Apprentice 2 Jesus

Church Life

  • The Incredible Abundance of God

    Whenever I take the time to read briefly in the Deuterocanonical Books (Apocrypha) I find such wonderful nuggets. Sirach, reading like Proverbs, continues to reveal the richness of pursuing God’s wisdom. 26 If you want to find Wisdom,then keep the commandments,   and the Lord will supply her to you in   vast quantities. (Sirach 1:26, CEB)… Read more

  • To My Pastor Friends

    13 Jesus went up on a mountain and called those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve and called them apostles. He appointed them to be with him, to be sent out to preach, 15 and to have authority to throw out demons. (Mark 3:13-15, CEB) There is a sacredness to… Read more

  • Where Healing Dwells

    Mark Chapter 2 has a series of stories that I think are summed up in Jesus’ little story of wineskins and new cloths: 21 “No one sews a piece of new, unshrunk cloth on old clothes; otherwise, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and makes a worse tear. 22 No… Read more

  • Passage and Thoughts Challenging Me Lately

    11 He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. 12 His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ 13 until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become… Read more

  • Consider These Numbers

    The Super Bowl last week garnered a record number of viewers in the U.S. : 111.3 million. Hundreds of players in the NFL train year round for the opportunity to square off on television’s biggest stage. Only two teams and few dozen players will make that stage. One team walks off the LOSER. But they… Read more

  • Pastors as Theologians

    One of the topics I have wrestled with for quite some time is the idea of pastors as theologians, or theologians as pastors. As a pastor, I have grown over the years in my ability to think theologically. I earned my Master’s 20 years after I finished my BA. I love pastoring. What I have… Read more

  • Abortion

    I work hard to stay away from what may seem to be “political” statements on my blog. Facebook is different. Yet, the whole blow up this week with Planned Parenthood and the Susan G. Komen Foundation has so crushed my spirit, I am going to take that risk. I repent for not remembering Pro-Life Sunday… Read more

  • Leading and Pastoring

    There will always be the call to LEAD. It is not a matter of saying it’s either you pastor or you lead. But it is painfully clear that we are putting leadership on steroids these days in our cultural churches. Pastors MUST lead. But in the church, and in being the pastor (or whatever you… Read more

  • The Response — Jesus and Religion

    While I didn’t get in on the viral wave of the first video about being into Jesus, but not “religious,” I will confess I really like this response:     Read more

  • Blue Chips and Junk Bonds

    David Brooks is one of my favorite columnists. This column discusses politics, but it reminds me of a conversation I had regarding ministry as well. Brooks’s contention is that liberals have allowed short term gains to cloud their vision for long term good. The conversation I had regarding churches and ministry was much the same.… Read more