Mangerizing God’s Mission: Acts as Subversive Text

How might a person on mission learn to read the book of Acts? As might others, I’m swept up into near uncontrollable emotion when I recall the little nativity set erected with sacred precision every Christmas in my childhood living room. That pristine manger transcended my suburb existence; it had a blissful quality akin to magic. The scene still sits …

FREE Advent Resource: A Light in the Dark

One of the realities of planting a church is that you have limited time and energy. That’s why we love sharing our favorite resources. With Advent beginning this coming Sunday, we are passing on this helpful resource from our friend and V3 contributor A.J. Sherrill. Here’s a short excerpt from a devotional guide he developed for Trinity Grace Church. You can learn more about A.J. and his …

The Surprising Reality of the Manger Scene

Christmas is coming. Here in the U.S. the stores are already in full Christmas regalia and carols are blaring throughout the malls. At church, we are getting ready for our pageants and our Christmas parties. The nativity scenes are being assembled, and our images of Jesus and his family alone and abandoned in a dirty stable are forming. Jesus Family …

Don't Just Coach. Make Disciples.

Discipling and Coaching….what’s the difference? This question can be a tough one to answer considering all that’s out there on both of these practices. I can honestly tell you that I have been coached before, but I sometimes I wonder if I have ever been discipled. Let me explain. If we are going to grasp what discipling is, we have …

Loving Others: Giving Life or Causing Death?

On his album, “So Runs the World Away,” Americana folk singer Josh Ritter has a beautiful but tragic song entitled, “The Curse.” It is a story of an archeologist who uncovers a mummy in an anonymous tomb. Her presence lights a spark of life in the theretofore dead being. He falls in love with her at first sight. As the …

No Undesirables! What the Pharisees and the Church Often Have in Common

In Jesus’ day, the religious had turned God’s guidelines into fences. You had to wear, do your hair, eat your lunch, wash your hands their way— or else: you were on the wrong side of the fence. The sign on the fence read: NO UNDESIRABLES! There was a long list of those who were, well, undesirable. Many things could make …

Starting Missional Churches – An Interview with Mark Lau Branson

There are a number of good books on church planting. You can see my top ten list here. I would put Mark Lau Branson and Nicholas Warnes’ Starting Missional Churches: Life with God in the Neighborhood in my top books on church planting for a couple of reasons: First, Mark and Nick deconstruct current unhelpful practices of church planting, or planting (the gospel) …