In the book, The Insanity of God, Nik Ripken tells the stories of his travels among churches all over the world who face persecution because of their allegiance to King Jesus. In China, Nik met with a gathering of pastors in secret and heard their stories of prison. In the telling, Nik shares an amazingContinue reading “No More Celebrity Pastors”
Tag Archives: culture
God, Guns, and Sacrifice
With the recent tragedies and mass shootings in the news, guns and gun control are hot topics again, at least until the national consciousness moves on to the next outrage. I confess I am tempted to give me two cents about what should be done to curb our national obsession with violence. Yet do weContinue reading “God, Guns, and Sacrifice”
When Ideas Go Viral
Personal Note: Sorry for stepping away from regular posting. I was working to complete my book on discipleship and disciple-making. It is a guide for disciple partners or small groups to walk through together. If you are interested in knowing more, feel free to reach out through the contact page. After sitting in my “ToContinue reading “When Ideas Go Viral”
Idols in the Church Part 1: Anger
Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:12-13 English Standard Version The Bible makes clear that we have an idolatry problem. FundamentalContinue reading “Idols in the Church Part 1: Anger”
Normalize Boredom
With my men’s group, we have been working our way through Rich Villodas’ book, The Deeply Formed Life. In his book, Villodas explores five areas in which Christians in America especially need the transformative work of King Jesus in our lives as well as spiritual disciplines that help us grow in these areas. Time preventsContinue reading “Normalize Boredom”
The Way of Suffering
Through 2021, the church in which I serve has been preaching through the Gospel of Mark in a sermon series titled, The Way. You can catch up on that series here. Below is the transcript of the sermon I preached for that series on September 12, 2021. Now some of you know parts of myContinue reading “The Way of Suffering”
Church for Sale
As I sit down to write this, it is a little past lunch time here. Choosing where to eat for lunch can get a bit overwhelming at times, especially when you have a group of people all trying to choose together. Everyone has different tastes, different food allergies, and different tolerances with regard to price.Continue reading “Church for Sale”
Jesus Wept
Where to even begin with this? Since I have started this blog, I have used Twitter as my main social media platform to let people know when I post something. Since then, I have cultivated a wide range of men and women who I follow to make me think and laugh and, hopefully, become aContinue reading “Jesus Wept”
Discipleship in the Age of Talk Radio
News broke this week that conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh passed away. Social media was aflame (as always), and divided (as always) over the legacy of this man. For those on the right, Limbaugh was a lion of a man, a genius, a pioneer for what it means to fight for conservative political ideals inContinue reading “Discipleship in the Age of Talk Radio”
Resolutions for the Church in 2021
Well, you knew it was going to happen eventually. Pretty soon we will all be inundated with 2020 year end reviews. Oh won’t those be fun. Then we will all start planning what we will be doing in 2021 as though the hardship of 2020 will end at the stroke of midnight on December 31st.Continue reading “Resolutions for the Church in 2021”
The Awkward Christian Blog 