I sometimes hear myself say, “Nothing surprises me. I’ve seen it all. The good, the bad and the slightly unattractive.” But that’s not exactly true. I am constantly surprised. I’ve seen sucker punches on the church parking lot, midnight hospital runs, camel poop stains on church carpets which incited business meetings, witches getting saved, and also lots and lots of things more »
Month: May 2016
Prayer of a Messy Follower
Thank You Jesus… You’ve been so faithful to this messed-up follower. You restore my sanity on a weekly basis. You reach into the nothingness and give me everything I need. You’ve been far greater and more powerful than everything I’ve faced. If I did anything good, it was because of You. You have never given more »
Mark 5: A Paranormal Event
Our world is obsessed with the paranormal. Horror and the supernatural are top at the box office. Paranormal games sell millions in the gaming industry. Tales of zombies, rising bed sheets in the middle of the night, UFO’s threatening to steal all our resources, and vampires hitting on hot girls- It’s all there! As I more »
7 Ways to Pray
I’d love to be the kind of believer who oozes spirituality, but the real me is a scattered, messy, stumbling Christ-follower. My life is filled with to-do’s, deadlines, meals on the go, and Skype. Is there any reason to think I could ever be good at prayer? Of course! And if that’s something you’ve ever more »
Declarations for Every Day
Today– I’ll live a life of celebration. The brooding life is not holy. To many, it might look holy but a grave-digger and skeptic do not a Kingdom make. Today– I’ll simplify to remove distractions. Our inability to hear God is directly linked to the static of modern life. It’s perhaps the greatest plague of the more »
What Kind of Church is It?
We often categorize our churches with fancy titles: Relevant, emergent, classic, reformed, fundamentalist, traditional, contemporary, liturgical, purpose-driven etc… The list is really endless and the subtleties of each model vary. But what kind of church are we? Really… Some churches are more like a country club, complete with secret handshakes, special membership privileges, and perks for more »
10 Classes You Won’t Take in Seminary
Have you ever had that dream where all of the sudden someone from school calls and says that you missed that one class and you have to go back to school? It’s a serial nightmare for me–usually after a Sunday of preaching. Still, if you feel called to pastor the average church (if there is such more »
An Anniversary to Remember
Five Survival Sayings (Read, Believe, Repeat… Constantly)
Theological elitists, keep moving along. There’s nothing that will interest you here. Jacked-up sinners, like me, pay careful attention. We all need a few easy-to-remember axioms that get us through the day. As a man of habit who has struggled with self- condemnation through the years, I’ve white-knuckled these truths in the middle of my more »