In a world where spirituality is often watered down to a vague and palatable concept of “God,” there’s a bold truth many shy away from: it’s not enough to believe in some ethereal, generic higher power. If you want the real deal, the unfiltered, undiluted truth, you need to believe in Jesus. Not just any…
Be nice. It’s what I was always told growing up. We need to be nice to one another. But I don’t know if nice is the best answer in every situation. Admittedly I’m less nice than some, but I will generally try to be kind. Kind and nice are not the same thing. In a…
I remember the movie from when I was growing up. I’ve probably only seen it once but the premise or maybe just the title is something that I think about off and on. Actually as I write this, I just finished a quick conversation with my wife about the whole 9-5 idea. Some days I’m…
Being in ministry can be a fun experience. Some days are easier than others. One thing that often occurs in the church I serve as pastor is that the people play a game of stump the pastor. Now, I don’t think it’s an intentional game all them time, but I do think there is a…
What if I say the wrong thing? What if I don’t have all the answers? I just need another class or maybe I can read a book that will give me the 7 steps to do this. Have you ever heard anyone say something like this? I’m a pastor and this is the typical response…
The church I pastor has a group that meets a couple times a month called Bible and Brew. We meet in a local pub, have a beverage of choice, share life stories, and talk about faith. Every time we get together I’m reminded how important this type of group really is, and it has nothing…
As we wrapped up 2023, I took a few of these posts to define Discipleship and discuss what Discipleship was not. Then we looked at the qualifications for being a disciple. Now that we’ve turned the page on the calendar and have opened up a brand new year of possibilities, it’s time to dig in…
This is one of my least favorite questions ever. Inevitably I get asked this question by someone I’ve recently met or with whom I’m just getting a relationship built. And as soon as this question is answered, the conversation stops. I mean the conversation stops as abruptly as a car hitting a brick wall. Part…
Over the past couple of weeks, splattered between some devotions for Advent, we’ve covered a couple of posts on the idea of discipleship. It’s one of those sticky words and is about a process that’s often left undefined at best. If you haven’t looked at those posts, I’d encourage you to take a quick peak…
We’ll start this post by saying it’s ok if you disagree with me, and I know some of you will. So don’t get your undies in a bunch over it. If you don’t like what I’m about to say, then scroll on and walk away or reach out and we can chat. Some people in…
