Articles
5 Reasons to Cling to Hope in the Midst of the Storm
In the midst of this pandemic and quarantine, I think of storms. I live on two islands in Alaska, and my family commercial fishes every summer out on stormy waters. So I feel a deep connection to the disciples and the two storms in the gospels. Those two storms have...
A 2020 Resurrection Sunday Question
WERE THERE TEAR STAINS ON THE AUTOGRAPH PARCHMENT? A 2020 Resurrection Sunday Question As far as we know, there are no surviving autographs of any of the Books of the Bible, including the newer writings of the Apostles. An autograph is the original document as...
Thinking deeply and leaning in during COVID-19
In a matter of weeks, (almost) everything has changed. COVID-19 has transformed pastors across the country (and parts of the world) into digital-church-planters. We are learning and living on the fly, adjusting to a new normal, figuring out how to be the...
Happy Are the Hungry and Thirsty
I long for sad things to be untrue one day. I hunger for wrongs to be made right. I thirst for the hurt to be healed and the broken to be fixed. I want decay and death to give way to life and human flourishing. Like you, I’m longing for God’s justice and shalom...
9 Ways We’re Trying to Engage Online During this Crisis
I can honestly say that I’ve never experienced a week quite like the one we just had in America. The coronavirus is changing our lives on a daily basis. First, the CDC recommended no large group gatherings of more than 250 people, then 50 people, and last...
Should We Have Church During the COVID-19 Crisis?
Wow, talk about a loaded question! Unless you have been living in a proverbial cave, it’s no secret that we are living through, probably, the most life altering crisis we have ever seen In our lifetimes. Many in our grand country are locked in a debate over how...
Fear starts a turning
The Old and New Testaments teem with God encounters: Abraham serving three strangers, Moses taking his sandals off to approach the burning bush, Elijah watching the Almighty pass by at Horeb, Gideon putting out his fleece as a test, Balaam’s talking donkey,...
Interrupt The Downward Spiral
Anxiety is an out of control thought pattern. It settles over the mind like a severe weather system, spewing thunderclouds and casting lightning bolts. Life feels like an airplane in a tailspin. It feeds on what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. What if the...
Moving from Incarnational to On-Line Worship: Some suggestions
First COVID-19 meant we cancelled gatherings of 500 or more. Then fifty. Then ten. Now some cities are near lockdown. Normally, the church gathers as an expression of our love for God and for one another. But in this moment we must do the opposite—for the same...
What’s with churches having security teams?
“We left our former church, in part, because they had a security team with guns!” I was told. I respected their decision and them for following their convictions. The only problem was, we had a security team with men and women carrying guns; they’re just not an...
Surviving Sorrow: Help Grieving Parents In Your Church
Helping parents who’ve lost a child must be one of the most difficult things pastors and church leadership teams must face. I am one of those parents. In 2008, when our three-year-old son died from strep throat, I did not know the Lord, nor go to a church. I...
Triangles on Purpose
“Triangles are special because they are exceptionally strong.” “Any structure requiring a strong and rigid construction depends on triangles to achieve that goal.” “Triangles hold large loads without collapsing or having their structure altered.” These are just a...
Unwrapping Gifts
God is our gift giver. And all too often we are like hesitant, nervous children, questioning the gifts under the tree. We leave them lying idle, gathering dust. Our Creator, our heavenly Father, the ultimate parent, has lav¬ished on us a generous wide range of...
The Most Important Thing I Learned in the Third Grade
Third grade started out very badly. I hated my new teacher, and to make matters worse, I was sure that she hated me. Some of the blame goes to my second grade teacher. She was nice - so nice. In fact her name was Miss Nice - really. Miss Nice had a soft way, a nice...
Vocational Pain: It will take you out!
You’re a pastor. You have been faithful in the Christian disciplines you preach and teach. You have seen God’s hand move in miraculous ways in your life and the lives of others. You may have attained some level of “success” or become a sought-after speaker in...
A Note From Max Lucado COVID-19
Friends, We find ourselves in a sober moment. These are uncertain times around the world and fears are rising. People who have never felt anxious before are suddenly weighed down with worry and are not sure what to do next. Do you need encouragement right about now?...
A man of faithfulness
In 1 Chronicles 11:41, we see Uriah listed as one of David’s “mighty warriors”—the men who “gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord had promised” (verse 10). Uriah was clearly consumed with the purposes of his king, David....
Your voice, not your version of someone else’s
I was in my midtwenties when I met Gwen. My college days were over, and it was a matter of working, investing in my calling, and building my adult life. I started working at my local church, and for the first year, I felt like a fraud on a daily basis. My...
The Reason We Persevere
In his book Nothing Like it in the World, Stephen Ambrose writes about the building of the transcontinental railroad in America. It was a monumentally ambitious vision, the linking of the nation’s two coasts by rail. In 1863, at the beginning of the project,...
Why Imaginary Conversations Are Key to Improving Small Group Experiences
We’ve all had moments in life when we needed a little rehearsal time to achieve optimal results. If you’ve ever prepared for a job interview, broken up with someone, shared bad news, or even proposed marriage, you’ve had imaginary conversations with yourself....
