I’m not sure our hyper-individualized faith understands the immensity of what happened at Pentecost. Yes, we know the Holy Spirit rested over the disciples. We say that was the moment the church was born. I’m convinced it’s something much greater. For the last several weeks, I’ve been reflecting on the ascension of Jesus. In…
By the time next week begins, I will have officiated three funerals in the last couple of weeks. I don’t get out of thinking of death very often. Most of the congregations I’ve served have been older. Funerals have been a normal part of my ministry. In this last season, as I’ve visited with…
In the twenty-plus years I’ve connected with youth in the church, I’ve tried to establish meaningful ways of showing them what it means to walk with Jesus. Now, in youth ministry, there are serious ways of doing that. But there are also plenty of not-at-all serious ways of doing that. From time to time…
There are parts of the Bible that make us modern readers cringe a bit. Some of it is culture and more of it is covenant. Let’s consider the book of Ezra for an example today. In Ezra 9, the prophet prays to God. His posture of prayer speaks to the shame and guilt he…
There are several church-plant models. That is, if God calls you to start a new congregation, we’ve developed several ways to begin that work. A lot of us know the process of receiving money and resources from a denomination or other larger group. From there, it’s time to start knocking door to door to invite…