Articles
Forgiving Ourselves and Forgiving Others
I have been thinking about forgiveness a lot lately. I know many people who struggle with it, in that they are either unable to forgive themselves for something they have done or they are unable to forgive someone else for hurting them. When I think about God’s...
Worshiping Doubters
I love being a pastor and am called to be a pastor, but at times, doubt comes more naturally for me than faith. When a child dies, I don’t see a hidden joy and design behind the tragedy; I see nonsense. I don’t feel divinely comforted; I feel rage. So if you need your...
Improvise
“Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life . . .” (Ecclesiastes 9:9a HCSB) I had the perfect date planned for my young bride. We had only been married a few months and didn’t have a lot of money, but I wanted to give her the best experience...
Jesus Cares About Your Joy
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. —John 15:11 Last words matter. When someone dies, we often think back to our final conversation, remembering and reflecting on what we said to each other. I hope my final...
An Act of Worship
God, assuming we believe in a divine being, existed before the beginning of time. And Christians believe the God who revealed Himself in the Bible never had a beginning, a thought beyond our ability to comprehend. But it is not beyond our ability to comprehend that He...
The Rule of Rubrics
Perhaps most would agree that thirty years ago there was no such thing as rubrics. Oh, there was evaluation, but other than a potential list of requirements for that upcoming project or paper, there was no way to determine what the score might be…until...
Freed
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” (Romans 8:12 NLT) The old sinful nature is a slave driver, a drill sergeant. It demands obedience. It uses the desires and longings of the body and soul to...
A Distracted and Disenchanted Day in the Life
“We have drawn important boundaries for the encroachment of technology into our lives to preserve our family and attention spans, but that does not mean we’ve managed to save time for reflection.” The beauty of using my iPhone as my alarm clock is that when I reach...
Inconsolable Longing
Is anything more disruptively unsettling or existentially challenging than having to deeply feel a desire that will never be fully satisfied in this life? It seems reasonable to assume that a good God who loves the human creatures He created would never build into...
Social Ministry: 4 Reasons Why Your Church Should Be Social Media
Social Media has now become a tool that allows churches and ministries to reach a global audience. Social Media does not replace a traditional church service or replace church but social media is a place where we can keep the conversation going after church service is...
Training Small Group Leaders
When we first launched small groups at National Community Church, we designed a three-hour, in-person training to prepare potential leaders. We packed in as much as we could—theology of community, icebreakers and snacks, raising up apprentice leaders, asking powerful...
How Heroes Become Villains
Have you ever seen yourself as a villain? Most of us don’t see ourselves as the villain of our stories… We don’t wear a greasy mustache. We don’t have an evil lair. We don’t have elaborate plan to rule the world, “mua ha ha ha haaaaaaaa.” We often see ourselves as...
Abundant
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10b NASB) Jesus intends that the life experience of those who follow Him should be rich and rewarding, exciting, and full of joy, meaning, and purpose . . . in a word, abundant. Jesus revealed the...
Becoming an Unhurried Leader
Hurried leadership makes me think of a childhood toy called a Chinese finger trap. This long, narrow cylinder is often woven from bamboo strips. A child puts a finger from one hand into one end and a finger from the other hand in the other end and pulls. The trap...
When God is Good
God tells us His thoughts and ways are above us, so far above both our thoughts of how life should work and our ways of responding to life’s challenges that how He operates is “far beyond anything you could imagine” (Isaiah 55: 8 NLT). And yet our ubiquitous attitude...
Counselor
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” (John 14:16 HCSB) There have been many times in the middle of a counseling session I’ve thought, “Boy, this person really needs a counselor!” This is when I take comfort in the...
Church Diversity Requires Intention
You don't drift toward diversity, it requires intention. As pastors, we are tasked with representing the values and priorities of God‘s kingdom as a local outpost called the church. Those around us should know what God is like and who He cares about by how we live,...
Turning the Hungry Away
Why a ‘juice and cookie’ Jesus can never satisfy our souls. My two brothers and I sat in the back of our rusty, over-sized late 1960’s Buick, stuffing our faces with cream horn pastries-one of the few traditions we had as a homeless family living in an abandoned...
Becoming Resilient
You've been through a tough season of pain. You're finally beginning to heal and discover hope again. You feel like you're beginning to understand the meaning of the word, Resilient. You are bouncing back from the unthinkable, but you still crave something more. What...
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership
When the early Wesleyan bands of Christ-followers got together in small group meetings, their first question to each other was “How is it with your soul?” This is the best possible question for us as Christian leaders in light of Jesus’ warning and in light of what we...
