A Hopeless Situation Imagine you are going down the side of a 200-foot cliff—with a 100-foot rope. At 99 feet down, you find yourself literally dangling “at the end of your rope.” What an apt metaphor for a hopeless situation. At this juncture, there are but three options—none of them good: Eugene Peterson uses this […]
A Lesson in Reacting to the Unexpected In college I heard an account about a struggling church who hired a minister to help them grow. He was full of energy, enthusiasm, and ideas. In no time he connected with the local community. They responded by showing up for church on Sunday morning and for the […]
Consider What the Bible Says and How to Apply It I’ve talked about the need for theological diversity in our churches. While we need to embrace those who hold different understandings of Jesus, we perhaps need to adopt a separate view of the behaviors of people who live contrary to God’s word. Or maybe not. […]
Malachi Questions God and He Responds In the short book of Malachi, there is a reoccurring phrase “but you ask” (along with a few of variations thereof). This turns into a Question and Answer monologue, with God voicing the people’s unspoken questions and then responding. It’s like having a Q and A with God. Malachi […]
A Public Sharing Time With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #22. During the public sharing time that wrapped up the message at church, one of the members stands up to celebrate a person I know. Several decades […]
In the Bible, many of the prophets are instructed by God to do some strange and bizarre things. Isaiah is a case in point. Perhaps the most extreme, however, is Hosea. In short, God tells him to marry a prostitute so that his life can become an object lesson of God’s unconditional love. Imagine young […]
How Big is Your Tent? A Call for Christian Unity, Tolerance, and Love What’s It Take to Be Welcome in Jesus’s Tent? The Bible gives us the answers, but most people miss them. And too many clergy spout manmade solutions that miss the mark. Discover what Jesus said it takes to “go all in” for […]
Jesus Sparked a Religious Revolution That We Must Continue to Pursue Today As Jesus’s mission on earth winds down he celebrates Passover with his disciples and goes to the Mount of Olives to pray. Then a mob comes to capture him. Jesus asks them, “Am I leading a rebellion that you must send an armed […]
God Told Abraham That He Would Bless Him and Through Him Bless All Nations How often do we ask God to bless us? It’s a request I make most every day. Sometimes more than once. I suspect you may often ask for God’s blessings too. What do we mean when we ask for God’s blessings? […]
Jesus Welcomed and Embraced Everyone, Especially Those on the Fringes Have you ever gone to a new place where people warmly welcomed and embraced you? A place where people warmly welcomed and embraced everyone? It’s not the location that matters. It’s the people. I’ve been in groups like this. Everyone’s accepted as they are. They […]