How to Build Community in Your Church
As a pastor of a small church, I’m particularly sensitive about building a sense of community. I don’t think community is just another 21st century buzzword, I think it reflects the body life described for the church in the New Testament. For example, in our latest study of the Lord’s Prayer, I’ve been struck by […]
A Commitment to Holiness and Humility
I had the privilege of interviewing Rev. Samuel Rodriquez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Rodriquez is a well-known speaker who represents the growing Hispanic evangelical population. I asked him about a recent honor he received: You were the first Latino leader to give a commemorative address at Dr. Martin Luther King’s annual […]
7 Steps to Get Started Writing
I have a lot of people who are interested in launching a writing career, but don’t know how to get started. It seems a bit overwhelming. So I decided to try and write a post with seven sort of first-steps on writing. I hope this helps those who feel this call. 1) Take a Long […]
The Rhythm of Forgiveness and Repentance
This past Sunday, in our sermon series Teach us to Pray, we looked at this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Now this phrase of this prayer would be really wonderful if it stopped at “Forgive us our debts.” That’s how most of us pray, if we’re […]
The Political Idol
Okay, I had a terrific interview with cultural commentator and author, Eric Metaxas about a wide-range of things including civic engagement, the role of the Church in culture, evangelical subcultures, and the controversial White House Prayer Breakfast. It was brought to my attention that the section of the interview I had previously highlighted might have […]
How NOT to grow spiritually
How does a person grow? Specifically, for followers of Jesus, how does a person grow spiritually? Another word for growth is sanctification–that supernatural process by which the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and forms us into Christ’s image. Growth is primarily a work that God does in us–I can’t, essentially, make myself grow. […]
5 Ways Adult Children Can Honor Their Parents
How should an adult grown (presumably married, but not necessarily) child relate to his or her parents? There is a tension in Scripture between obeying the Scripture which says to “leave and cleave” in forming your own adult identity and family (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5) and obeying the Scripture which says to “honor your father […]
My 5 Rules of Writing
I’ve been working with words, in one way or another, since I was in high-school and it has been work with words that has formed the majority of my adult working life, both as a writer, editor and now in my role as a pastor. Writing is one of my loves and one of the […]
Out of Ur: Friday Five Interview: D.A. Carson
My first Friday Five interview for Leadership Journal posts today. First up? Bible scholar and author, DA Carson: You recently released a book, Jesus, the Son of God. Why the emphasis on son-ship for pastors and theologians today? The title “the Son of God” is one that is repeatedly applied to the Lord Jesus, so there […]
Christians and Online Engagement: Some Great Links
How should Christians engage online? What should inform the words we use the debates we engage? I’ve been studying this question for a particular project (more on that whenever there is more on that). In my study, I’ve come across some terrific articles. I thought I’d pass them along: “An Open Letter to My Politically […]
The Best Kind of Protest
Last week, on the way home from classes at TEDS, I listened in on a radio conversation on Moody Radio (90.1 FM). The host was my friend, Chris Fabry. Chris told the story of a listener who wrote in to express his appreciation for Christian radio. The man had come across Moody in a roundabout […]