Prior to having children, I had not considered that participating in a faith community could be an act of spiritual discipline. I have learned over the past three years that the 10 minutes, and sometimes 3 hours, before church on any given Sunday tend to be the most unholy minutes or hours of the week. […]
CHOOSING SPRING
It was a sharp and cold yet bright winter day on my grandparents’ farm outside Salem, Oregon; a glorious Christmas morning. My grandpa’s dog Bo followed me as I walked down the driveway, past the barn, and turned onto the path leading to the orchard. My family had just said goodbye to my grandpa. His […]
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REBUKE?
If you hang around certain Christians you may hear the word “rebuke.” It’s a tough word so not everyone uses it. It’s one of those words you can use to muscle your way around spiritually. A rebuke is simply a sharp form of criticism or disapproval. It’s basically a biblical way to say that this […]
FEAR LESS
I’m writing this piece in October, the month when grocery stores haul out mounds of candy, and when pumpkin-flavored items appear in unlikely places. Orange and black seem to be the color scheme for just about everywhere, and Halloween costume ideas have already started appearing on my social media feed. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” will soon […]
THE GIFT OF ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE GREAT ENCOURAGER
A couple years ago I was invited to receive some training to become a certified coach for the family of churches I belong to. I was informed that the training would help me coach people who were planting churches, and it would also help me be a much better leader in the local church I […]
IN PURSUIT OF INTIMACY: SIMPLICITY
The discipline of simplicity is, simply put, the practice of living with less. This practice is unique from the other spiritual disciplines that we have explored in this series, in that the need to be intentional about living with less applies specifically to those living in societies and situations that allow people to live with […]
APPROACHING THE NATIVITY
Of all the nerve!” fumed a certain member of my congregation as she stormed into my office. She was holding a Santa ornament that the (newly formed) decorating committee at my church had included as part of the Christmas decorations. “Pastor, did you see what they put out there for our decorations?!” I did notice […]
SOLD OUT
If I said you were a sell out you would probably be insulted. No one wants to be called a sell out but in the right context that could be the highest compliment. Usually when we talk about someone selling out, it’s a negative thing. It means they have given up their convictions and principles […]
GOD OF THE EVERYDAY
This summer, I spent two months working for a Christian nonprofit on the coast of sunny South Florida. There, it was not hard to feel God’s presence. Every person I worked with had a close relationship with Jesus, setting strong examples of what it means to put God first. Every week we prayed for each […]
EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE?
Since the autumn season is also one that means new beginnings to many of us – the fall semester is usually the first semester of most school years in North America; churches begin offering programs again as the regular volunteers return from their summer vacations; and for some of us, it may mean the beginning […]
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