Articles
Born to Belong
We all have a fundamental human need to belong to a community. We need “our people” who understand us, support us, encourage us, and challenge us to grow. Secular communities fulfill some of these needs. Yet secular communities leave a gap in our sense of meaning and...
Having the Mind of Christ
We're all wearing paradigm glasses of one kind or another. We all see the world not as it is, but from our own perspective. We are finite, embodied beings with specific histories, relationships, knowledge, and social locations. None of us see the world objectively...
Analog Church
A life of increasing contentment, resilience, and wisdom is something we’re all after. And in one way or another, most of us know that the digital age has dangerously undone some of the necessary work of such a life. But there is an ancient and timeless remedy for...
Clinging to The Great Physician
During an outbreak of the bubonic plague nearly five hundred years ago, the no-nonsense leader of the German Reformation, Martin Luther, wrote a practical letter of advice to Johann Hess, a pastor in the city of Breslau. Many of his words relating to Christians’...
Finding Balance in a Teeter-Totter World
Do you ever feel that life is out of tune —a discordant schedule of pastoral engagements, spousal obligations, parental demands, friends’ needs, children’s activities, and church activities expecting your participation? When your head finally hits the pillow, does...
Revival
Who is limiting the opportunities for revival in our area—God or us? We must think it is not us. Why else would we be praying to God for revival and then be waiting for God to act? Of course, there is no revival unless and until there is an outpouring of the Holy...
Help Is Here
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV) Somewhere in my midthirties I ran out of fuel. While serving churches...
Self-Care and Mourning: How to Overcome Grief Without Losing Yourself in the Process
Even though all of us struggle with grief at one time or another, we all tend to feel as though we’re facing it alone – and along with the grief of missing a loved one, we often also experience chills, aches, sleeplessness, and fatigue. Some days, it may even feel...
What Do You Really Want? A Toolkit for Discernment
The desires of our heart matter because they give us hints of our personal calling. They guide us toward what we are called to be, to live, and to do. Our responsibility is to choose between those life-giving desires that lead us to become the person God wants us to...
Serve in the Spirit
There are two ways to serve God. One is to serve in the energy of the flesh; the other is to serve in the power of the Spirit. Serving God in the flesh simply means relying on your own natural abilities, the things you received at birth—your natural talent,...
Planned Giving Programs For Churches
Should a Church Have a Planned Giving Program? If you’ve been brainstorming fundraising ideas, you may have tried church yard sales, basket raffles, or capital campaigns. An alternative idea is to create a planned giving program for your church, allowing your...
The Importance of Boundaries in Healing
Shelby was working as a first responder when she signed up for a Tribe group that met at the church she attended. She said very little during the first few meetings but slowly began to open up as the program progressed. She shared with the group that she was going...
The Lion of Judah Has the Loudest Roar
We stopped dead in our tracks as the lion began to roar. My toddler grandson was just a few steps ahead of us, closest to the huge animal. The majestic lion, with his gorgeous, black-tipped mane, towered above Liam, who had his nose pressed against the wall of...
What Does it Mean to Be a Disciple?
What is the definition of discipleship? As Christians, we’re told to “go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19), but what does that mean in practical terms? Here is the reality if you are a Christian: You can say without hesitation, “I am a disciple.”...
Preparing our kids for a transgender world
I had a mom come to me just this past week, concerned about what her 3rd grade child was hearing. (His male teacher came to class with multi-colored fingernail polish and tight shorts, and the first book they read as a class promoted the idea of multiple genders). As...
If Jesus Was Serious . . . Then His Mission and the Church’s are Cosmic in Scope.
“I want what breaks God’s heart to break my heart.” You may have heard this well-intentioned cliché in your church community. It’s a sincere way of expressing a desire to be more like Christ, and that should be affirmed. But have you ever wondered, “What doesn’t break...
How To Effectively Minister to Single Dads
No one quite knows what to do with single dads when it comes to church socials and fellowship. While church should be the one safe place this man finds community and acceptance, sadly Christians assume he’s fine on his own. In reality, raising kids alone in this world...
Leaving Your Church? Consider This First
One night some years ago, I came home from church and opened my computer to read a suddenly popular meme floating around social media: “I am the church.” The meme, so far as I understood it, was intended as a kind of protest against the institutionalization of the...
Maximizing Tech for Faith Formation? It’s Time.
One of the items missing from my 6th grader’s back-to-school list this year was an electronic device. Yet even with brick-and-mortar learning back in full swing, it’s seemingly impossible for my student to successfully meet class requirements without a device. Daily...
“The Kingdom of God Is Here—Says Who?”
A friend of mine tells the story of having to do street evangelism for a course he was taking at a Christian college a number of years ago. One had to “win” x number of souls to receive a passing grade. Regarding one attempt to present the gospel, he recalls this...