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 …
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 …
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 …
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) …
In third grade, our teacher assigned us to read a book by the author of our choice, and follow up with a letter to the author. I have no idea what book I read, except that it was part of a series. I have no idea to which author I wrote. I have no idea if anyone else received a response. …
Recently, I received an email from a young seminarian with one provocative question: “What is truth?” she asked. I smiled and deleted the email, knowing I couldn’t supply an answer. Her theological studies were raising new and unsettling questions about God and what it means to be a Christian. I suspect what she wanted was permission to question her understanding …
Sabbath – its probably one of the most essential, least understood and poorly celebrated of any day on the Christian calendar. For some of us, it’s a set of legalistic rules. For others, it’s the only day of the week to do almost anything we want. For most of us it’s a chance to catch up on sleep and get …
I’m a stubborn fellow with a lot of books on my wish list, so I’ll often need to have a book recommended 3-4 times before I get it pushed to the top of the pile. That was the case with a book on public speaking called Resonate, by Nancy Duarte. It didn’t hurt that it was, and still is, offered …
Christianity is not (only) one of the great things of history; history is one of the great things of Christianity. Henri Du Lubac An Observation I enjoy reading the “Who We Are” pages of random, non-denominational church websites (such as the one I am a part of). What strikes me is the homogeneity of descriptives such as contemporary, rock, relevant, …
My forty–first birthday was one I would rather forget. I spent it flat on my back in a hospital thinking I was dying. During my long recovery, I wondered: “Could I have avoided this?” My body was rebelling at the abuses of my fast paced, high stressed lifestyle. My life was out of sync with God’s rhythm and I hadn’t …