I began this site “Apprentice2Jesus” years ago in a hunger to learn more about spiritual disciplines in the tradition of Dallas Willard and Richard Foster. Dallas has been a major influence in my learning so I used a phrase of his to communicate my desire.
Continue reading “Life’s major shifts”Tag: Church
Major shifts are magnified in the time of coronavirus
We are in the midst of the most widespread societal upheaval that many people alive today have ever experienced. Already our institutions, habits, relationships, and culture are shifting before our eyes. Frank M. Snowden, author of Epidemics and Society, shared with the New Yorker, “Epidemics are a category of disease that seem to hold up the mirror to human beings as to who we really are.” The question we are facing is not whether we will experience sorrow and change; the question is how. As biblical prophets walked with people through catastrophes, their advice was never to just endure until it ends. Instead they focused on proactively changing relationships with each other and with God. (More on this article HERE.)
Continue reading “Major shifts are magnified in the time of coronavirus”Hard categories need breaking in the time of coronavirus
There are two books I am thankful for as they speak to a key issue of change in the time of coronavirus. One is The Way Up is Down by Marlena Graves. This is a book that will be releasing soon and I HIGHLY recommend you get it. She is a powerful writer and also brings the perspective of a Puerto Rican woman.
The second is Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger. This one has been significant because the American Church is in a DEEP culture shift and we simply don’t know what to do about it.
Continue reading “Hard categories need breaking in the time of coronavirus”New spiritual terrain in the time of coronavirus
“…most of us trying to bring change in a post-Christendom world are attempting to use lessons we learned in one situation that are keeping us from adapting to new spiritual terrain.” — Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains
Challenges for ethnic churches and asking what is ahead in the time of coronavirus
A few black pastors I’ve talked to highlight a tough issue. While predominately white churches can somewhat easily ramp up an online presence, and others have easily had an online presence for years, traditionally ethnic churches have struggled.
New churches among ethnic church plants are also struggling.
We also need to think through what is next… now. This is a 9/11 level disruption. We need to keep working as the people of God for what is ahead. HINT: It’s not about “delivering a better online product.” Friends, let us not be Amazon.
But as well, here are some thoughts for the changes possibly ahead for us in general.
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 will be Palm Sunday. (We can adjust back, of course.)
Continue reading “Church in the Time of the Coronavirus”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 it is in the American church, it’s another level of heartache and, quite frankly, disgust.
Continue reading “Getting old in America”The glorious church we miss seeing
We’re hard on the Church in general. We’re hard on the American Church in specific. We can take turns on the reasons each of us are hard on the Church.
I am hard on the American conservative Church because of its spiritual blindness. Yet… I stay with it. Why?
Continue reading “The glorious church we miss seeing”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.
Continue reading “The painful purifying of the American Church”The blindness of the American Church
33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” Luke 11:33-36
Continue reading “The blindness of the American Church”