From Pulpit to Pew: On Joining a New Church
After five years in the pulpit and 30 years prior growing up in, working, and serving in my home church, I found myself in the oddly new position of looking for a place to worship. And so our quest for a new church began as soon as we moved from Chicago area to Nashville. After […]
Why Your Spiritual Growth Matters to the Community
Last week I preached a Mother’s Day message from 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9. Paul compares discipleship to the actual practice of a mother nursing her child. In this, the mother is a source of life for her child. So it is that we as Christians, must be conduits of life-giving spiritual nutrition for those around us. […]
How God Uses Relationships to Make You Better
Everyone wants to be better. Self-improvement gurus call it, well, self-improvement. Wise people and many in the church call it growth. The Bible calls this process sanctification. And for the Christian, sanctification is not merely the process by which you become a nice, better person. Pretty much all religions and even quasi-non religions do that. […]
Why Reading Books Still Matters
photo © 2008 ladyb | more info (via: Wylio)One of the big questions we’re facing in the 21st Century is the question of books. Will we still need books? Or does everyone simply read blogs. In a world of iPads, Kindles, and Wii, are books important or are they an analog relic of the ancient […]
On Criticism
One of the hardest things for a Christian to do is accept criticism. I should know, because I typically flinch at criticism. Immediately my defenses go up and I’m ready to lash out at the critics. But this is always the wrong approach. After all, we’re Christians and we should be, as James 1:19 instructs, […]