Luke 22: 44-53
Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Many of you have already heard of my illustrious high school athletic career, but I don’t think I have told you one of my secrets. I was a runner, and so, before a race, I would do my warm up, and I would go off to a corner by myself, and there I would say a little prayer. I didn’t exactly pray that God help me win, not exactly – but I did ask God to let everyone competing do their best, and to keep everyone from getting hurt, and, if it was possible, I wouldn’t mind winning too. (more…)

John 15: 1-8
Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Some of you are aware that I spent the last week in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference on preaching called the Festival of Homiletics.  I really liked the name of the event.  As one of the presenters noted, you don’t often hear of a Festival of Dentistry or a Festival of Lawyers – so preachers are somewhat unique in that when we get together, it is a festival.  The format of the festival was pretty simple.  Some of the best preachers from the mainline denominations preached and lectured on their craft.  The lectures were illuminating – but the preaching was the best part.  As each preacher offered their sermon, I began to feel very sorry for you folks.  I mean, these preachers are really good.  And I could see how far I have to go to be a good preacher.  But it was also inspiring – to see how they could weave stories and explore themes in scripture – it was inspiring to think someday, someday I could learn how to do that. (more…)

John 10: 11-18
Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
This Sunday, I am continuing to speak on the idea of Visioning our church. I have two more sermons for you on this topic, the one today and the one two Sundays from today. Next Sunday is Mother’s Day, United Methodist Women’s Day and Tools and Blanket Sunday – so it’s a packed Sunday. I hope you will be here next Sunday to join with the celebration of our mission, of our United Methodist Women, and of our Mothers. (more…)

I haven’t posted here in a while…in part because I’m not really sure anyone is bothering to read this blog…so, hey…if you are reading, leave a comment and let me know!

Not that I blame you – I read a few blogs, but I am always eliminating blogs from my “to read” list because they can just suck up all your time.  And time is valuable!

Which brings me to my next point: I really want to encourage you to read David Allen’s book Getting Things Done.  This book really helped me better manage my time – and think differently about how I do work.  It’s a very simple, quick read, but the ideas it contains are actually quite interesting and more sophisticated than they first appear.

The basic idea is that we are all overwhelmed with details: too many things to do and to remember.  So the primary discipline you have to develop is a way to get all those details stored and organized in a system that you trust.  By doing that in a very thourough manner, you relieve your mind of the stress of trying to remember all those details.  Consequently, your mind is free to focus on the most important tasks at hand.  And, when you need to recall what it is you should be doing, you can always consult your trusted storage system.

The GTD method has caught on in lots of places and the web is full of websites dedicated to helping you use the system in a variety of ways.  Pastors are particularly fond of the system, because they have too much to do generally.  But the system would be helpful for almost anyone who wants to get something done.

So, that’s my tip for the day.  Check out these websites and read the book:

43 Folders
Lifehacker
David Allen
Office Zealot