Apprentice 2 Jesus

Spiritual Formation

  • Seeing what is really “super”

    My friend Lance has a tremendous post today on our tendency for celebrity worship, but often missing the most important Person in our midst. Thank you, Lance, for the great reminder! Read more

  • Taught by the Spirit — Cultivating an Ear for the Spirit

    I am preaching through 1 Corinthians currently. Paul talks about being taught by the Spirit in Chapter 2. As I meditated on these verses I began to ask, “How have I learned from the Spirit? What has taught me to hear?” 1. The Word I always beat this drum. We hear best from the Word.… Read more

  • The Split Personality of Pastoring

    I have to make a confession. While I dearly love my friends in ministry, going to a ministers retreat has challenges. It is the challenge of fighting the thought, “I’m not doing enough.” There are a LOT of things I could dive into on that one thought, but I want to leave it there. Others… Read more

  • Knowing Christ and Him Crucified

    “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2, TNIV) Read more

  • The Outpouring of the Spirit and the Lordship of Christ

    I’m on a roll. More than two pages in a row seemed to make sense in Barth. In Vol. 1.2 he discusses “The Freedom of Man for God.” He takes up the issue of just what the outpouring of the Spirit means in the life of the believer. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit exalts… Read more

  • Insisting on Sarah

    Two interesting passages of Scripture came together for my reading during prayer this morning. The first was Genesis 16. It’s the story of Abraham settling for Hagar for an heir. He had just received the powerful covenant from Yahweh in Gen. 15… and goes right out and tries to figure things out on his own.… Read more

  • Book Review — The Liturgical Year

    I received The Liturgical Year from Thomas Nelson as a complimentary copy for review. I am under no obligation to give a positive review. But I can’t help but be positive about the two books I have read in this series called The Ancient Practices Series. Joan Chittister walks the reader through the meaning of… Read more

  • Learn from Failure

    This column by David Brooks is tremendous. His columns are tremendous as a standard, in my book. As a culture, we have to come to a place individually where we admit our shortcomings and learn. Learn from FAILURE. But our culture has tried to shield us from failure. I am guilty of this as a… Read more

  • The Christian Roots of Communism

    (The title is tongue in cheek.) But consider this from 5th Century monk Paulinus of Nola: We have no right to our possessions; they have been entrusted to us for the good of all. let us then invest with the Lord what he has given us, for we have nothing that does not come from… Read more

  • common prayer

    In my journey I have NOT drifted from being one thing to being another spiritually. There might be some who claim they went from being Pentecostal to liturgical. (Like they gave up being Pentecostal.) That is not my story. I am still Pentecostal. I still believe in the life of the Spirit. I still believe… Read more