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January 30, 2012
The Romance of Adoption?
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In 2008 my wife and I adopted a shy, little 10 month old boy from Guatemala. He is now a five-year-old untamable ball of energy. Since that time, one of the things we are continually encouraged by is hearing of more and more people who are adopting, whether it be movies stars or normal people. In fact, my brother and his wife (not movie stars) are in the midst of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. We couldn’t be more excited! That being said, as adoption has grown more and more popular, I’ve also noticed an uprise in talk about the romantic side of adoption. Frankly, it seems as if adoption is the cool thing to do if you are a hip and progressive. Now,...Read More →
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January 17, 2012
Are You a Real Pastor??
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It’s been interesting. I’ve been a pastor for 10 years. In all this time I’ve always been bi-vocational. You can read about that in other places on my blog. During that time I’ve come to the realization that two things are (generally) true: In the traditional / established church world you aren’t a “real pastor” unless you are paid full-time by the church. In the church planting, missional, emerging (whatever words you want to use here) world you aren’t totally legitimate unless you are bi-vocational. Why don’t we just go ahead and say that neither of these assumptions are healthy. There is a time and place for full-time paid pastors. There is a time and place for part-time paid pastors. Neither one is more spiritual than the other....Read More →
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January 5, 2012
The (Missional) Vocation of Marriage
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A lot is currently being said about marriage these days due to the recent publication of two books on marriage by two famous (and/or infamous) pastors. I won’t link to one of them because I just don’t think it would be helpful, but I will link to the other one because (while I haven’t read it) I imagine it’s probably helpful in some ways because I really respect the author. But, over the years I have developed a some thoughts that I (and others it seems) have found helpful when it comes to the vocation of marriage. Now, I don’t fancy myself an complete expert when it comes to being married, just ask my wife. But, in the midst of our struggles the following thoughts...Read More →
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December 18, 2011
The Temptatons of Jesus and our Temptations
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At the heart of all temptations, as we see here [in the temptations of Jesus], is the act of pushing God aside because we perceive him as secondary; if not actually superfluous and annoying in comparison with all the apparently far more urgent matters that fill our lives. Constructing a world by our own lights, without reference to God, building our own foundation; refusing to acknowledge the reality of anything beyond the political and material, while setting God aside s an illusion – that is the temptation that threatens us in many varied forms. Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazarath
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December 13, 2011
Junia is Not Alone
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I’m a friend of many women who have had to wrestle through trying to discern their calling into pastoral ministry. Discerning this isn’t easy no matter your sex, but when you are a women its infinitely more difficult. I’m one who advocates for women being able to serve in any capacity in the local church. It’s funny, for readers of mine who weren’t brought up in church, they probably find it strange that I even have to say that. But, the church has a long history of arguing about this very topic. That said, I totally understand the complexity of the issue. I was raised in a tradition that believed women were not t0 teach or be involved in leadership. Well, that’s not totally true....Read More →
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October 21, 2011
Towards a Discipleship Framework
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I’ve been working on the following thoughts for the last year or so and I am honestly apprehensive to even publish this because it has morphed and changed so much over the last year. It’s far from perfect but I’d love to hear your thoughts to improve it and tighten it up a bit. Discipleship as the Bottom Line “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” Colossians 1:28 The church, in the context of its missional calling, must work with all its energy to present people fully mature in Jesus Christ. I think we can say...Read More →
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September 26, 2011
Two Weeks from Today…
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…I’ll be recovering from running 26.2 miles… that is if i finish! For the last 4 months I’ve been training hard for this marathon. I’ve made a couple posts on my blog as to why I’m running the marathon (Why I’m Running The Chicago Marathon) and what I’ve kept on running (Why I Run.). When I started this training one of my main goals was to support one of the communities that I care about the most. After we adopted Mason from Guatemala we began looking for ways to come alongside the people in the home of his birthplace. Many of you know we found Lemonade International, who has been doing some amazing work there in the heart of Guatemala City – La Limonada is...Read More →
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September 23, 2011
Measuring Church Effectiveness
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What he said… “Ultimately, each church will be evaluated by only one thing. It’s disciples. Your church is only as good as its disciples. It does not matter how good your praise, preaching, programs or property are: If you’re disciples are passive, needy, consumerist, and not moving in the direction of radical obedience, your church is not good.” - Neil Cole (not sure what book this is from)
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September 21, 2011
Why I Run.
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I used to be one of those guys who would look at people running and say “those people are nuts.” I mean, why would I run? Growing up playing sports, running was always the punishment for doing something wrong. Miss too many free throws? Run. Drop a fly ball? Run. Make the wrong pass? Run. Be slow getting back on defense? Run. You get the point. Running is punishment. How in the world could people do it for fun? Well, my last post talked about why I started running. So to all you running skeptics out there – and I know there are many of you – I offer you the reasons I keep on running: I run because I don’t want to wake up...Read More →
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August 26, 2011
Why I’m Running The Chicago Marathon
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(I’m raising awareness/money for Lemonade International by running the 2011 Chicago Marathon. You can help education and feed the children of La Limonada by donating here). About a year and a half ago a friend of mine, Katie Nolan, was lost on Mt. Hood. She and her two friends who were hiking with her died on the mountain as they were caught in a storm. While I had not talked with Katie for about a year or so (last I saw her was at a wedding) she had been a good friend of ours. She and my wife played volleyball together and she was an integral part of the formation of our church community just as we were getting our feet wet with what it...Read More →
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August 9, 2011
Preaching on the Run: Preparing Sermons as a Bi-Vocational Pastor Who Can’t Spend 30 Hours in His Study
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I was told in seminary that I should spend 1 hour of sermon prep for every minute I will be preaching. For many of us that means we should spend 20-30 hours preparing sermons? This approach poses some serious problems for me. First of all, I have other pastoral responsibilities. Second, I am bi-vocational so I barely even have that much time to give to everything I do. For those two reasons alone, there is just no chance I am spending 30 hours a week prepping for a sermon on Sunday. You can easily see the problem. The challenge isn’t finding more hours to prepare sermons, the challenge is finding some kind of rhythm that allows me to spend less time studying in the classic...Read More →
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July 28, 2011
The Necessity of Community for Witness
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In light of my post yesterday on the problem of isolation and individualism in our culture I offer you this short expert from Darrel Guder’s excellent book, The Continuing Conversion of the Church. This is an older book (published in 2000), but I read this in 2001 and it single-handedly recalibrated my understanding of the nature and purpose of the church. It is probably one of the most formative books I’ve read over the years. The invitation to respond to the gospel, however, must naturally lead to incorporation into the community of witness. It is clear from the New Testament that God’s Spirit forms a community of people for mission. God’s call has always formed a people, a community, within which God was known, worshiped,...Read More →
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July 27, 2011
Normalizing Individualism and Isolation
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I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the importance (i.e. necessity) of community to our formation and mission. I just finished up spending a week in Guatemala with Lemonade International. In the evenings we would naturally debrief all the things that happened that day and all the thoughts that were passing through our heads as we struggled with wrapping our minds around the poverty that we were experiencing. At one point our conversation turned to our individualized, isolated society here in North America and how we struggle to really connect with people well. In the midst of this conversation, something interesting happened. Instead of talking about all that we had that the people in the ghetto didn’t, it was flipped. All the sudden we were...Read More →
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June 29, 2011
The Primary Task of the Church?
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“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” Colossians 1:28 The church, in the context of its missional calling, must work with all its energy to present people fully mature in Jesus Christ. I think we can say that mission without discipleship is ineffective and discipleship without mission is pointless and honestly can’t really even be called discipleship. It was Alan Hirsch who said, “I have come to believe we are never going to be the movement Jesus wants unless we first et the issues of discipleship right. This is because the health and growth of transformative...Read More →
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June 6, 2011
The Way of the Christ, the Way of the Cross
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When we make sure the cross is at the center of the gospel, we realize that the way of Christ is one of redemption through sacrifice and struggle and that those on the inside are those who humbly trust him with the whole of their lives and entrust themselves wholly to his agenda and his plans for the world.
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May 23, 2011
The Vocation of Marriage…
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Marriage is intended as a redemptive partnership that serves as an example to the world of the in-breaking reality of God among us. It points backward to God’s original intent for creation while pointing forward to what will be true again in the future. This is the vocation of marriage.
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April 27, 2011
Is Diversity About Being Hip and Relevant?
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Great article on diversity and the changing world from Faith and Leadership: Most of us have heard a variation of this statement: “The United States is becoming increasingly racially and ethnically diverse. To stay ‘relevant,’ we must adapt to this new reality.” I have often wondered exactly what this statement is supposed to mean for the church. Does it mean that churches filled primarily with white or black persons should somehow forget such folks and focus on other people? Does it mean churches should start playing some imagined stereotypical Hispanic music? It is never clear. Rather, it seems as if the statement is typically more a veiled threat: get hip (somehow) or disappear. Forget getting hip. The growing diversity is a gift from God, a...Read More →
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April 19, 2011
Reflecting on Back Surgery & the Poor
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For the last 6 months my I’ve had shooting pain down my left leg in addition to it going numb all the way down to my toes whenever I stand for more than 3-5 minutes. Strangely, it has been the worst when walking through a grocery store. I’ve taken that as a sign to stop walking through grocery stores. In related news, we’ve spent less money when shopping for food. Today, I’ve been laying in bed a most of the day recovering from back surgery that I had yesterday. I had spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spine) plus a herniated disk in the L4-L4 vertebrae that my wonderful doctor kindly fixed for me. I am still a bit sore and kinda doped up on percocet so...Read More →
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April 13, 2011
Few Bear the Cross
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From The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A’Kempis, “Jesus hath many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of His Cross. He hath many seekers of comfort, but few of tribulation. He findeth many companions of His table, but few of His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, few are willing to undergo anything for His sake. Many follow Jesus that they may eat of His loaves, but few that they may drink of the cup of His passion. Many are astonished at His Miracles, few follow after the shame of His Cross. Many love Jesus so long as no adversities happen to them. Many praise Him and bless Him, so long as they receive any comforts from Him. But if Jesus hide...Read More →
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April 12, 2011
Two Super-Easy Steps to Preaching a Holistic Gospel
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We all think we are preaching a holistic gospel. In all my years of interacting with pastors, teachers and leaders I have never met anyone who got into a pulpit on a regular basis and said “I think I am going to preach a one-sided gospel.” In reality, none of us are preaching a fully holistic gospel, are we? Obviously I don’t think so, or I wouldn’t have asked the question. I believe this is one of the reasons we need to continually be in dialogue with the entire body of Christ, Christians from all walks of life. We must know and learn from Christians from different racial, ethic and socio-economic backgrounds and even Christians from urban, suburban and rural contexts. It is in these conversations and friendships...Read More →
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