Thursday is for Discipleship No living person has had a greater impact on my life and theology than Dr. John Piper. Eight years ago, I had the privilege of being the speaker at the Bethlehem Baptist Church Men’s retreat and meeting Dr. Piper in a setting where he was just one of the guys. It was … More Portrait of a Disciple
Musing on Church Planting Lurching, Lunging, and Leaning into the Spirit of God What if all our (North American) church planting and multi-siting attempts and efforts of the last three decades were merely the reflection of God’s smile and blessing in the same way a parent smiles and blesses a five year old’s drawing of … More Arrested Development in Church Planting Methodologies
Wednesday is for Prayer Two things to notice and reflect upon when reading/thinking about the psalms. One, the presence of lament—-whole Psalms and portions of many others are given over to lament. Two, the almost complete absence of lament in the songs of 21st century Christians. Maybe one of the reasons we are so weak … More A Morning Prayer of Confession
Tuesday is for Preaching According to a LifeWay Research survey: Only 6% of pastors explain the gospel clearly on a regular basis. “Lifeway Research surveyed 450 sermons delivered in churches across the country–churches large and small, denominational and non-denominational–to see how often the Bad News and the Good News were being explained in a meaningful … More Bootcamp for Shaping Up the Gospel Preaching of Pastors
Tuesday is for Preaching Tought Primer: Is it likely that in any church service, there are some present who have not had a life-changing conversion experience. They may carry Bibles; they may call themselves Christ followers; they may believe they are ‘saved’; they may speak fluent “Christianese”, but they have never truly placed their trust in … More Preachers are Failing their Congregations
There are two new nested pages on the blog. You can find them both by scrolling down the right side bar. Nested under the About page is a page called The Poetry Project. Nested under the Mentor Groups page is a page called Mentors and Heroes (all) Who Have Changed My Life. I hope you … More Two New Nested Pages
Poems for Psalms Suggested by Psalm 2 December 29, 2005 Read Psalm 2 Empty Buckets Empty. Powerless. Senseless. Pointless. Meaningless. Absurd. Purposeless. Futile. Without effect. The laughter of heaven holds. The plan will unfold in its time. Fear and rejoice. And take your refuge in Him Who is ever blessed And ever blessing. © Marty … More Why Do the Heathen Rage?
Suggested by a Reading of Psalm 1 Meditating on Psalm 1 12/28/2005 5:30 AM I don’t remember how long I had been up. But it is not normal for me to be awake early. If I am reading my Bible before 7:30 in the morning it is because God or caffeine or anxiety is robbing me … More Wisdom Flees from Neglect
Weekend Musings Inside Psalm 119 and the Poetry Project (My son inspired me to keep working on a project I thought of a couple of years ago. The idea is to write a poem of personal reflection for each Psalm in the psalter. If you search on the word “Poetry” or “Poetry and Prayers” inside … More Affliction and the God Who Teaches
Friday is for Heart Songs Spoiler alert: Poetry at the end. Bear with me. I am still trying to get my life back on track after the loss of my mom. This blog is a repost from when I was just poking around and trying to learn how to format in WordPress. I had no … More Why Do You Hide Your Face?
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