Apprentice 2 Jesus

Church Life

  • Walking into the New Year

    As I was preparing this post and then started to post, I put my title in first. I almost wrote: “Walking WITH PURPOSE into the New Year.” (Well, not all caps, but those were the words I chose to delete.) It’s not that “with purpose” is a bad idea. It’s a bad idea to walk… Read more

  • The dire warnings of Christian Celebrity

    David French takes up the subject of celebrity pastors. It’s not just about the latest notable failing and “fashion pastors.” Or, “hot pastors.” It’s about guarding our hearts and staying humble before the Lord. Christian celebrities will continue to fall. But they don’t have to fall so often. They don’t have to inflict so much… Read more

  • The “hot” pastor

    The “megachurch” culture keeps tripping over itself… and we keep ignoring it. Katelyn Beaty is bold enough to point out the latest issue: He also swam in waters that reward form over substance. Today’s sexualized, glossy version of the megachurch pastor is calculated to replace the stereotype of a frumpy pastor in pleated khakis and… Read more

  • Reason #317 Why You Should Be on the Church Calendar

    Advent begins November 29. For those who are not familiar with the Church Calendar, this would be a good year to become familiar… and a fan. Read more

  • Small groups in the time of coronavirus

    With the new CDC rules of avoiding groups of 10 or more, along with being careful about age and vulnerability, our men’s group at our church is on hiatus. So, I raise a cup of coffee to them this morning. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Read more

  • Church in the Time of the Coronavirus

    With a National Emergency called, churches have responded more and more by cancelling Sunday services. There is, of course, an abundance of online options. For someone sacramental, and one who has just simply enjoyed the fellowship of believers on a regular basis, this has hit me hard. Our own church is saying the next service… Read more

  • Getting old in America

    While we have a president in his 70s and three projected contenders in the 2020 well into their 70s, unless you’re running for president, getting old in America isn’t easy. Ageism in the work place, being shoved aside as “irrelevant” when it comes to opinions and experience, etc., begins to wear on folks. But when… Read more

  • The painful purifying of the American Church

    I love John Crist’s videos. News of years of sexual harassment and misconduct broke earlier this week. Yet another failure. Read more

  • Spiritually homeless … no more

    A couple of podcasts this week have caught my attention. They expressed almost perfectly the internal struggle I’ve had for a number of years. While the views I heard would seem to say they are still “spiritually homeless”, I would say in my own life that is no longer true. Yet, I am thankful for… Read more

  • We think we have “ultimate question” but we don’t

    “What do I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17) We want the “ultimate answers” settled without looking right in front of us. If we’d look right in front of us we’d find the answers to our “ultimate” questions. And we’d find those “ultimate” questions less vital.  Read more