“How to Spot an Immature Evangelist” is the third in a series of five articles on recognizing immaturity in fivefold ministry and what to do about it. If you have no idea what fivefold ministry is, check out Alan Hirsch’s brief descriptions here, or JR Woodward’s video introduction here. Missional church planting isn’t easy. You’re trying to grow something from the ground up …
What if God is inviting us to let go of some of our defaults in order to join the Spirit in our neighborhoods? As those on the Neighbourhood Life (NL) journey in Edmonton attempting to do just that, we are discovering, among other things, a number of shifts in our thinking and doing that illustrates for us the new ways God …
Recently, a designer friend of mine and I started a creative collective called The [un]Commons. Through various conversations and connections, there seemed to be this common desire amongst creatives in our city to have a shared space to process the creative and artistic life, so we created this space as the premier space for this collective desire to be fulfilled, …
Easter is over. We have celebrated the Resurrection and many of us are back to life as usual. These pivotal days of our faith seem to make little difference in the way we live. It’s More than a Day In the church calendar, Easter is a season, not a day. It extends from Easter Sunday until Pentecost, this year celebrated on …
British journalist George Monbiot has declared that we live in “the age of loneliness,” and despite all our technology, we live increasingly disconnected and lonely lives. So, what are we to do? How do we begin the work of restorying the world, of giving shape to new stories that help us live more connected and more meaningful lives? A Thread …
Many years ago, we invited a friend to lead some simple music at the Easter service at a community center. He was early, so he sat outside strumming his guitar. The next-door neighbors heard our friend’s music and invited him into their home to play for them. He told them that he only knew how to play Christian music, but …
It has been a challenging season for me. Every time I write something it seems keyboard warriors are out in force, criticizing, abusing and telling me why I am wrong and they are right. Our Christian society is becoming more polarized, not just around political issues, but over issues of race, immigration, gender and homelessness to name just a few. …
This is the second in a series of articles on recognizing immaturity in fivefold ministry and what to do about it. If you have no idea what fivefold ministry is, check out Alan Hirsch’s brief descriptions here, or JR Woodward’s video introduction here. Missional church planting isn’t easy. You’re trying to grow something from the ground up in a healthy way, but …
Over the last several years, I (and many others) have spent a great deal of time pondering Luke 10:1-12. We have noted how Luke’s context is similar to our own. We have wrestled with how counterintuitive, how countercultural the instructions to the seventy-two “sent ones”—and us—are. The following prayerful ponderation has come out of such dwelling on this text—actually, on …
This is the first in a series of articles on recognizing immaturity in fivefold ministry and what to do about it. If you have no idea what fivefold ministry is, check out Alan Hirsch’s brief descriptions here, or JR Woodward’s video introduction here. “Gather your top eight to ten leaders,” he said, “and start investing in them. Then they can begin …