Monday is for Discussion “And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’” (Acts … More First Century New Believer Follow-up: A Sobering Reassessment
Thursday is for Discipleship All churches are challenged by the need to insure that its ministries are led by men and women who are committed to the same values and vision that the church itself espouses. How does a church insure that all leaders share the same vision, and commit themselves to the same values … More Disciples Who Don’t Teach Aren’t Disciples
Monday Discussion Holistic ministry to the whole person and with an emphasis on justice and cultural transformation is not only the biblical pattern but it is a culturally relevant way to speak to those outside the church in post-modern America. “Involvement in social justice issues may cut the negative perspective on the church in half … More Emphasis on Justice and City-Transformation is Not Enough
Tuesday is for Preaching How do congregations learn to share their faith? Taking classes? Reading books? Watching films or movies? Being personally mentored? All of these may have their place and I have certainly benefited from many of these. But I think the principle way that truly winsome and effective congregations learn how to share … More Pastor, Would You Show Me How to Share My Faith?
Monday Discussion Thesis #1: The world economy creates some barriers to gospel expansion. I am not saying that it doesn’t create some opportunities as well, but in this post I want to suggest some of the barriers. In a macro-economy like we have today, all relationships that we have with non-family members are in some … More Understanding the Times for the Advance of the Gospel
“To be nobody but yourself in a world that’s doing its best to make you somebody else, is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting.” E. E. Cummings There are things that God places inside us to do, to be, to accomplish and nothing should keep us from … More To Be Nobody But the Self That God Wants and Created You to Be
Thursday is for Discipleship I have written before about the “unitary nature” of disciple making. Basically, my point is that spiritual formation or discipleship that neglects evangelism is counter productive to its own mission. Disciples that are focused on their own growth and development hurt their own growth and development if they are not sharing … More Jesus is Not Your Savior
Thursday is for Discipleship “Churches grow best not when they aim at church growth as much as when they serve the peace/shalom of the whole city.”[1] Why? Two reasons: one, it is the biblical model of ministry. Jesus, Paul and the early church all seemed to give significant attention to the poor and the downcast … More Required: Serving the Peace (The Shalom) of the City
Monday Discussion [Revised and updated from 2010] Developing an “intensely local” vision for church planters and others who just want to make a difference. Thesis: To really get to know a community, you have to “press the flesh.” You need to develop real relationships with real people. This will involve changing both our mindset and … More How to Do Reconnaissance into the Neighborhood’s Soul
Fellow blogger Evan Curry, posted this “poem-ish” (his word) offering on September 16 and I thought it was worth passing on. Evan appended the following comment to his post: [“I put this poem-ish piece as a “note” on my Facebook once, and I decided to post it here because it is a good reminder to … More “I Used to Like Jesus …”
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