When we think of planting a church, what’s typically the first thing we may do? We typically do something like this: Start a small group…
When we think about communicating the truths of scripture to one another, and especially to the outside world, we often focus on only one of…
All good visionary organizations have not only a vision statement, mission statement, and value statement, they also have a motto that encapsulates them all in…
In church growth circles, there’s always some new trend that promises to revitalize and grow our churches in size, and sometimes in maturity. Conferences are…
In this examination of Nicodemus’ nighttime visit with Jesus (John 3:1-9), we discuss the main steps to True Spiritual Awakening, from a Christian perspective. Feel…
This series is made up of the following posts: Midlife and other Life Transitions 1 – Introduction Midlife and Other Life Transitions 2 – Dissatisfaction…
This post is part of a Series. In Part 1, I discussed the phases of adult life according to Levinson, and ‘revealed’ that I am…
This series is made up of the following articles: Molinism, The Solution to the Calvinist-Arminian Standoff Molinism – ROSES instead of TULIPs
This article is part of a series on Molinism. Calvinism has been summarized in the acronym TULIP, while Arminianism has been summarized in The Five Articles of…
Ever since the Protestant reformation began, Christian theologians have been arguing about one of what I call The Two Great Mysteries of the Bible –…
The Christian faith claims to answer a lot of tough questions about life, the universe, and everything. For most of life’s dilemmas, the bible seems…
Life is tough, and when it gets overwhelming, we lose hope that the future will ever get better. How do we restore a positive expectation…
This post is part of a Series. Everyone jokes about midlife crisis until they get there. Me, however, I’ve not joked about it since my 30’s,…
Being a relative latecomer to jazz appreciation, I am often surprised by great songs that I had no idea were standards. One of the earliest…
Autumn Leaves is a 1945 French song “Les feuilles mortes” (literally “The Dead Leaves”) with music by Hungarian-French composer Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert, the Hungarian title is…
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the central coast California town of San Luis Obispo (SLO), and at the weekly farmer’s market, a…
One challenge to the Christian faith is the claim that the uneven distribution of faith around the globe may challenge some of Christian claims about…
There are many forces which pressure us away from the ministry of grace and gospel – personal finances, demonic and human opposition, our own doubts…
Studying the book of Isaiah, I found a description of how God tended to Israel, and realized that I could find principles applicable to planting…
This sermon is on returning to the basic disciplines of faith, as described in Romans 12:1-2, including: Bring yourselves to God Stop being conformed by…
Young earth creationists (YEC) have long maintained that the earth and universe are very young (less than 10K years old!) primarily based on their reading…
I have a confession – while I hold to the traditional Biblical views regarding the unnatural and immoral nature of homosexuality, I have not been…
My mom sent me this sentimental ‘spam,’ thought it was worth reading. Get busy living or get busy dying! You know. . . Time has…