Apprentice 2 Jesus

Spiritual Formation

  • The deep joy of God

    I am working on synthesizing some thoughts from two books: The Spirit of Our Politics by Michael Wear and Jesus and the Powers by NT Wright and Michael Bird. There are three areas I am covering to put together some thoughts on how we are are live as Christians in America. (NOT American Christians. Note… Read more

  • Political and spiritual involvement

    One of the words we toss around without understanding the definition is “secular.” When it comes to being in the public square, it is a misunderstood (and abused) word. In Jesus and the Powers, Wright and Bird draw a clear picture of true secularism, where government is useful to allow religious voices to be heard… Read more

  • The Kingdom of God is FOR this world

    I am currently working my way through NT Wright and Michael Bird’s new book, Jesus and the Powers. It is some “prep” for this election season. More than that, it is necessary prep for how to lead in the church in a time when we face serious upheaval. We will have deep divides. The nastiness… Read more

  • The vision of hope is grounded in love

    7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8, NRSVue) I want to turn from exhaustion to hope. That is the way of love. Read more

  • The spiritual feast of the Word of God

    I have been slow on my book reading/listening this year. Very slow. And they’ve all been re-reads/listens. Read more

  • Understanding true “enemies”

    I came across this quote from NT Wright as I am studying 1 Peter: Read more

  • How do we discern the voice of the Lord?

    I reflected HERE about the challenge of hearing the Lord calling out to us. We’re not always listening, but he is always calling. The question that needs to stay before us is this: How do we discern the voice of the Lord in our own lives? Read more

  • We are not called to “save” the world

    A phrase, among many phrases, I would love to remove from Christianese vocabulary: “world changers.” We are not called to “change the world.” We are called to follow Christ, the One who is the world changer. Read more

  • Learning the principles of the Kingdom of God

    I truly miss the voice of Dallas Willard. He unfolded the richness of the Kingdom of God in such a humble, yet majestic, way. His vision for the Kingdom was immense and the longer I walk with the Lord the more of what Dallas saw many years ago unfolds in my own life. Read more

  • We are shoved around by fear

    Fear raises money. Fear drives hasty decisions. Fear brings deep divide. Fear is the currency of American politics. And American politics is our new national religion. Read more