Over a decade ago now (and yes, I do feel old now that I can actually count in decades!), I attended a satellite church service, which was part of the Mars Hill Church. We sat in room that felt like a shoebox — theater-like, all facing the small stage in front and of course, the big screen. The music was live, and there was a campus pastor who coordinated worship and prayed, but when it came time to hear the word of God preached, all eyes were on the screen to hear a singular message broadcasted over multiple cities delivered by just one preacher. I wouldn’t say it was a bad church experience, but it was certainly an odd one, and one that made me wonder about the theology of a megachurch with one preacher. The church certainly began with one teacher and preacher, so is it so wrong to stick with that model? But the thing is – the church may have began with Jesus, but even Jesus enlisted many more than 12 understudies to learn from him and carry his message throughout the world. … [Read more...]
Celebrating singleness
I’m single, and I still find it challenging to write about being single in ministry. But I am going to do it anyway, because I believe the lack of attention may be part of the problem. There are all sorts of great examples of Christian singles in the Bible … ahem, Jesus. But not just Jesus. Paul is probably the second most famous single; he even spent some time writing about ministering as a single. It appears that Martha was single, and John the Baptist too, just to name a few (okay, I’ll stop rhyming – happy accident there!). And, there are all sorts of Christians in the early church who have a “non-disclosed” marital status who very well might have been single as well. Yet, the church today often struggles with how to minister to singles. I’ve read countless times that starting a singles ministry is “useless” at a church because no one really wants to be in it, and anyone who does come is just there to “get out of it,” so to speak. Some people might say that the challenge … [Read more...]
Can Jesus teleport?
Can Jesus teleport? A child asked this at the last church I served. And the response from a nearby pastor was: “Yes. Remember when the disciples were all together in the upper room after Jesus died with the door closed, because they were afraid, and all at once, he stood there among them?” The faith leader was sharing the story of John 20:19 without just citing it. This child’s question was so great is because it demonstrates a sincere desire to get to know Jesus from within the world the child lives in. The beginning of any relationship is starting with who we are and from there, asking who someone else is. Because Jesus most often doesn’t talk back to us like many of our earthly relationships, we sometimes skip this step. We are tempted to read our Bibles or even just listen to stories about Jesus and never move beyond the Jesus on the pages. We don’t take that extra step of wondering and synthesizing how Jesus fits into our world as we know it. You could say we keep him … [Read more...]
Family baptism
Having attended a more evangelical seminary, there were lots of different views on the sacrament of baptism floating around. And I was given no shortage of opportunities to explain the Presbyterian view of baptism being an outward sign of an inward change or even to defend … er I mean, explain … why Presbyterians continue to baptize infants and children. I have always been proud of the Presbyterian theology behind both of these decisions: It isn’t the water that takes away our sins, but Jesus Christ. Baptism is more than just one moment; it’s the beginning of choosing Jesus for a lifetime. And, being baptized as an infant or a child is just confirmation of the Reformed belief that God chooses us before we could ever even conceive of the thought to choose God. In the case of infant or child baptism, it is a family/parental promise to give that child any and every opportunity to know God and choose God back in his or her own life. Amusingly enough, I never considered why I loved the … [Read more...]
Brainstorming and spiritual leaders
I remember the first time I heard the word “brainstorm” as a little kid in school. My imagination immediately kicked in and I started imagining heads full of lightening bolts, storm clouds and precipitation. Little did I know, I was fully embracing the concept right then and there! Brainstorming is somewhat of a lost art. I remember learning it as a child: no ideas are bad; write everything down without evaluating; and don’t react! Those were the rules … or the un-rules, you could say. It definitely took some practice. It often seemed silly to not to evaluate along the way or settle on one idea early on, but brainstorming beautifully and in a God-like fashion seeks to honor all ideas as worthy of at least some space on the page. I would love to cultivate and stimulate the practice of brainstorming among church leaders more often, because it makes space for and helps develop so many of the qualities that make for dynamic spiritual leadership. First, it promotes creativity. … [Read more...]
Confessions of a type A pray-er
I remember when I was in seminary when a friend asked me to pray for him. “I’m only asking you,” he said, “because I know you really will pray. There are a lot of people who say they will pray for you, but you know they never do. I know you’re not like that.” It was probably one of the biggest compliments he could have given me. But I confess that, at that time, it wasn’t something I felt that I was that great at. But, after he said those words to me, I made it my business to be the person that he believed I was: consistent and faithful in my prayer life. I’ve found that it’s easy to forget to pray for others. So, I put prayer requests in my phone the minute I get them. I keep track of them so that when I say, “I will be praying for you,” it is actually true. When I started keeping track (yes, I’m type A), I got a little obsessive about it. I would be praying and immediately feel like I needed to consult the list. And my prayers started to feel rote and sanitary as I rattled … [Read more...]
Tweet With Us
Be A Facebook Fan
Our World in Photos
Pin With Us