Apprentice 2 Jesus

Church Life

  • The Letter I Thought I Would Never Write

    I love pastoring and I love the place where I pastor. A day arrived I didn’t think would come this soon, even though “soon” means 19 years of ministry in one place. Read more

  • The current evangelical game of “gotcha”

    Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. (Mark 12:13, NIV) We are creating new games of “gotcha” in the evangelical world on almost a weekly basis now. Statements issued by one group are carefully scrutinized by another. Actions of one group are carefully scrutinized for… Read more

  • Church bashing

    We may not think much of the Church in our American angst. We complain. We argue. We are always quick to point out what is “wrong” with the Church. Every particular season I will come across dozens of articles about what NOT to preach on a particular Sunday. (“Make sure you avoid these THREE mistakes… Read more

  • The necessity of the Church

    “There are Christians, of course, who never put their names down on a membership list; there are Christians who refuse to respond to the call to worship each Sunday; there are Christians who say, ‘I love God but I hate the church.’ (Or, in our day, ‘I’m spiritual, not religious.’) But they are members all… Read more

  • The New Reformation

    Let us be finally freed from our hunger for political power. Read more

  • The change needed

    As Christians, we bear terrible responsibilities, in our complicities and acquiescence, for a past that has brought us to this condition. Read more

  • The loss of “power” and finding POWER

    And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness… Read more

  • The beauty and tragedy of Christianity

    In all of our cultural coverings, we work so hard to make Jesus “attractive,” his beauty gets lost. Read more

  • Living in Babylon

    As we are watching major cultural changes all around us, how do we stay deep in Christ? Read more

  • We are at that moment

    This church has stepped into a new era that is exciting. Yet, we’re still by the Jordan River. We’ve just crossed. There is a whole new land to take. Read more