Have you noticed how compartmentalized we tend to view life? While there certainly is truth to the “time and a place for everything” there is also the truth to “in everything moderation.” But for whatever reason (honestly, I would like to investigate this further and discover the root cause or causes) there is a very…
Tag: Church
Freedom To Not Be Free
As I mentioned a while back, I’ve been reading through Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth. (1 Corinthians.) I’m trying to do it in bigger chunks to get a broader perspective of what Paul is talking about in this letter. It’s one that has always slightly baffled me. Paul (a life-long rule keeper) speaks…
Institutional vs. Relational … and The World of Pretend
I’ve really been thinking a lot recently on institutional vs. relational life. Some might argue with me that that’s too limiting, that there are more than two ways to live life with other people… but so far, I’m feeling like almost everything I’m seeing falls into one of those two categories. It’s kinda crazy! It…
The Church Is The Fruit, Not The Cause
I’m catching up on listening to some old podcasts while I work today, and just thought I’d take note of (and share here) something that was “just” said on The God Journey podcast. “You get the idea that this didn’t begin with management. It began with life. And that life expanded among a group of…
Reposting: "Evangelists"
I’m not usually one to recycle here, but I’ve been reading a good deal more than writing these days, and one of the books I happen to be re-reading is the one I compiled a few years ago, There’s The Steeple, Here’s The Church. I had a chance over the past several months to revisit…
Reposting: "If You Build It…"
I recently re-read this article I wrote way back in 2005! It was included in my book, There’s The Steeple… Here’s The Church!, and was just a cool reminder to me that if we want to be part of something “successful” (really successful) then it’s best to see where God is working and follow his…
It’s Not About Church
It’s about Jesus. That may seem simplistic, but I really believe it’s true. If you’ll permit me… I just need to lay down some thoughts I’ve been working through on this. The Kingdom is not about what we can do (with or without Jesus’ help). Life as a follower of Jesus is not about going…
The Dichotomy of Trust and Control
Life is full of options. There are choices everywhere. I think maybe in America we are overwhelmed by choices. We have such an abundance of material wealth (yes, even in “this economy”) that we have probably thousands of choices to make each day. But even though there are so many choices, for we who follow…
The Icing on the Cake
Last night I was discussing Sunday morning worship services with some friends who lead such an event and said something in a way I am not sure I had prior to that. I think the general thinking had been there, but the thoughts came out more coherently than I expected. We were talking about the…
Perhaps You Could Help?
Was talking with some friends of ours yesterday about the very recent death of their son-in-law. He was only 33 years old, and has a wife and two boys (12 and 13) who are now without their dad, who was also the one who brought in nearly all of the household income. I also found…