My wife and I often have spirited discussion as to whether or not the other is an optimist or a pessimist in a given moment and in general. The saying goes that the optimists looks at a glass that is 50% full of water and says that the glass is ‘half full.’ The pessimist looks […]
I believe that God has given us free will, the will and ability to choose (or even to choose not to choose). While I have many friends who do not share this belief, I think even they would have to admit that we have some level of choice. There are challenges with free will however. […]
As a culture, as the church and as a people we are terrible at celebrating. We celebrate very little when we should celebrate everything, including our failures. The church should be a model of celebration, but it seems as though that it is the last to celebrate at all. I have thought about this on […]
It is the job of the Shepherd (lead Pastor and any Pastors) to ensure that everyone in the congregation is cared for, especially spiritually. While the Pastors are responsible to ensure everyone is cared for, the Pastors are not responsible to do all of that care. In fact, it is not Biblically or theologically sound […]
Trust is our one great act. God does everything else, we simply trust and engage with what God has done, is doing and will do for us. Trust is not easy, it does not come naturally and is filled with complications. Trust means letting go of control to some degree. When it comes to trusting […]
When thinking about our posture towards God, it is impossible to find a perfect analogy for everyone in every season, but there is one that in some seasons has been particularly helpful for me. The image is that of a catcher. Our posture towards God is to be like the catcher in a baseball or […]
Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God more than any other topic. Over time I have found myself focusing on this fact and this phrase as a follower of Jesus, husband, father, pastor ect. If it was that significant in Jesus words, it should certainly be significant for us. Yet, the concept of the Kingdom […]
As I think about this issue and the divide amongst people, particularly in and from the church, I believe there are five core issues that dictate where we fundamentally agree and disagree on this issue. These five core issues, in no particular order are: -The Value of scripture: How we look at and value Scripture […]
A big part of this issue involves the role of the church and the government. I have long been an advocate and supporter of the separation of church and state. I grow very frustrated that many within North American Christianity want to apply this selectively, however. The founding fathers were smart and were correct about […]
I have decided to do some theological writing and reflecting on the same-sex marriage debate. While I cannot decide if this is a brave, stupid, unnecessary or necessary decision, there is no question that in the Christian church in the United States today, this is the most divisive and painful issue we face. I have […]
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