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Reasons Why Your Church Isn’t…
Do you ever wonder why your church isn’t growing, why it seems like it’s just stagnant or even beginning to decline? I do. Of course, I serve as a minister with a church, so that should come as no...
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What If Our Churches…?
Maybe it’s time to admit that we’re broken! As Christians, we live in a culture that appears increasingly secular and uninterested in the gospel our churches have to offer… and maybe we just don’t have...
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Those Unhelpful Labels!
What kind of Christian do you consider yourself? A liberal or conservative? Perhaps a progressive or traditionalist? Maybe you consider yourself a fundamentalist or one of those “spiritual but not...
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Being Church In A Burning World
I want to mention three recent events, two of which you are already aware of unless you just crawled out of a cave and another issue that many of you are unfortunately all too familiar with. But let me...
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Amidst Racism, Wars, and Other Afflictions: What Says the Church?
It’s a predictable script. When something terrible happens, such as the police-shooting death of one unarmed Michael Brown or the recently release of a video showing the beheading of missing American...
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In The Cross… Be Our Glory Ever?
Most Christians enjoy singing Franny J. Crosby’s wonderful hymn Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross. With enthusiasm the church sings the chorus “In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever…” But there are...
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Discerning The Question of Vocation
For most Christians who work, who are employed in some capacity, we are expected to diligently carry out certain job requirements that support the organization of our employment. Whether your vocation...
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What Question Are We Asking?
Reading the Bible is a good thing. But how we read the Bible may or may not be such a good thing! As I’ve said before and as I’m sure many others have said too, how we read the Bible matters just as...
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Do We Have To Go To Church?
“Do we have to go to church?”* said most everyone of us at some point in our life. I’ve asked that question before and I’m sure other minister have done so as well. I get the question. People are...
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Believing In Jesus and His Way
I’m currently reading through Brian Zahnd’s book A Farewell to Mars: An Evangelical Pastor’s Journey Toward the Biblical Gospel of Peace. The book is about the peaceful, non-violent way of Jesus...
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For The Imperfect Churches
One of the metaphors for a church is family, namely the family of God. Thus Christians often refer to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. I used to think that sounded pretty archaic but these...
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Will You Vote Today?
I’m currently preaching through the book of First Peter and I have been reading through Miroslav Volf’s book Captive to the Word of God (hereafter CWG). Between these two endeavors and reading through...
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Holy Lovers
Last Sunday I preached from First Peter about living into the hope we have. The issue is really about the holiness of the church. The apostle Peter instructs us saying, “but, like the Holy One who call...
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When Preaching Fails
One of the books I’m reading for my upcoming class is a book that my teachers, David E. Fitch and Geoff Holsclaw, wrote titled Prodigal Christianity. One of the stories they tell in the book is about...
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Engaging In A Culture War
Whatever you think about the current state of American culture, it’s clear that Christianity no longer has the influence it once had. There isn’t any use in becoming upset about it or complaining about...
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Christianity In An Age of Religious Pluralism
Perhaps you’ve heard of Duck Dynasty. I’m a fan. I’ve not seen every episode but I’ve seen a bunch. Besides the humorous adventures of the Robertson clan, the fact that I minister with a Church of...
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Evading Jesus: Christians and Violence
Brian Zahnd recently wrote a blog post titled You Cannot Be Christian and Support Torture that went viral within the evangelical sub-culture. The post generated a lot of conversation, including a lot...
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Living The Dream
The last time I checked, my children attend school with children from thirty-four different nationalities. Our neighborhood is a diverse dwelling of different races, ethnicities, religious beliefs and...
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The Conversation Churches Must Engage
As the circumstances of our surrounding culture and community change, so do the issues that face every local church. Often the issues, be it poverty, sexuality, religious pluralism, etc…, remain...
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Persecution: A Time For Faithful Prayer
Twenty-One! That’s the number of Christians martyred the other day by the terrorist group ISIS… Milad Makeen Zaky, Abanub Ayad Atiya, Maged Solaiman Shehata, Yusuf Shukry Yunan, Kirollos Shokry Fawzy,...
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