Writing, Reading, Reflecting
How willing are we to read the manual of a car that we already know how to drive? Or to consult a recipe for a dish that we have already made a hundred times? When we have been there and done that we tend to believe that we have nothing else to learn. And so... Continue Reading →
For the second year in a row now, I have spent the Advent season reading through the book of Isaiah. Blogger, author, and Twitter aficionado Tony Reinke helped to start this project and did a wonderful job setting the trajectory for our study of it, and hundreds have joined along online. This year, I wanted... Continue Reading →
"Sprowl." That's how new I was to R.C. Sproul's ministry. Delivering the first sermon I would ever preach before my peers at college ministry (Isaiah 48:9-11), I ended up pronouncing his last name "Sprowl" the day I gave my message. Should an esteemed seminary professor ever get a hold of that audio file (they won't),... Continue Reading →
A protestor, a reformer, a revolutionary, a hothead – and so much more.
I remember walking into youth group that Wednesday night around a decade ago. I was so excited about the evening’s upcoming events. As a church, we had been advertising this night heavily, encouraged on multiple occasions to make sure we invite our friends to be a part of what we were doing. There was more... Continue Reading →
You’ve probably been there. Whether it’s in a big stadium while attending a conference, or a small, rural church while attending a church service, most of you have experienced what many have nicknamed “The Altar Call.” The preacher has just gotten up and spent thirty or forty minutes delivering a sermon, but before he goes,... Continue Reading →
“I’ll be praying for you” has become nothing more than a religious platitude.
Don't be so immersed in capturing the moment that you miss it altogether.
Here are five small but significant steps your small group can take to start getting un-stuck.
Theology is meant to care for souls, in ordinary moments, on bad days, even to those who don't own a bookshelf.
Why are your people abused, persecuted and killed? Can't you protect them? I can, little child. Then do something. I did, my son.
"Is duty a bad thing? No, it's not a bad thing. But it can only take you so far. If you want romance, duty won't reach."
Even the God-less need a house of worship. Tennesseeans will gather for Preds games, and atheists will plan a Sunday morning service, because in our core we all feel the twinge to belong.
I have good news, and I want to tell you about it. I’m going to become an astronaut preacher, with less rockets but all the adventure. In some ways, it is time to leave home, and in other ways, time to go home.
As I come to the end of what has felt in some ways like a lifetime, and other ways like a whirlwind, I reflect on what the past two years serving at Fellowship Pellissippi has meant to me. I have thousands of words of gratitude to say, enough to exhaust you of reading them. The... Continue Reading →
There is a question that is normally a part of the application process of ministry positions: "Give us a clear and concise definition of the gospel in your own words." It could be, however, that unless you have applied for a position in ministry, you may have never actually done this before. I have been a... Continue Reading →
If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. - 2 Timothy 2:13 What does your prayer life look like when trouble comes? When hard circumstances come galloping over our horizon, everyone wants to have the prayer life of David: Dust off the harps. Go to our prayer closet. Recite the Valley... Continue Reading →
“Please excuse the mess.” We have all heard it. We have all said it. Hannah and I make plans for dinner at 6:00 with a couple we have not spent much time with before. We are both off of work and speed-walking from the garage into the house with thirty minutes left before our guests will... Continue Reading →
What robs joy of its joyfulness? That is the question we have sought to dig into over the course of a few posts (see parts one, two, and three here). We have looked at Christian joy and its opposers with a close lens, in hopes that we will learn more about true Christian joy, and... Continue Reading →
Talking about giftedness has always been a sadly strange or underwhelming experience for me in church culture. Most of the time when we talk about the ways in which God has gifted us, we take one of two approaches: Emphasize the individuality of our gifts through some sort of "assessment" phase, or emphasize the unity of... Continue Reading →
