Author Archives: Richard Heyduck

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About Richard Heyduck

Pastor of Hardy Memorial Methodist Church, a Global Methodist Congregation. PhD Fuller Seminary MDiv Asbury Seminary BA Southwestern University

Which Church Would You Rather Attend?

From the Wall Street Journal [“In Europe, God is (Not) Dead,” by Andrew Higgins]: Consider the scene on a recent Sunday at Stockholm’s Hedvig Eleonara Church, a parish of the Church of Sweden, a Lutheran institution that until 2000 was … Continue reading →

Posted in church growth, Current events, Ministry, United Methodism | 1 Comment

Learning from Five Dysfunctions of a Team

I first heard Patrick Lencioni at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit a few years ago. He spoke then on the content of his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Well, I’ve finally read the book. The heart of the … Continue reading →

Posted in church growth, Leadership, Texas Annual Conference, United Methodism | Leave a comment

At War?

Have you heard the saying – “America isn’t at war – America’s military is at war. America is at Walmart”? The implication is that we need to appropriate the World War 2 model of total war and mobilize the whole … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events | 1 Comment

Chicken

I live in Camp County, Texas. The World Headquarters of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is on the northern edge of the county. Lots of chickens live (and die) here.  Chickens are big business here. Pilgrims and the supporting industries are the … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Local church, Ministry, Spirituality | 2 Comments

Willow Creek Arts Conference

I’m a pastor of a small town church in the middle of nowhere (as far as conferences go). While I see dozens of theology, philosophy, ministry and leadership conferences I’d like to attend, my budget – time and money – … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Leadership, Ministry, Worship | Leave a comment

How do you know good preaching when you hear it?

As a preacher, I have an ongoing concern for preaching well. Rarely do I think I’ve done well enough – I can usually think of something I should have left unsaid, or something I should have said, or said differently. … Continue reading →

Posted in Ministry, Spirituality | Leave a comment

God’s Call as Interruption

During May I preached a series on the call of God (you can hear them via a subscription at iTunes or at the audioblog listing).  In one of the messages I wanted to show the people how they could be … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirituality | 1 Comment

My First Church Job

The summer of 1983 was my last summer before Seminary (I was finishing college in December, and starting seminary in January). Since I was headed to a career in ministry, I figured I ought to get a ministry job. Everyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirituality, United Methodism | 2 Comments

Oil Change Woes… & Good News

I got an oil change Saturday before driving off to Annual Conference in Houston. Ordinary auto maintenance. I do it every 3000 miles. So I drove off to Conference. Today as I went to pick up my dinner, I heard … Continue reading →

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The Bishops are Seeking Leverage

In his Christian Chaos: Revolutionizing the Congregation Tom Bandy says, The primary link between congregation and denomination and denomination is pastoral relations, the key membership of the pastor is with the denominational judicatory, and the most powerful positions in congregation … Continue reading →

Posted in church growth, Current events, Leadership, Local church, Spirituality, Theology, United Methodism | 10 Comments