This is my article for my church's July 2014 newsletter... Psalm 145:1-7 1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour … [Read more...] about What’s Your Story?
Leadership: or, that moment you realize you’ve been praying for the wrong thing…
I’ll admit it: I’m one of those guys that if I didn’t believe so strongly in gathering together as a church then I could be completely content spending Sundays in nature “connecting with God”…just me and him, and the ant crawling by. Fortunately there are other days in the week to get alone into nature; unfortunately I don’t get the pleasure of doing that as much as I would like. Last week, however, I forced an excursion. Waking up and staring at my ceiling, I had a single thought in mind: I need to get out and get alone, just me, my Bible, my notebook, and God. And so I did. After a … [Read more...] about Leadership: or, that moment you realize you’ve been praying for the wrong thing…
The forward looking hope of Good Friday and Easter (a meditation)
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the leaders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ~ Matthew 16:21 Anticipation. When you read through the story of the Bible, one of the things that makes it gospel or good news is a forward looking expectation of better things that will come, even if for the moment they look worse. There is a longing for something greater, something better that hopes beyond the ultimate veil in life which we call death. In realizing our mortality, we are … [Read more...] about The forward looking hope of Good Friday and Easter (a meditation)
Some things I’ve learned in ten years of being a pastor…
May 8, 2014 will mark 10 years to the day that I first started pastoring a church (the tiny, almost middle of nowhere Conway Community Church near South Boston, IN—the more I reflect back, especially when it came to my preaching, the more I feel sorry for those poor congregants!). I will actually be celebrating that mark (along with my birthday and Mother’s Day) on the campus of the International Bible College of Zambia. I can live with that… Anyway…reflecting back over the past decade, I wanted to share some things I’ve learned along the way, in no particular order: First, I have … [Read more...] about Some things I’ve learned in ten years of being a pastor…
We don’t kick tables, so…
…why do we kick people? In the auditorium of my church’s main building, there is a side door in which you can enter, walk down a slightly curved aisle that cuts in front of the stage, and come to another side door to a storage room. In the midst of your journey, you pass by a table used to house the Lord’s Supper and other items. Unless you are just not paying attention, you step around this table. And why? Because running in to it would hurt. In fact, when you first step into the auditorium, if your eyes are open, you see the table and your brain instinctively begins to calculate … [Read more...] about We don’t kick tables, so…
Truth, Community, Missions: A Paradigm for Discipleship
I love Jesus’ prayer in John 17 and have ever since I first preached through it in 2006 (side question: does it seem like 2006 should be that long ago?). As Jesus prayed on behalf of all of his followers throughout the ages (17:20), his primary concern was for the glory he and the Father share. The glory of the Father through the Son becomes the blood that pumps through the first five verses of the prayer (indeed, through the whole prayer). Jesus shared glory with the Father before they created the world, he glorified the Father by accomplishing his task upon the earth, and he would culminate … [Read more...] about Truth, Community, Missions: A Paradigm for Discipleship
Death and Life: A Meditation on the Words We Speak
Death and life are in the power of the tongue. ~ Proverbs 18:21 Most of us probably heard the rhyme from our mothers at some point in our childhoods: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. Why do we seek to instill such rhymes into the minds of our children? Because, we all have experienced the truth: Words do hurt. The Bible tells us repeatedly that the tongue is a powerful member among the parts of our body. Solomon said that in the tongue reside death and life. In a rather frightening passage, James wrote that the tongue though small is like a rudder that … [Read more...] about Death and Life: A Meditation on the Words We Speak
Discipleship is life…
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in1 the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." ~ Matthew 28:16-20 “How are we going to do discipleship?” It’s a question that I think gets … [Read more...] about Discipleship is life…
Some thoughts on prayer…
This year at the church I pastor, I have decided to emphasize prayer. I didn’t make this decision because of a lack of talking about prayer in the past. Each of my last three years here have seen at least one series where I have taught on prayer on Sunday morning, and a couple of years back I did a several week study on the Lord’s Prayer on Wednesday nights. Also, three times in the past three years we have abandoned our normal Sunday morning routine and had services focused on nothing but prayer and singing praise to God. Also, since I first arrived at this church in mid-2010, I have kept … [Read more...] about Some thoughts on prayer…
Discussion: How does your church raise up leaders?
Leadership. This is a topic that I have much vested interesting for (1) being a pastor of a church, and (2) trying to find ways to raise up new, godly leaders. Ultimately, I am of the persuasion that each church needs a plurality of pastors (preferably homegrown) and a group of deacons that have servant hearts, as well as other mature men and women who lead and disciple without any "official" title. Presently, in my church situation, one of the constant concerns I hear from people is about our lack of leaders, and so I'm just trying to identify and build up others who can serve as good leaders … [Read more...] about Discussion: How does your church raise up leaders?