Even with all the uncertainties around and within us, there appear to be some broad truths and trends emerging that are going to define our work in the Church for the foreseeable future.
Much has changed over the past two months. Some changes are worth holding on to.
Let’s pray that, in some ways, our world never returns to its pre-COVID-19 “normal.”
Leaving the corners of our fields unharvested for the sake of the most vulnerable | #intimeslikethese
What if this, our most recent apocalypse, was met by a Church willing to do more than hastily broadcast its services online – a Church willing to love, serve and give up itself, and even its budget, for the sake of the world?
The Good News of Christmas calls the Church to embrace the ‘F’ word
As a Baptist pastor I can no longer avoid the “F” word; if anything, I must lean into it, embracing it for the sake of the Gospel.
Pastors as ‘hybrid sailors’? New models for effective leadership in today’s churches
Borrowing from scripture and the U.S. Navy, I suggest a pastor’s role in today’s world should be like that of Jesus, who began his movement with the flexibility of a new type of vessel, a small crew and the vision of a new creation based on the pattern of heaven.
Jason may be an obscure biblical character, but he offers insight for today’s church
The spirit of Jason is one of adventure and a willingness to embrace the possibility of the new, a spirit that embraces the upside-down way of Jesus. Maybe the church today needs more upside-down ways of thinking.
Why I don’t buy the gloomy forecasts about the church’s future
I believe there has never been a better day to be the church. Indeed, I believe the 21st century will find the church of Jesus Christ emerging from decades of slow decline to rediscover authentic community, witness and vibrancy.
Check your idols at the church door. Trinket gods aren’t worth much.
Let’s name these false deities security, convenience and control. These are not three separate gods. They are the same idols, simply described in different ways, each highlighting different connotations and pointing in slightly different trajectories.
Post-apocalyptic Downton Abbey
“Downton Abbey” is a six-season drama based on one aristocratic family in England who navigates the treacherous period before and after World War I. As the 1920s come rushing in, the English aristocracy faces a cultural shift that will bring…