Yesterday’s leadership seminar was a superb experience–a men’s breakfast, morning sessions, and afternoon meeting with the shepherds yielded fresh mission and vision statements that can provide direction, dreams, energy, and enthusiasm for renewal and continued growth. Today will be a time to focus on remembering God’s purpose and encouraging us to live out the reality …
Monthly Archives: April 2012
I am a Maximalist
I have been accused of being a perfectionist. I like to do things well, I want to do things right. I am demanding–of myself and of others (perhaps too much of others). But I do not see myself as a perfectionist. It would be more accurate to say that I am a maximalist. Especially in …
Grieving for a little while….
The discussion was lively and challenging with stimulating questions and observations as we reviewed the first two chapters of the book of First Peter. As is often the case, we were a little hard on ourselves. Maybe we don’t suffer enough…perhaps our faith is not strong enough…or our spiritual sacrifices are not sacrificial enough…. What …
Worship and Enjoyment
C. S. Lewis said something like this in his little work on the Psalms: “We praise what we enjoy.” We are not thankful for what we do not enjoy. We do not praise what we do not enjoy. Some folks do not come to church because they do not enjoy. Some folks feel no compulsion …
We Are Not Doing What We Know to Do
[Note: A blog posting edited and forwarded–explanation of the two older comments.] Although my previous blog was titled, “What we are doing isn’t working”, my reflections since writing that piece have led me to conclude that the problem is most likely not what we are doing, but what we are not doing. To borrow a term common in the …
What We Are Doing Isn’t Working!
I reject pragmatism! I do not want to make decisions (especially decisions about church, ministry, and missions) based exclusively on “what works”. Yes, I admit that sometimes doing what God wants does not yield immediate results. I also admit that doing what God wants may not yield results at all. Church history reminds us that …
Missional Evangelism
Contemporary surveys suggest that between two-thirds and three-fourths of those we encounter daily are essentially unchurched, connected only casually or nominally with a church or faith community. This does not mean that they are not spiritual, or even religious, but only that they are not practicing that faith in the context of a Christian religious group. …
A New Reformation: Where are we going?
Throughout the history of the Christian church, Christianity has been constantly shaped and reshaped with various groups and sub-groups. Fairly early in Christian history, Catholicism divided into eastern and western groups—Orthodox and Roman (Eastern and Western). In the Reformation, (Roman) Catholicism was opposed by Christian reformers. The nationalism of the European Reformation was one motivation …
Act 21
Here we are in Act 21 (the twenty-first century). The drama continues to unfold. The good guys are fighting the bad guys. Sometimes you can’t tell who is on which side (no black hats and white hats). We are not the audience–we are on stage. It is a crazy drama like none you have ever …
Losing Our Voice
Especially for a preacher, losing one’s voice is not a pleasant prospect nor a pleasant experience. In over 40 years of preaching, I have never completely lost my voice so that I could not talk/preach at all. I have, however, experienced voice problems. When I was ministering with the church in Plymouth, Michigan, we had …