Yesterday at Living Word we opened our new series Washed, and we started with a simple but courageous truth: Baptism is not about what we do for God. It’s about what God does for us. That’s bold, and it cuts against the grain of how we usually think. We live in a world that says “prove yourself, earn…
Most Christians don’t struggle with saying Jesus is Lord. We just struggle with living like He is. Sure, we trust Him with our eternity. We trust Him with our sins. But when it comes to the everyday stuff like the calendar, the bank account, the retirement plan suddenly the throne of our lives gets very crowded. Let’s be…
It’s no secret, giving can be hard. Sometimes it feels like kale. We know it’s good for us, but we’re not exactly craving it. And yet, generosity is central to what it means to follow Jesus. The problem? Most American Christians give like they eat kale, occasionally, reluctantly, and only when someone guilts them into…
While at the gathering we’ve been treated to original poems by Tanner Olson. Here’s my crack at a written to speak style poem summarizing last night’s event. Remember it’s written to speak which means you kind of need to read it aloud to get the rhythm to it. I didn’t earn this place.Didn’t climb enough…
Inspired by Night 2 of the LCMS Youth Gathering & Hebrews 12:1–3 Some moments stay with you. For many who gathered on Night 2 of the LCMS Youth Gathering, there was a phrase that echoed through the arena and hit deep into the soul: “I am that joy.” “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter…
There’s a reason the theme of this year’s Youth Gathering echoes loud and clear: Endure. We live in a world where it’s easy to quit. Quit trying. Quit believing. Quit showing up. Life throws curveballs, culture applies pressure, and sometimes it feels like we’re barely holding on. But Hebrews gives us a different word. One that…
We spend years in the trenches of parenting between car seats and curfews, timeouts and tantrums, grades and guidance. For two decades (give or take), we pour everything we have into shaping, steering, and correcting. We raise them to grow up, to think for themselves, to stand on their own two feet. But here’s the…
Drive through almost any county in America and you’ll spot them: gorgeous brick steeples hovering over empty parking lots, sanctuaries built for 300 now echoing with twenty voices and a stubborn furnace that costs more than the weekly offering. We’ve become better caretakers of drywall than of disciples. And the numbers back it up. Lifeway Research…
I think it’s safe to say. The modern American church is addicted to safety. We’ve built sanctuaries that feel more like coffee shops than spiritual battlegrounds. We’ve traded sermons that pierce the soul for talks that soothe the ego. We’ve made small groups “low commitment,” worship “non-offensive,” and mission trips “Instagrammable.” Somewhere along the way,…
Let’s be honest: most of our prayers are weak. They’re soft. Safe. Domestic. “Help me have a good day.”“Please heal Aunt Carol’s bunion.”“Let the traffic be light.” We toss these up like God is our cosmic butler, here to make life smooth, not holy. And when Paul drops to his knees in Ephesians 3:14-21, he blows…
