The Daily Office
Grace to you, and peace.
Virtual Grace prays at eleven o’clock, Central. Join the prayer →
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.
Mark 1:35
We are being formed.
Most mornings I practice gratitude before the light comes. I thank God that I am alive. Then I sit with God in silence, listening for my intentions for the day. When they come clear, I write them down, so that at the end of the day I can return to them and see how I did.
The old confession names thought, word, and deed as the three places a life can break. Grace names them as the three places a life can be offered. What you think becomes what you say. What you say becomes what you do. And what you do, over long years, becomes who you are before God.
So this site is arranged the way I hope to live: one mind, one voice, one work. Read it slowly. Come back tomorrow, and the day after. The mercies will be new each morning, and so will the work God is doing in us, in three movements that belong to one life.
Thought
the renewing of the mind
As within, so without.
I am convinced that formation precedes strategy. The inner life of a person or an institution is the foundation of everything it builds. Scripture calls this the renewing of the mind, and four decades of pastoral ministry have taught me to trust it. I am sharing my thoughts in the journal, in case it is useful to you.
Word
coming to voice
I preach and teach in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and I serve as President and Publisher of the AME Sunday School Union, one of the oldest Black publishing houses in America. Pulpit, classroom, and press carry one charge: to put the word within reach of the people. And six mornings a week, Virtual Grace gathers at eleven to pray.
Deed
love in practice
Love proves itself in practice. Through The Belin Group I work alongside congregations, seminaries, and the leaders who serve them, on formation, leadership, and the systems that sustain the work over time.
And for leaders carrying what cannot be set down in public, there is a quieter room.
I am a third-generation minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, formed at Morehouse, Union, and Payne, and I have spent my life where the pulpit meets the press. Everything here is offered to serve God by serving God’s people.