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I remember at the beginning of the year, when we were still growing in our relationship with Beaverdam Elementary School, I met with the principal and her team and said, “We’d love to bring coffee and breakfast to your staff meeting!” They looked at me with kind eyes and said, “Sure, we’d love some coffee.” Not overwhelmed. Not underwhelmed. Just… whelmed. 😂 When we showed up, several teachers came up to me and said, “I heard a church was bringing coffee. I figured it was ju

Can we just take a second to consider what a privilege it is to worship in a space that doubles as a mission field? Each Sunday we gather for worship at Beaverdam Elementary School, and most Sundays we leave with a blessing for that space. Because on Monday morning, a brand new group of people walks through those same doors. Students full of excitement and nerves. Teachers preparing lessons and welcoming new faces. Parents hoping their kids have a great year. Over the past ye

This is a big week in the Margeson house. Gemma is starting 2nd grade, and Ellie is starting Kindergarten. 🥹 Watching them grow up is a beautiful thing, and I couldn't be more proud of both of them. I'm proud of them because they're starting something new with courage and grace. A new school year is something almost all of us experience, but for them, it's completely new. That means excitement, nervousness, anticipation, uncertainty—and just about every emotion in between. I

The Parable of the Mustard Seed by Kelly Latimore 🎉 Happy 4th of July! 🎉 Friends, I hope you are spending this weekend with family and friends and fun, and staying safe in whatever festivities are happening. Let me know what your plans are so I can celebrate and pray with you! This is a day all of God’s people across America celebrate freedom. And we certainly give thanks to God for the witness and work through history to make that real. At the same time, we hold the Americ

Above is an original piece of art by my friend Katy Medinas-Lockley. With theological curiosity, she has been creating images that capture the life of the Christian calendar. This piece is a series of 21 images called Ordinary Time. Click on the image to see more of her work, or Tell me what this imagine speaks for you and I’ll pass it on to Katy! For anyone wondering, Ordinary Time is the season of the Christian year that begins after Pentecost and continues until Advent. It

This week our youth took over the worship service, and I’m so incredibly thankful they did. (above is a live painting by Madilyn Fowler) They read Scripture with grace and wonder. They shared testimony with joy and passion. They served in every corner with love and invitation. And I am very proud of them. One thing I mentioned on Sunday as we opened the service is that I hope you’ll receive these youth as full Christian leaders in our church, even as many of you remember them

This past Sunday I shared something with you that I hope sticks. It grows out of the vision our team created for the future: "To serve as a heartbeat in the community so all feel connected and worthy of love." It also grows out of who the people of KUMC already are. Because of that, I believe we have two hopes every Sunday for every person who walks through our doors: That they find connection. That they feel loved. Those hopes may seem obvious—and honestly, that's a good thi

A week ago, our friends at Unhinged Coffee held their grand opening, complete with comically oversized golden scissors and the mayor of Knightdale to boot! You can see a small part of the crowd that came out to support in the reflection behind them. Bonus points if you can spot me. Before the official ribbon cutting, Cody Vaughn (owner) and Mayor Jessica Day both shared a few words about what they saw as important in this celebration. And if I had to sum up those speeches in

Last week we stayed after service for a “State of the Church” conversation — a time to put all the cards on the table. What do our finances actually look like right now? What exactly is NFC? How is the new Board going? What’s the latest on finding a building? If you missed it, you can watch the recording here! One of the most important topics we discussed was our visioning process. And as a reminder, here is our vision statement: To serve as a heartbeat in the communityso all

This is my favorite song as of late. It’s called Oyster Shell by Porter’s Gate Worship. Honestly, instead of reading my article this week, I’d recommend just listening to this song on repeat. But I’ll say a few words, if you’ll take a moment to read them. God’s Kingdom is like a grain of sand in an oyster shell, a plant growing in the crack of a sidewalk, and yeast in a batch of bread. These images help us see that God’s Kingdom often begins in the smallest places. In a worl

A lot of people start the year by setting goals. One friend of mine set a goal of reading 300 books. Another decided to run 700 miles. One chose to make 1,000 sweet treats. I’ll read and run and eat, but I’ll let them accomplish their own goals. Goals are good. They help us focus and find motivation. A good goal is one we can actually accomplish—and one that still stretches us beyond where we are right now. Meeting a goal like that serves us in two ways. First, there’s the ob

This weekend in Raleigh, something quietly powerful is happening. A walk! A group of Buddhist monks from Texas are passing through our city as part of a 120-day journey to Washington, DC. Step by step, they’re walking over 2,300 miles across 10 states, carrying a simple message: peace, loving-kindness, and compassion. They describe their walk this way: “We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us. The Walk for Peace is a simple yet mea

As much as I don’t like answering “why?” for the 100th time from one of my kids, I actually do really enjoy asking why questions. Because I’m curious and sometimes nosey, and when I ask I learn things like the history of clock towers and the reason purple is considered royal. And when I’ve bee confident enough to dig a little deeper I’ve discovered my calling into ministry. (Trust me. When I was a shy introverted kid feeling a call to preach I asked God WHY?!) Asking why help

This past week we gathered for a charge conference. The kind of meeting that sounds like it belongs in a corporate boardroom - forms to sign, structures to ratify, a board of leadership to officially approve. But our new District Superintendent, Alan Felton, did something simple. He asked us to tell stories. What's happening in the life of the church these days? One person lit up talking about new faces on Sunday mornings. Another mentioned the videos we've been sharing. Seve

Image by Scott Erickson - check it out on Insta The acorn has dropped! Or if you're in some other part of the country maybe it was an apple, or disco ball, or moon pie. What's something your home town used to celebrate the new year? Whatever your local celebration was, it's official. The sprint is over. You made it! Monday morning is coming - the 9-5, the grandkids, the textbooks. But first, this. There's a moment in Mark 2 that stops me every time. Jesus and his disciples

Image by Salt and Gold - an Australian based Ministry Years ago a friend of mine introduced me to the idea of a "Word of the Year." He and his wife spent some time thinking about a word for each other, and before the start of the new year they gave the other a single word they thought would help the other one grow in the coming year. For example, if one of them spent the last year focusing really hard on work, the word their spouse wanted to give them was "rest." I love the

In small and unexpected ways, I am seeing the Christmas story with new eyes. Six months ago, Sierra and I learned that God was calling our family to serve a new church. With deep prayers—and tears that came easily—we stepped toward what God was calling us to, even as we said goodbye to what we had known. For months, we traveled toward a new place without knowing where we would stay, where our girls would go to school, or how all the pieces would come together. It was a long j

As we listen for God’s call together, one question keeps coming back to me: What relationships will define us as a church? Who will we share life with? Who will we learn from? Whose joys and needs will shape our prayers and our purpose? Because I’ve learned this much about God: God never creates in isolation. Maybe that’s why the creation story has always been my favorite part of the Bible. And yes — I know that makes me sound like the guy in book club who only read chapter

Every now and then one of my girls gets a hold of my phone, and inevitably I am gifted with a string of new pictures in my photos app. There is no annoyance here, this is why I pay extra for storage on my phone - because I love these photos. Each one is a chance for me to actually see through the eyes of these small, amazing humans! And what has surprised me most is how many photos they like to take of me, and their mom, and other people they love. I’m pretty sure 80% of the

Thanksgiving can be a complicated holiday, especially when we pay attention to the way its history has been told. The first people who came to America from overseas did not have an overwhelmingly positive—nor peaceful—relationship with the people who were here first. I won’t ignore that reality just to see the hopeful side of this holiday. But that doesn’t mean we should throw the day out entirely. There is still something meaningful to glean from it, and certainly for Christ