Dan

I was looking at Genesis today, and noticed something I had taken for granted. Ever notice what was there before God starts to create? The first thing God created was light, the energy that is radiated from a light source, God created light before the sun and the stars, He of course is the original light source. For light to exist, it had to be created. If you go back, you see before there was light, it was dark. This is sort of a "duh" sort of thing, if there is no light, it's dark. Darkness, however, exists before creation, it's not a created thing. It is, in fact, the absence of a thing. … [Read more...] about The Not Created

My undergraduate work was in English Literature, and so I tend to see the world in more literary terms. Ya, I'm sorta nerdy like that. One thing that I have really begun to see is the meta-narrative issue leading people astray.  You probably have read that our good friend Rob Bell support same gender marriage.  How did Rob get to this place? I think it's the danger of the meta-narrative. What happens with the meta-narrative is it connects all things into one big ongoing story. We are linked in one big plot progression. The danger of the meta-narrative is it makes the entire story dynamic. … [Read more...] about The Problem of Meta-narrative

A shepherd was put in charge of an average size flock of sheep, and he took too his task with joy and enthusiasm.  The shepherd was responsible, diligently and worked hard. He kept watch over his flock and rejoiced as the flock continued to increase. From a distance things looked great but there was a problem. The shepherd was extremely near sited and didn't see what was really going on. In the flock, there was a number of wolves disguised as sheep. They would take sheep, but as the sheep disappeared, wolves took their place. The growth in the flock was not sheep, but the enemy coming in.  … [Read more...] about The Flock

Years ago I remember working in college ministry.  I was going and running all the time, pushing myself to do The Lord's Work.  Needless to say, I was a little high strung and I was in the process of getting onto another believer for their lack of hyper-enthusiasm.  I remember it as clear as day that a guy I knew well and respected walked past and said "dude, chill out".  I realized at that moment that I was not a picture of grace and peace, instead I was more of the picture of the American work ethic.  At this point, I had to stop and ask myself, did Jesus have the American work ethic, or has … [Read more...] about Dude, Chill Out

Do you have a personal Mission Statement?  Now we all have the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, and we need to have those part of our core identity.  Beyond that, I have a purpose and calling to help equip people for the work of ministry in the area they are called.  I also take time every year to make a theme for the year.  A few years ago, it was "Not a hill worth dying on".  Last year it was "fight the fights that need fighting".  2013 looks to be a year of interesting experiences and some new beginnings or transitions.  This year I plan to get some good writing done, move … [Read more...] about What is Your Mission Statement

Ever have those days when you think “am I really called for this?” Those days where everyone is a critic and no one is happy with anything you do, the messages seem to fall on deaf ears and people seem more concerned with the lighting and the volume of the music than with what the scripture is says. Have those moments? I am currently not serving in vocational ministry, and it leaves me heart broken some days. I know my calling, and I have shared it on here, so I'm not going to rehash all those things. There is bi-vocational work in my immediate future, and I feel blessed that God's calling on … [Read more...] about Is This What I Was Called For?

Sometimes things just stink. Have you experienced that? Sometimes things go wrong, fights at home, income drops, kids are wild and your team loses and doesn't make it to the World Series. Sometimes life is just hard and you wonder why. I know I have spent many hours begging God for relief and deliverance. Often, I don't find it and it's for my benefit that I don't find it. I am not always in the situations that I want to be in, but I have found those situations are where I learn the most. It's approaching winter time, and the trees are bare, the grass in brown and what I see out the window … [Read more...] about Finding the Beauty and Purpose in Ashes

Have you ever stopped to think about the 12 guys Jesus stuck together? Some fisherman, craftsmen, farmers but there are two guys we sometimes miss.  The was Simon the Zealot, a political revolutionary who wanted to see Rome overthrown and kicked out of Israel. A Jew for the people. Then there was Matthew. He was a tax collector, a traitor to the Jewish people, collecting taxes for the enemy, the ruling Roman empire. I can't imagine these two guys were close friends. They probably didn't like each other at the beginning, but even after the death of Jesus, they were in the upper room … [Read more...] about The Zealot and the Traitor

One of the most used (over used) resources in the modern church is often guilt.  As Baptists, we don't have the corner on the market when it comes to guilt, but we definately have more than our fair share of usage. I'll admit I have used it from the pulpit, classroom, article and the occasional blog. We use guilt to promote faith, but should we?  One of the things I see very often is people struggling with guilt and not knowing what to do. Guilt can sometimes be a trap for people, but it doesn't need to be. Guilt had to be understood in it's proper context so people can be free of it's … [Read more...] about Do you Guilt, or Let the Spirit bring Conviction?