Here’s what’s on my mind these days. How do we reach the people outside our church walls with the good news of Christ? This has always been a question for the church, of course, but the current landscape is very different, especially since COVID-19. We were headed in a particular direction as an American culture;…
I was recently reading the “parable of the tenants” found in Luke 20:9-19 (also Mark 12 & Mathew 21). As Jesus tells the story, a man planted a vineyard, and leased it to several farmer tenants. When the harvest came, the owner sought to receive some of the produce, so he sent a servant to…
A prerequisite of learning is humility. Read that again. We cannot learn what we think we already know. We must acknowledge the limitations of our understanding, if we truly want to learn anything new. In some areas, most of us can easily admit our limitations. For example, when it comes to building anything, I know…
This weekend we handed out bibles to all of our current 2nd graders. If you were not here this weekend, please ask any of our children’s team and we will get your 2nd grader a bible. As a church, we are in a partnership with you, the parents, to help them fall in love with…
We are not hosting an Egg Hunt this year. I know many churches probably don’t do Egg Hunts because it is too “secular.” They believe Easter is about the Risen Christ, not plastic eggs and candy. I respect their convictions. For us though, we think you can hold both hand in hand. Yes, the Resurrection is…
We hand out bibles to 2nd graders every year in May. Our church values children and this is one of the ways we celebrate significant milestones in their lives. However, we know that if we want them to develop a love for God’s word, it has to be in partnership with the families. So for our part, parents can count on…
Enjoy this guest post from my friend Jeff Green. He wrote these lovely words in celebration of 25 years of marriage to Tricia Green. They struck a chord in me. I think they will do the same for you. In light of our 25th anniversary, Trish and I thought a lot about how to celebrate…
The Search Institute published research findings from a study called Effective Christian Education: A National Study of Protestant Congregations. These findings tell us what factors were involved in producing adults who now profess a mature faith. Here’s what they found: Certain personal experiences have a measurable positive impact on the maturity of faith of the…
What if you had a week to learn how to be a pastor? Doesn’t seem like quite enough time, does it? It’s not. Fortunately for me, a week of licensing school is only part of the journey. But for some of the folks here with me, they are already leading congregations, preaching weekly, and serving…
As I write, I am on a plane heading for the US. I already miss Rwanda. I miss the breath-taking landscape of rolling hills, green trees, and farms on the sides of mountains. I miss the language and the way the natives speak it so beautifully. I miss the way I could see God working…
