Last week, Julie and I spent a few days in a warm weather climate for a mid-winter vacation.  It’s one of the benefits of marrying someone who for all practical purposes travels for a living — she has all kinds of points piled up to make both travel and lodging blissfully affordable. Yet in many Read the full article…

Weather-wise, it was the worst of all weekends. The storm was bad enough to impact church attendance but not so bad we had to cancel altogether. (When the latter happens, a preacher can give a silent fist pump because he just bought a week of sermon prep!) Nevertheless, we really had a terrific day yesterday.  Read the full article…

This Sunday we get to take a bible verse OUT of the realm of magic and return it to its proper realm of Spirit-filled truth. How will we do that? By looking at the context, of course. Along the way, we’ll share in collective praying, we’ll take communion, and we’ll be empowered to pray and Read the full article…

So what’s the more profound role for a person in my position: pastor or agitator? If you say pastor, then you’ll believe that the most effective leader of a local church will care for souls, pursue healing, and excel in the ministry of presence. If you say agitator, then you’ll believe that the most effective Read the full article…

In my just-over-thirty-six-years of attending church and listening to preachers, I’ve sat through a number of sermons which sounded more like long essays than impassioned proclamation. And the fatal flaw of those sermons was the fact that they were written (and often then read from the pulpit!) more for the eye than for the ear. Read the full article…