Discipleship is one of those words that is…well…let’s be honest…worn out! It triggers so many things for so many people. For example, I was recently in a conversation with someone who, after I used the word discipleship, asked why I still used that term. He said “Why don’t you just use the term ‘spiritual formation.’” To be honest, sometimes I …
It’s been a few years for me since my first year of church planting. Back then, I was coming off 15 years of full-time paid pastoral ministry and was uncertain how to make the transition. To be honest, I was in some detox from swimming in a plethora of resources, programs, buildings, and titles. I had never learned what ministry …
It’s time to get ready for Lent but I am not giving up chocolate or coffee. Lent is not about denial or sacrifice. It is about letting go of all that prevents us wholeheartedly following Christ. I have recently updated Lenten resource lists on my blog. It’s a rather frustrating task because we don’t really need more to read or …
Ask a ‘missional church planter’ about how they plan to do ‘Sunday worship’ and the response might range from leery to apologetic to an explanation about how it might be a necessary evil. My own journey has reflected some of this. Having seen churches focus almost entirely on the weekend experience, I found great hope in these words from Jurgen …
Our friends at Missio Alliance are hosting their Annual Gathering May 7-9, 2015. Here’s how they describe it one the event website: BEING TRULY HUMAN: RE-IMAGINING THE RESURRECTIONAL LIFE The Cross is Not Enough. While obviously of profound significance, the cross seems to have usurped the resurrection as the unique centerpiece of Christian faith, practice, and even how we understand the nature …
“Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Aeropagus and said: Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going …
I’m a total Sci-Fi fanatic. Most of the sci-fi post-apocalyptic movies or books that come out get me all jazzed up. I’m fascinated with the concept of how humanity survives when the existing structures previously depended upon on are no longer dependable. The Western World is changing. Many of the cultural structures that formed the church for centuries are disappearing. The images …
It has been a year since my friend Allan Karr and I released our book, The Wholehearted Church Planter. This past fall, however, was the first time I actually formally used it to teach any group. The context: San Quentin Prison in a semester seminary class on Missions, Evangelism, and Church Planting. Yes. Along with dozens of others, serving as …
‘Collaborative’ is a particularly popular descriptor that excites ministry leaders today. Like its cousins ‘missional’ and ‘incarnational,’ it attempts to capture a unique temperament of the ministry enterprise. Namely, the desire to seek partnership in mission and values through the contribution of a number of uniquely different voices. But what are we saying and what are we doing in our …
Welcome to a new year filled with incredible potential. Here in Seattle the sun is shining, the Olympic mountains are covered in snow, and it is not hard to believe that only good things lie ahead. By the end of summer, the snow will be gone and the hope and promise they offered may be gone too. Unfortunately, our new …