 June 2013jeremybellsmith

I’ve told you about the work on core values and objectives we did as the congregation I serve with spent some weeks focusing on listening. […]

From Core Values to Objectives

30 May 2013jeremybellsmith

Last week I started telling you about the day away Burns’ leadership team enjoyed. We paused to listen about the next season in the congregation’s […]

Getting to Know Our Core Values

24 May 2013jeremybellsmith

What’s at our core? Knowing this answer helps us to know who we are and we we’re here. Then the answers to other questions like “what should I be doing?” come more easily.