The BLOG has evolved over time.
It started out during a season between pastorates when I started a ministry mentoring church planters. Many of the planters were former students (from three different seminaries). And then the students talked to others. Soon, I was traveling and speaking and helping churches expand their evangelistic efforts through church planting and working directly with 13 planters around the world. Counseling them, praying with them, writing to them, answering their questions, searching for answers to their problems, directing them to Scripture was a delightful and productive season of ministry.
The idea emerged that what they needed was pastoral care that would help them to stay on the cutting edge of their church planting vision to reach their communities. And with that, the tag line of the Chosenrebel BLOG, “Pastoral Care for Missional Leaders and Church Planters”, was born.
Soon, the blog took off, in its own little corner of the internet. Thousands of church planters, former students, missional leaders were visiting the BLOG, quoting the BLOG and carrying on conversations and commenting on the BLOG from all over the world. Moody Radio called and wanted an interview over one of the posts, and a group in England started using a few of the articles as part of their new believer follow-up. The BLOG continued to grow but my wife was praying.
She saw the fruit but felt that her husband needed a better outlet to teach the word of God. She is biased but feels like that is my true gifting. Long story shortened, she prayed me back into the pastorate. Over the last six years, the CHOSENREBEL.ME blog has morphed a bit. Now it is more pastoral and devotional but still emphasizing the need for the church to leave its buildings and homes and go out into the ‘hood and seek the lost.
Now the BLOG has morphed again after my forced retirement from an unhealthy church, my ministry has moved to the shepherding of pastors who are in some type of crisis. We are now faith-supported missionaries with Standing Stone Ministry, a ministry tailored to our gifting and experience and matching the burden of our hearts for healthy churches and healthy pastors and families.
All in all, I have become more convinced that seeking to grow in Christ or to grow a church without a passionate concern for speaking the gospel to unconvinced and unconverted people is a truncated way to pursue being a disciple of Jesus. It doesn’t work.
What I am attempting to do:
Five goals:
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To work to stimulate a revival of the church and a reawakening to its mission to make disciples of the nations.
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To encourage the heart of church planters to remain focused on the gospel and the ministry of proclamation as they plant their churches.
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To be “provocatively opinionated.” The hope is to stimulate out of the box thinking that remains truly biblical.
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To encourage all (church planters and everyone else) to run passionately after Christ.
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To keep it short, in most cases, 500 words or less.
The ChosenRebel.me BLOG is over a decade old now. It contains thousands of articles and links and can be easily searched for themes and subjects and texts. In fact, some pastors use it to search for illustrations! Generally we post 3-4 times a week. Come back often or subscribe for provocatively opinionated posts and ruminations on Scripture that are bite-sized and always challenging. Our one overarching goal is to help the Body of Christ live passionately for and like Christ.
ChosenRebel's Blog 