Leader || Preacher || Teacher
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat…” Isaiah 11:6. Our world has become more globalized and yet more tribalized at the same time. We are more connected and growing more dependent on each other and yet we are becoming increasingly more individualized and alone. We are more connected than we have ever been and yet more at odds with each other. But there is another way.
Continue reading “Rally to Jesus”
“We eat, we drink, the next day we die,” and that’s all there is to it. But don’t fool yourselves. Don’t let yourselves be poisoned by this anti-resurrection loose talk. “Bad company ruins good manners.” – 1 Cor 15:32-33 (MSG Bible). I believe these words are fitting for our society’s current state as we are surrounded by bad news, fake news, moral outrage, hot topics, and hot takes. Our hearts are pulled into perpetual fear anticipating the next big failure, with a limited view of possible solutions. It is no wonder politics (based on fear, doomsday rhetoric, and outrage) are our religion and those in office are our saviors.
Continue reading “Good News: Believe It”
With all the many things that we read in the news and all the troubling things happening around us
The new year has begun. Get used to writing 2018 on your checks (if you still use those) or anyplace that requires today’s date. For many of us, we are pissed at 2017. 2017 didn’t treat us well and may have only seemed to be full of disappointment, hurt, and loss. But 2018 feels like a new start, with new possibilities and second chances. It’s time to make room for new… again. Continue reading “It’s Time”
What do you think of when you hear,“Merry Christmas”?
The early years of Jesus’ life do not appear to be merry and bright. His family’s story is met with darkness, it was a brutal time. Continue reading “Welcome Home”
We all have an interest in where we came from. We are also interested in other people’s stories. We ask each other, “Where did you grow up?” and “Who are your parents?” Yet, sometimes we may withhold some details in our family tree or the events surrounding a loved one’s conception and birth. Not Matthew. In the opening of his gospel, he stuns the world with an unlikely list of names found in Jesus’ family tree. There is no pattern of righteous, just a list of everyday people. Matthew wants us to see what kind of people God chooses to work with. I am surprised and yet I’m not.
“It is so good to still have you with us Jesus. We thought we’d lost you but here you are in the flesh. Those three days without you felt like an eternity but now that you’ve been with us for about, how long has it been? A little over a month? We couldn’t imagine life without you and we are ready for what comes next. So, me and the guys were wondering when are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel? What was that, Jesus? You’re leaving?”
“I want to have a closer relationship with God.” This is usually the sentiment from Christ followers. Many of the spiritual disciplines we practice are for us to be “closer.” We want to have that connection and to feel His closeness. The cross brings believers near. The cross makes us one with God and other followers. The cross was Jesus’ ultimate act of service for humanity. It was his purpose for coming in the flesh. The cross reconciles and makes us close but we will never feel close to Jesus unless we choose to follow him in death and service. Continue reading “Closer || The Journey of Service”
Years ago, I asked a student minister to share his testimony with me. He was sitting across from me in local coffee shop. We were just getting to know each other. He told me how he read the right Bible in the right way. How he was baptized with right understanding, in the right mode. How he worshipped in the right church, with the right hierarchy, with the right acts of worship. I said, “That’s great. Could you say that again this time mentioning Jesus and his grace?” I am certain this is how many in my Christian tribe would tell their testimony today. Why? Because it was once how I told mine. Continue reading “Selfie-Centered Gospel”
There is a story included in both Matthew and Luke of Jesus healing a Roman Centurion’s servant. Healing someone is amazing but that is not the most amazing part of the story. Well, according to Jesus it isn’t.