Before I walked through the death of my marriage I thought that church would be a place of comfort for a person in grief.
All in Church
You Cannot Grow a Family Without New Births
Church growth is about telling outsiders about the good news of Jesus and inviting them to become part of his story.
Family Time
No matter how serious the content of our worship, Family Time leads us to end our services aware of one another. When people are hurting, we know it if they are only willing to speak it out
The Emotional Brain, Romantic Idealism, and Church-Planting
The answer might be surprisingly boring. If the priority is the growth of God’s Kingdom, however, then this kind of redirection should be welcome.
Soul Care in the Wilderness: A Preacher’s Journey
I learned how to take care of my soul in the wilderness of small town and small church ministry.
The Discipline of Friendship
Friendship requires trust, openness, and time, which can be difficult for ministers to achieve. People with whom you can be real, open, vulnerable, honest, and forthright with.
Preaching against the Clock?
If I were to preach again I would never preach longer than twenty-five minutes and would not worry about speaking for twenty minutes or less.
Back in the Saddle Again (Part 3)
Thou shalt let the toddlers toddle and infants be make all their baby noises. And unless absolutely necessary, thou shalt not whisk them out of the worship assembly.
Shepherding When Sin Strikes
Every church leader has witnessed it: one of the members of their church community gets caught it sin. They were caught in their sin and are desperately seeking your advice and counsel.
Timeless: Ancient Psalms for the Church Today
This project is to produce a new translation with notes and a short commentary for each of the 150 psalms along with the composition of two to three new songs for each psalm.
How I'm Changing As a Minister
I'm still a work in progress and have come to believe that I will always be changing as a minister. I thought it might be helpful to someone to consider my path as a preacher.
Not on Sunday
On Sunday, we have a schedule to follow, are probably dressed up, and conditioned to be quiet. Friends don’t schedule activities where they sit in lines and look at the backs of other people’s heads.
Back in the Saddle Again
What would I do if I could go back to the days of full-time ministry, preaching week after week? What would I change?
A Prayer for Ash Wednesday (2017)
Lord, on this day, we gather as a people broken,
bleeding from self-inflicted wounds.
When “Small Minded” Isn’t Necessarily a Bad Thing
There is beauty in the simplicity of a small church. This beauty is not manifested in the actions of worship inasmuch as it is created in the body of Christ coming together and worshiping as one united, small (or large) body.
Jonah the Reluctant Preacher
Jonah is often thought of as a children's story complete with a big fish, but the real message of Jonah is an adult one with an opportunity to stretch our understanding of God and salvation.
Job Description for a Shepherd
Our work as shepherds requires us to attend to our own life and walk before God even as we continue to develop the skills necessary to provide care for our congregations.
Partnerships in the City
While non-profit organizations can never take the place of the church, the church can come alongside these organizations, pool resources, and work together.
Urban Public Schools and the Kingdom of God (Part 2)
Regardless of how deeply churches get engaged in urban schools, the need is still pressing and Christians have a responsibility to the vulnerable children among us.
Urban Public Schools and the Kingdom of God (Part 1)
The people of God are called to see this and to act. We are called to stop and help the vulnerable children among us because the love of God in us.