Discipleship – Apprentice 2 Jesus

John 6 and holy ground

My daily reading from the Daily Office takes me through John 6 regularly and every time I walk through it is the sense I am on holy ground. This is a moving text for me because it drives so deeply into our human motives and the desire of Jesus to strip us of all otherContinue reading “John 6 and holy ground”

The Pharisee in me

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisee, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:20) For us, as self-righteous white conservative evangelicals in America, we can all too often quickly declare, “Done. And done. I’m not a Pharisee!”

A treasured journey

I have come to Exodus 19 in my walk through the Pentateuch. Every step of the way in this journey has been a sacred walk. A holy walk. Every stop along the way is like I am coming to sacred ground. Exodus 19 is certainly one of those spots.

Our serious lack of discipleship in one picture

For every category of Christianity, it is the vast MINORITY who see their allegiance as a Christian as more important than being American. This is the great failure of discipleship in American Christianity.

The Cross, the Spirit, and the Fruit

I was honored to preach at my friend Wayne Anderson’s church this past weekend. Here is the worship service. My message starts around minute 22:30.

New podcast episode — Spiritual disciplines and discipleship

Some thoughts on our need for spiritual discipleship and mentoring in days when all we want to do is build our own echo chambers. LISTEN HERE.

Tasteless discipleship

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. (Matthew 5:13)

The spiritual failure to love

“The spiritual stature of a person’s life is measured by love, which in the end remains ‘the criterion for the definitive decision about a human life’s worth or lack thereof.’” — Pope Francis, On Fraternity and Social Friendship

We lack serious discipleship

I am working my way through “On Fraternity and Social Friendship” by Pope Francis. An early section is an exposition of the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is heart wrenching to read this section in light of what happened a week ago at the Capitol and what is going on today in the HouseContinue reading “We lack serious discipleship”

Where I failed after 9/11

It’s been 19 years. I can still remember where I was sitting. The memories of halting the retreat where I was attending, huddling around the one TV with bad reception, the shock… calling my family… Coming out of that time I also knew the word I had from the Lord: “Prepare the Body. The worldContinue reading “Where I failed after 9/11”