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…
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…
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…
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…
An Anniversary to Remember
He: Well, so much for the anniversary date. She: It was a good idea. He: Thanks. Sorry some things got kind of— She: Don’t mention it. He: Really? You’re not mad? She: Me? Nah. He: Somehow I knew this was going to be one of those nights when I backed out of the garage without…
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…
A Word of Advice from Jesus’ Mother
There are many universal sayings that all mothers end up reciting at least once if not a thousand times. Wash your hands before eating. Play fair. Don’t follow the crowd. Be yourself. Trust me. Get some rest. Pull those weeds in the back or they’ll kill the tulips! Listen to your father. Don’t go out…
7 Pastor Traps on Mother’s Day
Beware of the trap game. In sports, the trap game is a game played against an opponent generally deemed to be easy to defeat. As a result, a person or team may not prepare as they are looking ahead to next Sunday. For pastors, Mother’s Days are often trap Sundays. But there are a few traps we can…
4 Prayers I Wish I Didn’t Hear in Worship
Public prayer is an awkward experience in most churches. It’s really a strange set of circumstances. Someone comes up to the microphone and is speaking to God and we are praying along. Hopefully. Sometimes, if you think about it, it would sound a little weird from God’s perspective. Prayer should be the ultimate spiritual communion between…
Four Foolish Filter Fails in Bible Study
I was having coffee with a friend the other day. He’s one of my favorite people in the universe and I love his take on the Bible and church. Our church models are very different. Still, we marveled that even though our churches are about as different as Switchfoot and Lecrae, we’ve both experienced the same…