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It’s not a harvest problem
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.…
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The importance of the Body of Christ… the Church
When you go to church you are really listening in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going. — C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity We need to understand the true power of the Kingdom of God working through the Church. It is immense. We’ve dumbed it down and driven so…
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My Christmas Wish List
I don’t get asked a lot, but every once in awhile someone will ask what I want for Christmas. This year I’ve said the same thing: World Peace. I just don’t have a Christmas wish list. My life is full. My family is doing well. My wife and I are having a great time as we watch our sons mature.…
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Why my city rocks
I love reflecting on the city where I pastor because there are so many things going on that are RIGHT. They are not totally right all the time, but there are things that defy current trends. For instance, Columbia Heights is on the very low end of “affluence” in the Twin Cities. Rock bottom for the metro area, I believe.…
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Real Church. You may want to try it.
Great thoughts here from Scot McKnight on the local church. Ordinary small churches are the norm and the reality of church life, of kingdom-now life. We have the ideal in our head, and lifted up as THE model for church, McKnight tries to burst that bubble. As pastors we can even have our ideals: Pastors smitten by the ideal of…
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The church is a mess
“The churches of Revelation show us that churches are not Victorian parlors where everything is always picked up and ready for guests. They are messy family rooms. Entering a person’s house unexpectedly, we are sometimes met with a barrage of apologies. St. John does not apologize. Things are out of order, to be sure, but that is what happens to…
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It is not enough
It is not enough to think that if someone simply has a church they can walk by that they have an “adequate” witness of the gospel. We to be IN the lives of those who do not yet believe so they have an opportunity to see Jesus in some form of reality. Let us not be lazy and think we’re…
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Three Days to Ethiopia
In typical fashion, just before a trip it gets the busiest. This week leading up to the trip to Ethiopia has been insane. I wanted to take a moment to simply say again THANK YOU to all who gave so generously toward this trip to Ethiopia. It has been so amazing to see this all come together. Thank you for…
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True love
“Love is not merely affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” (CS Lewis)
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We do this, we do this as a CHURCH
Powerful thoughts from Eugene Peterson in Reverse Thunder: The Revelation of John and Praying the Imagination. : The gospel is never for individuals but always for a people. Sin fragments us, separates us, and sentences us to solitary confinement. Gospel restores us, unites us, and sets us in community. The life of faith revealed and nurtured in the biblical narratives is…
Category: Church
