This post started when someone commented on an old blog post about a bibliography about church planting that I posted in 2010! (That is ancient in the blogosphere.) Anyway, when that bibliography was updated in 2021, I included some of the comments below. But in reading that 2021 post, I thought there was room for … More A Short Apologetic for Broader Reading Patterns
I observed a great pastoral lesson today in the local Panera. I arrived at the restaurant shortly before 9AM. A soccer coach was already sitting with a father and his nine year old son at a table. My appointment with a young man I am discipling went long and by 11:30, I noticed pairs of … More Pastoral Lessons from a Soccer Coach
The Comfort of God’s Name I have a number of friends and family members who are artists. Going to an art gallery with them is an education. They help me to see things and understand things that are there for all to enjoy, but they have developed the eye to see them. Fortunately, they can … More Broken Hearts Do Not Repulse Him
My bride went to the bank today and had to give a code-word to the bank, for a special transaction, to insure that when she calls, they will know it is actually her. She gave a Bible verse as the code, a particular reference to a psalm, something like “Psalm 3:3.” The woman, kind and … More Biblical Illiteracy is a Deepening Problem
The Journey Into and Out of Sorrow I find myself sighing. A lot. There are triggers that I don’t completely understand. Driving, and the conversation will be in a lull and I will sigh. The color of a rock—a sigh. A childhood memory—a sigh—a song on a classic rock radio station, the name of my … More The Journey into and out of Sorrow
I will be largely off the internet for the next 5 days as our family comes from the four points of the compass to celebrate the life of my sister Mary. Please keep all of us in prayer as we travel and Mary’s family for their comfort during our time of grief. For the regular … More Last Post till Next Monday
Death Visited Us Yesterday, But Life Won Life came to the Schoenleber family via the death of my sister yesterday. We are grieving joyous tears. Just two weeks ago, three of Mary’s five brothers and her younger sister were able to visit her in her home in Pennsylvania. That’s Heather, the youngest, on the left, … More The Schoenleber Family Update
The paragraphs below are the opening lines of John Piper’s mini-biography on Charles H. Spurgeon. From nearly 40 years of pastoral ministry, from the work I do with pastors since I left full-time pastoral ministry, I am convinced that these descriptions and observations are spot on. At the end of this post I want to … More Haunting Words for Pastors and the Rest of Us
It is an overstatement of course, but it is a question that is only asked by Christians. No one else is in the culture is interested in walking with God. They are interested in making a living, getting ahead, rooting for their favorite teams, having sex, drinking beer, collecting hobbies, piddling around in their gardens … More What Does it Mean to Walk with God?
Negotiating Life in a Faithless Culture Ours is a faithless age and we live in a faithless culture. All of this is compounded by the fact that there are no rural areas in America. There are urban, suburban, and “rurban” communities. Truly rural communities are disappearing if not altogether gone. Transportation started the process. Radio … More Negotiating Life in Faithless Culture
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