Recovering Purpose in the Pandemic

“Maintaining motivation is becoming an increasing challenge for many people slogging through life curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic,” observes Jane Brody in the New York Times. Are you among the growing number of people who are just attempting to make it through each tough, new day? Are you among those struggling with difficult personal, family or financial pressures? Would you like …

Pandemic Partners Having an Impact

Rev Morgan Schmidt, a Presbyterian pastor in Bend, OR, has created an innovative online group called Pandemic Partners so that people in her community can help one another in these tough times. Morgan essentially found a creative way to crowdsource kindness online. “By posting how-to-guides on its Facebook page, Pandemic Partners, located in the Presbytery of the Cascades, has taken …

An Opportunity for Your Church to Care for Neighbors

As we race into the 2020s, we have suddenly been awakened to an accelerating global COVID-19 Pandemic that few saw coming. Those of us in North America rapidly joined countries in Asia, Europe and the Middle East in dealing with this new Coronavirus Pandemic. While most churches is the US have canceled services or re-routed their services online, they have …

How Do We Fix the Drip?

I enjoyed offering a Futures/Creativity Workshop at First Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids last March. As I was leaving the Workshop Pastor Randy Buursma shared “that First CRC Church has always been a “two-fer” congregation.”  I asked “what does that mean?” Randy said “several years ago when I first came to the church being a ‘two-fer’ meant members attending …

Welcoming a Royal Opportunity

Were you one of the two billion people who viewed the Royal Wedding?  If you did I bet you were among those who were impressed by not only the pomp and circumstance but by the surprising Gospel music and compelling message. What Impressed you most about the Royal wedding? Were you also impressed by the remarkable impact for our British …

Millennials: The Money Challenged Generation

For Millennials born in the 80s, school debt is significantly higher than for the Xers and Boomers of previous generations —approaching $40,000 per graduate! Church planters know the pain of this financial strain all too well. Recently, I met three different planters that are struggling with a $90,000 debt for their MDiv degree. This left them with no choice but …

Santa's Trick or Treat: Discipleship in the Smart Toy Era

In the few days after Christmas, we’ve seen families in new church plants here in Seattle realize they have given their kids new tech toys not realizing these toys are often not a “treat” but a “trick.” Smart Toys and Secrets For example, in a recent report on NPR, a new talking doll called Cayla has some serious issues and …

What Would Martin Luther Do With an iPhone?

The tech revolution didn’t begin with the iPhone in 2008. It began 500 years with the creation of the printing press.  That innovative technology transported people all over the planet into this new modern world. How a 33-Year-Old Unleashed Technology on the Church This year we are celebrating the radical action of a 33 year old named Martin Luther.  Martin …

Hurricane Harvey & Irma: How Do Church Planters Prepare For Next Big One?

Churches Reaching Out To Neighbors In Crisis In Texas And Florida Recently Rev. Walter August Jr. let service out early at The Church at Bethel’s Family in Texas so members could take food and supplies to help neighbors hammered by Hurricane Harvey. Bethel’s Family is only one of a number of churches in Texas reaching out to their neighbors. The …

Multicultural Church Planting in a Racially Divided America

Violence at the recent white supremacists’ demonstration at Charlottesville, Virginia alarmed Americans of all races across our country.  I suspect many are surprised to learn that white supremacist, fascist and Nazi movements are all rapidly growing in America. Christians of all cultures are having to ask the important question: As followers of Jesus, how we can be agents of racial …