To tell the truth, I'm not "woke." Honestly, I don't even know what that means half the time. What I do know is that I grapple with my own white identity and what it means to be a racist when I don't intend to be.
Too many times people think that Christianity is all happy-clappy being blessed (especially by other Christians). But that is far from the truth. And thus we sing, with tears in our eyes, broken hallelujahs.
How do we bridge the gap between the world of the church and the world that lays outside of the church? That gap must be bridged.
Missional pastoral care is care for the soul—ours and theirs. It is one soul speaking to another, one beggar showing another beggar where to find the Bread of Life.
For 2018, let this year be different. Let this year be the year in which you empty yourself as Jesus did. Let this year be the year that you become impoverished as Jesus did, giving of Himself.
In the ambiguity of the sin of racism, confession is good. Confession is important. And being willing to learn from the ambiguity helps build bridges that may not have been there before.
There is grief in the closing of a church — for the parishioners and for the pastor. Allow space for grief, allow space for loss, and allow freedom to let the pastor move forward in serving God’s kingdom.
The movement of the kinetic church leads to the actions of the missional church. You can't have one without the other.
In many church circles, people are trying to move the church into becoming an Acts 2 kind of church. A church that reflects the church found in the Bible. But there's something missing here.
How often do we admit that we’re poor and needy? I'm not talking about finances or creating drama. This kind of poor and needy is a spiritual state, one in which we are completely sapped dry spiritually.
Sundays are about justice, not just us. That's something hard to say and harder to swallow. Sunday justice is about living differently and being a blessing to those around us.
Disciple-making isn't easy or comfortable. And that's a good thing. When it isn't comfortable, it breaks us. When it isn't easy, it makes us rely more on the strength of Jesus and power of the Holy Spirit.
Who has the time to practice solitude? Well, we all do. If you’re willing to schedule a lunch with someone or schedule a meeting, you can schedule a meeting with God and just be present with him.
Why is there a desire to ignore having construction done on the soul? I think maybe it has something to do with the fact that, just like road construction, it gets in the way of our hurrying.
Preparing a sermon can be like writing a ten-page term paper once a week and then having to present it to people. Not just that, but it has to make sense, be applicable, and capitalize on different learning styles.
Do you desire rest? Do you desire to have the burden lightened? Come, seek the ancient paths and you will find rest for your souls.
For many years, I struggled to teach myself how to play guitar. After getting stuck, I took more lessons and my learning picked up. This is much like discipleship in the church today.
Sometimes I wonder how often we truly have a clear vision and mission in our own lives. How many times do we just go day to day lacking a mindfulness of why we're doing what we're doing?
I never realized prayer can tucker a person out. Like when people hit the gym, they have a good workout and they’re tired yet they come back feeling good as well, almost energized. It’s being tired in a good way.
There are times where I'm just not red hot like these other great people of faith. I've learned it's okay to be beige in my spirituality. We're all wired different, with unique spiritual gifts.
Faith isn't always taught. Often times, faith is absorbed. It is formed at the kitchen table when the family talks to one another. It is formed in how a father treats the child.
Complainers. Honestly, every congregation seems to have at least one and it seems like every pastor gets caught in their cross hairs at one point or another. How do we deal with this?
When we end our prayers with the phrase "not my will, but yours be done", is it an act of surrendering to God or is it more of a testament to our lack of faith?
We have given many contradictory views on manhood—be rough and tumble but kind and compassionate, be strong and fierce, but able to cry, and on and on. Is this hindering men in their faith?
Pastors enter into ministry with the kingdom of God in their eyes. Yet sometimes along the way the joy in serving and a passion for the kingdom disappears. How do you get it back?