Holiness Reeducation

I am convinced that the amount of energy and resources we are devoting to the modern small group movement is actually working against our efforts to make disciples. Let me explain. Yesterday I started this conversation looking at my own experience with small groups and some of the short comings that many of us experience […]

Can small group ministries actually get in the way of making disciples? Let me ask some challenging and highly generalized statements for a moment without qualifying them and then qualify them a bit later. I love small groups. I hate small groups. I think small groups are hurting the discipleship efforts of the church. I […]

One of the truly brilliant teaching methods that Jesus used was taking contemporary elements of the world  around him and turning them into spiritual metaphors. Living in an agrarian culture most of these were centered around plants, seeds, soil, and harvests. These metaphors, interwoven within parables, were the key building block to Jesus’ teaching. So […]

How has the American culture’s obsession with celebrity infiltrated the church? What temptations do we as pastor’s face in regards to being a celebrity. In Mike Breen’s new book, Multiplying Missional Leaders he offers this insight into celebrity and the North American church.         However, the problem with celebrity comes when we […]

For months now I have been wrestling with some ideas in Doug Pagitt’s book Preaching in the Inventive Age. (I blogged about this a little bit before) There is no act of worship that I am more passionate about or spend more of my life thinking about than preaching. It is at the center of […]

At least three climbers have died and two more are missing after summiting Mt. Everest this weekend.  Overcrowding, difficult conditions, and a late afternoon windstorm are receiving much of the blame for the disastrous weekend on the world’s highest mountain. Everest has taken the lives of a great climbers. The zone about the last camp […]

Our relationship began at such an important moment of my life. I was just emerging from the extended adolescence of college and striking out into the world to be an adult. You were brought to me as a gift, a faithful companion to see me safely along the journey. You were my Samwise Gamgee of […]

Do you recruit volunteers or do you help to shape and grow leaders? The answer to that question will give you huge insight into your church and your ability to effectively disciple others and carry out the mission of God. Mike Breen’s new book is called Multiplying Missional Leaders. I just grabbed an e-copy and […]

Last week I offered some thoughts on the the Same Sex Marriage debate from the perspective of how the church can better represent Christ in regards to this debate. But I certainly didn’t cover another very important side of the debate. A good friend pointed this out to m in an email. Here is part […]

It has been a big week for debates around the issue of same sex marriage in our country. First on Tuesday there was the passing of a constitutional amendment in North Carolina that had some strict definitions of marriage and the rights of those who are married. Then yesterday President Obama set the internet on […]