You can’t have a movement of the kingdom of God without planting new churches. New churches are one of the best methods for seeing God’s kingdom expand into new neighborhoods, people groups and generations. New churches are also a sign, the inevitable result of women and men joining God’s mission. You want in? On October 28-30, V3 will be hosting an Assessment at …
One of the difficult practices that has saved my bacon on more than one occasion—even though it is challenging to do—is that I’ve refused to be told by those who steward our church’s finances who it is that gives to our church financially, how much they give, and who doesn’t give. I simply can’t handle the knowledge. There are two …
One of the most accessible resources available to a church planter is the life of Paul the apostle. His life is an inspiration for anyone in Christian leadership, but especially for those engaging in church planting. Not only did Paul plant multiple churches across the Roman Empire, with significant movemental impact throughout his career, he did it with significant resistance …
One of my favourite places in the world is the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland. It seems so remote now, requiring a journey from Glasgow by train, ferry, bus and another ferry to get there. Once however, when most long distance travel was done by sea, it was a thriving centre of spirituality and education. It …
On Father’s Day, I took my husband out for a buffet dinner. The restaurant had a live band and dance performances. Simple enough— but this wasn’t just any restaurant and band. This was a halal eatery that served Egyptian food, and hosted an authentic Egyptian performance group. There were belly dancers from a local Academy of Egyptian Dance who swayed, turned, …
There is a fascinating dynamic at play within quite a few denominations and organizations starting new communities of faith. It’s a growing reality that gives me great hope for increased unity within the church. Now hold on a second… you might say, aren’t there over 40,000 denominations? Don’t we have massive theological disagreements? And shouldn’t new church communities be seen as …
I have worked with church planters for over fifteen years. During that time I have spent hundreds of hours providing training, coaching and resources to a wide variety of planters. Regardless of the church planter’s approach to planting, I have discovered that in almost every case the planter moves too quickly towards pragmatism. Planters want to know what “works.” They …
A Tragedy “We don’t regularly take communion,” the pastor confessed with a confident tone of contemporary conviction. “Many weeks we just can’t fit it in.” These were the words I heard just before guest preaching at a large, influential church in a major American city. My soul cried. He was right. In addition to staples like the sermon and songs, …
“Theology is autobiography.” This short phrase, which I heard from a young divinity school student at Duke University, drifted through the classroom and forever cemented itself in my memory and understanding of my calling as a pastor theologian. He echoed the words of Frederick Buechner who said that “theology, no matter how abstruse, no matter how metaphysical and subtle, is an outgrowth of …
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