About five years ago, I read an article on TGC’s website about Andy Davis’ book on Scripture memory. I remember thinking, “I could never memorize a book of the Bible. I mean, he’s a preacher and works at a church.…
Engaging this Christmas Season with Intentionality
In the early days of Advent, we drive out to the Beck family farm to cut down a Christmas tree. Our only rule is it must be shorter than “Mom” so it will fit in our house. This rule is…
I saw a long and somewhat compelling Facebook post the other day about Halloween. A “friend” was building an argument that the holiday must be condemned by true Christians. The argument suggested that all efforts to participate in festivities were…
There is only one gospel, which of course means good news, but there is a multiplicity of ways in which it may be received, assuming it’s first believed to be good news. For news to be good we must be…
Poet, story-teller, and civil rights activist Maya Angelo knew well the power of words and actions; yet it was she who said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will…
As church planters or disciple-makers we may too readily think our job is all about problem solving—there are plenty of problems to be solved. While Scripture is the foundation for all, we often find ourselves studying theology, apologetics, business strategy,…
“Slow down!” is the urgent signal that appears on my car’s dashboard at least once a year. It coincides with the first sign of warm weather. At some point on trips out of town, when I’ve been going at high…
This practice was birthed out of the Ignatian movement started by St. Ignatius of Loyola, which saw monks travel the world to share the power and purpose of the gospel. These missionaries traveled in community and embedded themselves in cultures…
I love when my kids tell me about their day. They are 4 and 8 years old, so they’re eager and excited to invite me into their little worlds. When I’m able to be undistracted and present with them, I…
As I write this I’m suffering from a head cold. I hate being sick. I feel my mind and my body are failing me even though I know it’s an immune response for which I should be grateful. I just…
This morning, I read from Henri Nouwen’s book You Are the Beloved. One of the key statements that caught my attention is this: “We can easily lose sight of our joys and speak of our sorrows as the only reality…
PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS Certainly, Christmas is worth preparing for. Alongside Good Friday and Easter, Christmas is the most important holiday for the faith of the Christian. There is no gospel without the Incarnation. However, it is increasingly hard to appreciate…
In the early days of Advent, we drive out to the Beck family farm to cut down a Christmas tree. Our only rule is it must be shorter than “Mom” so it will fit in our house. This rule is…
Every good journey begins with a fresh awareness. An awakening perhaps. This article is written for those in ministry whose enjoyment of Jesus is missing in the current season. It is for those who deeply desire to ENJOY JESUS and…
The Fall season and its holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving, offer us many opportunities to live as a "beautiful resistance" in our city. The following are suggestions for engaging the Fall season with both communal and missional intentionality. We recognize that…
It is an understatement to say we encounter free-floating anxiety pretty much everywhere these days—at work and school, in our organizations, in politics, and in our homes and families. We can sense our muscles tightening, our jaws clenching, and our…
I have a few friends that I meet with regularly that are not (currently) believers in Jesus. We grab coffee and talk about life, the world, and God. When we meet, I ask them about what’s going on in their…
When you look at the equipping ministry of Jesus, and then consider common equipping practices today, it is clear that many of us have gaps in our approach. So much of our training merely informs people, leading them to gain…
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It…
You’ve heard it said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” The same can be said of our disciple-making strategies. Jesus made it clear that our mission as His disciples is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing…
If you and others around you are going to grow in gospel fluency, you need consistent immersion in a gospel-speaking community. This needs to be much more than a weekly gathering of the church where the gospel is preached…
I started teaching full-time in October. Prior to this, I had primarily been either a student or a stay-at-home mom, which meant I was consistently able to dedicate a good chunk of time to “being with Jesus'' in Word and…
Luke’s account of Good Friday reveals: “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.…
Craving a “Date” with Jesus Pastoral ministry comes with some of the greatest joys and deepest sorrows. I remember a particularly draining season, filled with all kinds of discouragements. I was doubting my own effectiveness at discipling others, feeling the…
When we think about the magnitude of seeing every life saturated with the gospel of Jesus Christ and how many people live in our cities, it can become overwhelming. For some, that overwhelming feeling can immobilize us. Moving from big…
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have…
Busyness has a way of stealing our joy and distracting us from the important, lasting things of life. Over the years, I have found this to be increasingly true during big holidays like Easter. Amidst the lists of to-dos, wrangling…
Since the beginning of creation, humanity has been creating and cultivating—bringing into existence new ideas and new life, while simultaneously establishing a culture where ideas and life either flourish or flail. As Andy Crouch states in his book Culture Making,…
Discipleship is a holistic enterprise. Any discipleship process that leads people to become more like Jesus will address the head, heart, and hands—what people know, what people feel and believe, and what people do. Whenever the people under our leadership…
It’s been a little over a year since we lost our beloved daughter Erin to cancer. My wife and I will never get over it nor do we want to get over it. For some reason, this decision seems to…
Have you ever tried making a sandwich with one hand? We often take for granted that most everyday tasks are a whole lot easier with two. Our body is an amazing picture of what it looks like to need…
Over the last few years I’ve been increasingly convinced that forming resilient disciples in our culture is going to take a lot more than good Sunday services and healthy small groups. As I survey the landscape of American Christianity, there’s…
Every year It’s A Wonderful Life plays in the background as my husband and I set out gifts on Christmas Eve. It’s a story I need amidst the materialism and mayhem. I need it because of the tug of war…
The following is Day 1 of 5 in a new devotional called Spirit Lead. This devotional helps create a moment of pause and reflection with God while you consider your life within the church, listen to the Spirit, and ask:…
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