Recently (admittedly) I took one of those “challenges” that continually show up on Facebook. This particular one offered to map my use of words and visualize those most used on my personal wall. It was no surprise to me that the word “new” stood out above all others. New churches (church was my second most-used word), new studies, new reports, …
V3 Movement partners Forge America and Asbury Seminary are collaborating to offer an exceptional opportunity for missional church planters this summer–Activating Missional Communities. Part of Asbury’s Doctor of Ministry Program, Activating Missional Communities will be taught by Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch, Scott Nelson, and other notable faculty. The application deadline is Jan 2. Only fifteen applicants will be accepted. Now is the time to take advantage of this incredible, …
Christmas is about Incarnation: God becoming tangible. Because God has become flesh and now dwells among us, we can rest assured that God knows us! He’s “been there done that”, as the saying goes. God Has Felt… God has felt tired, hungry and thirsty. He’s been tempted, roused to anger, tears and laughter. He wore toga-pajamas (a holy onesie?) and …
At Christmas, we remember again for the first time that God became a human being. God became a someone who could be touched and smelled, heard and seen. God became tangible. Tangible. What could be more tangible than needing to be burped and have your diaper changed? Almighty Creator is nursed in the arms of a teenage girl. Her betrothed …
Joy is one of the most compelling forces in the world—when people have it, and it’s real and flowing from the depths of their souls, you know it. If so much of discipleship is about embodiment and imitation, then it is a pastoral responsibility to live the kind of lives that other people would want to have. With this in …
My husband and I recently returned from vacationing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a highly multiethnic city of 1.67 million people in a metro area consisting of 7.9 million people. The city itself is predicted to grow to 2.2 million by 2020. Kuala Lumpur is a global city, offering international financial services, headquarters to multinational corporations, a center for new ideas and …
Advent is here! This beautiful season which marks the beginning of the liturgical year began on November 29 and will conclude on Christmas Eve. Celebrating this important season is a great way to introduce your congregation to the Christian calendar. Advent means arrival, and the season beckons us to ponder three monumental arrivals: The arrival of Christ in flesh as a baby through Mary, the arrival of Christ in …
My wife Deb and I recently moved our family to a northeastern suburb of Indianapolis to plant a church with our friends Matt and Sharon Tebbe. There were a few reasons for landing where we did, mostly having to do with the relationships our friends (who had arrived a few months before we had) were establishing. It seemed good to …
The V3 Movement is committed to helping you make disciples, plant churches and start a movement. Such an endeavor will, of course, require you to grow in your leadership skills. But what differentiates a V3 leader from a business leader, military leader, or other kind of leader? V3 disciple-makers, church planters, and movement starters are not simply charismatic speakers or …
Although the following books are all excellent, my Ten Books from 2015 list is not a broad, “best books of the year” list. These books are ones that I believe will draw us deeper into the challenges of our day and deeper into faithfulness to the way of Jesus. This list reflects a diversity of authors, genres, and perspectives, but I …