Alaska was everything and more than I ever expected it to be.
An Update and Reflections on the Church Health Assessment
When church leaders seek a meaningful place to assess the health of their congregation, where do they turn?
Foundations for Worship: Jewish Feasts
Foundations provide support for structures, but that does not mean that the structures will look like the foundation. A house does not look like a basement.
Shabbat and Learning to Let Go
God, creator of the universe, stopped to rest. Not because he had to but because he chose to. God took a day off, then he called it holy!
When Ministers Behave Badly: Why Facebook Forums Will Not Determine the Future of the Movement
We objectify truth, rather than participate in it. We grab onto what we believe is true, and with a white-knuckled grip we wield it as a powerful weapon.
Fixer Upper, Shiplap, and the Importance of Greeting
Greeting others when we gather for worship may seem unimportant, but it participates in the substance of who we are as God’s family.
North to Alaska
I will be back to the blog soon, but for now just imagine me on the deck of a majestic ship waving good bye
The Heart of the Matter
When your heart hurts, to whom will you turn? When this isn’t working anymore (whatever this is), to whom will your heart lead you?
Did I Hear What I Think I Read?
Do we look at the text, recognize and comprehend the writing, then proceed to vocally proclaim it, modernizing the practice of differentiating how we read the text from how we vocalize it?
For London and Britain
Lord, it’s true you have been our help,
generation after generation.
Before you gave birth to mountains,
to the earth or inhabited world,
The Blessing of Challenge
What opportunities has God put in front of you that would allow you to get outside of your own set of norms, to be challenged in what you think to be true or best?
Haters Gonna Hate
Exploring what the Gospel has to say about the world has caused me to rethink how I view the world, what I expect from the world, and what I should see as my purpose in the world.
Making Disciples Is Not Like Selling Ads, But Still ...
I talk to everybody about Jesus. So sometimes I talk to people who are not interested. But I notice that the more people I share Jesus with, the more disciples I make.
A Post You Will Hate (But Should Really Read)
Let’s assert, for the sake of argument, that our nation was founded to be a Christian nation. What, then, does the Lord expect of such a nation?
Chronic Pain and Unmitigated Joy (or "we just sold our house")
A day will come when the burden will be lifted. In a flash the situation will improve, and I will feel joy. Or perhaps the situation will improve gradually, and I will feel my steps growing lighter and easier.
A Book You Will Hate (But Must Read)
Reality, Grief, Hope: Three Urgent Prophetic Tasks by Walter Brueggemann.
Let's Try That at Home
When an organization faces the normal shifts and changes that accompany any living body, both task and relational efforts are critical.
Church Growth Is Less Predictable Than You Think
Reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated, to say the least. By contrast though, predicting success in any church venture is impossible. There simply is no surefire recipe for growth.
The Ballad of Pretty and Ugly
In the world of ancient Israel and the text of the Old Testament we stumble over one name after another that means something (often a clue or insight into the story we are reading).
An Old Dog and a New Trick (YouToo?)
I admit that I am about three or four decades behind; though my children would beg to differ.