Category Archives: Maine Cautionary Tales

The Funny Thing About Numbers

Posted on March 24, 2018 by smaxreisert

A math professor friend of mine likes to joke that real math doesn’t use numbers. The church could use a similar sort of approach. Do real churches need numbers? Attending a Conference meeting at a church about an hour from … Continue reading →

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When Hope Is a Problem

Posted on January 7, 2017 by smaxreisert

An area church similar to Old South recently came to the end of a long journey through which the church seriously considered its future. Part of the process focused on the building in which the church meets. The church, decreasing … Continue reading →

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As Maine Goes? Heaven Help Us

Posted on November 14, 2016 by smaxreisert

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger. Ephesians 4:26 A fool gives full vent to anger, but the wise quietly holds it back. Proverbs 29:11 But now you must get rid … Continue reading →

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As They Die, So Do We

Posted on January 16, 2016 by smaxreisert

I attended a funeral recently at a United Church of Christ Church in Central Maine, not far from the church I serve. While the service included a couple of prayers from the Book of Worship at the beginning and the … Continue reading →

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You Can’t Control Your Own Resurrection

Posted on October 13, 2015 by smaxreisert

Gaze upon the current reading lists of pastors of old, struggling mainline churches, and you are likely to find books about church vitality, church growth, and the changing outlook and circumstances of the Christian Church in the twenty-first century. These … Continue reading →

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The Concern on the Other End

Posted on June 12, 2015 by smaxreisert

I ran into an older friend of mine at the gym the other day. I hadn’t seen him in a little while. He recently had some significant health problems, but is now well on his way to recovery. For a … Continue reading →

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In the Cold, Cold North

Posted on February 9, 2015 by smaxreisert

A few weeks ago, I came upon this humorous cartoon: I was thinking about that cartoon yesterday afternoon, while I was snowshoeing near our house in Belgrade, Maine: There I am in front of our boat house. I’m standing on … Continue reading →

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Snow Day

Posted on January 4, 2015 by smaxreisert

In the years I’ve been at Old South, we’ve only had a handful of “snow days,” days when the weather is bad enough to cancel worship. We live in Maine, where winter weather can be a challenge. But, it takes … Continue reading →

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The Church of the Reluctant Evangelists

Posted on October 19, 2014 by smaxreisert

Visitors to worship at Old South will generally find a warm and friendly group of people. Most Old South folk are eager to greet new people, to invite them to coffee, and to talk to them about the church. There … Continue reading →

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To Be Among the Least

Posted on October 10, 2014 by smaxreisert

Maine isn’t good at a lot of things. We don’t go to church (according to the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, Maine has one of the lowest rates of church attendance). We aren’t business friendly (according to Forbes). … Continue reading →

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