How Should We Gather?

How have church gatherings changed as a result of the global pandemic? I am making an assumption here, of course, that your community has changed in some manner in an effort to connect to the needs of marginalized people, particularly the disabled/immunocompromised community (a post for another time). But most of us have not recovered the “old normal” entirely. Many …

Build a Better Mousetrap?

The well-known idiom, “if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door” is often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. What he actually said was, “If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will …

Come and Follow Me

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother …

A Gospel That Feels Like Good News

When our Gospel is focused merely on the after-life, today’s unchurched find our message irrelevant, and possibly intolerant. In this webinar, discover a clear, field-tested way to present a larger vision of the Gospel — one closer to what Jesus taught. Learn why the big story — including the essential phrases designed for good; damaged by evil; restored for better; and …

Anti-Asian Racism and Your Church

It’s not supposed to be this way. Asian Americans have received a stark reminder over the past year that we, too, must deal with the terms and conditions imposed by white supremacy. Empowered by racist epithets like “China virus” or “kung flu,” the model minority myth has crumpled under the weight of anti-Asian racism. The recent violent murders in Atlanta …

The 7 Arenas of Culture

If you took a tally on what Jesus talked most about, we would see that his conversations were oriented around one thing: the Kingdom of God.  He connected how the Son of Man is connected to the Kingdom of God, who is a part of the Kingdom of God, and what the Kingdom of God is like.  And he told …

Multiplying Disciples Over Spectators Immersion

A 5-week Immersion on Constructing a Pathway that Multiplies Disciples Over Spectators w/ Eun Strawser. About this Immersion Are you a Disciple or a Spectator? Are you a Follower of Jesus or a mere Fan? Two of the biggest questions among pastors, church planters, and church leaders are “Have you been discipled?” and “Have you ever discipled someone else?” If …

Structuring for Movement Immersion

A 6-week Immersion in How Jesus Used the 4 Spaces of Belonging to Make & Multiply Disciples w/ JR Woodward & Eun Strawser About this Immersion Do you know if the life of your church helps to grow CONSUMERS or DISCIPLES? Have current church structures frustrated you? Are you looking for concrete and practical ways to multiply disciples that uses …

Powerful Reflection

As church planters, we may easily get bogged down from the nitty gritty of shaping organizational structures and managing the great work of investing deeply into the individuals in our communities, but there is a key way of pausing in the midst of the work that actually aids in providing wisdom and insight into both our organizational structures and the …

Discipleship, Assimilation, and Relationship

Matthew 28:18-20 is a bedrock concept for every church planter. We all can grasp what it means to make disciples of all the nations. It’s simple to understand, yet one of the hardest components of any church community to put into replicating practice. However, through a western theological lens, this activity often takes on a specific approach. Usually, it means …