In her lifetime-achievement-award acceptance speech at the 2018 Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey said, “What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” Your truth. Those two words are so entrenched in our lexicon today that we hardly recognize them for the incoherent nightmare that they are.Continue reading “Is Your Truth a Dead End?”
Category Archives: Spirituality
Are You a Nicodemus?
I just realized in my 41st year of life, in my 21st year of intentionally following Jesus, and in my 11th year as a lead pastor of a church that…I am Nicodemus. And I’m not alone. Here’s the familiar story: Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of theContinue reading “Are You a Nicodemus?”
You Have It All
Knowing that God has promised to complete the work he began in us, we are well equipped to practice perseverance, as Peter explains in his second epistle: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him, who called us to his own glory andContinue reading “You Have It All”
2 Questions
If you work on the staff where I preach, you are subjected to several requirements and expectations. They are all written down and given to you during your on-boarding process. Most are what you would expect of any church staff position. For instance, all of your relationships should reflect the love and grace of JesusContinue reading “2 Questions”
Getting to Know You
Knowing God through Revelation God created people for relationship with him (Gen. 1:26–31). This relationship depends on our knowing him. God has a mind, a will, and emotions. He communicates, revealing himself. This revelation comes in two basic forms: general revelation and special revelation. Without them, we cannot know God. God’s revelation is trustworthy, forContinue reading “Getting to Know You”
Has a Job Been Done on Us?
Steve Jobs died ten years ago this month. At the corporate memorial held on Apple’s campus, a previously unreleased version of the 1997 “Think Different” Apple commercial was played. In this version, Jobs himself performed the voice-over, so everyone at the memorial heard him speak one final exhortation to the world: “The people who areContinue reading “Has a Job Been Done on Us?”
Wish I Had Said That!
Some years ago a traditional church dropped “Onward Christian Soldiers” from their song index because it made reference to war. That’s understandable for people who have never been born again. War is the last thing on their minds. They are “peacemakers” meeting in a building which they think is the “church.” They are not bornContinue reading “Wish I Had Said That!”
Rend Your Heart
The prophet Joel functioned as a spiritual watchman over Judah. In Joel 2:12–19, he pleaded with the nation to turn to the Lord in genuine repentance as the only way to avoid the devastating destruction of the coming “day of the Lord” (Joel 1:15). The prophet’s call began like so: “‘Even now,’ declares the LORD,Continue reading “Rend Your Heart”
Men. You Need to Confess.
I don’t like the word accountability. I don’t like the category of accountability. At times, it opens the door for men to be pressured, cornered, and coerced into admitting what they really don’t want to admit. But I would rather speak in terms of transparency because that’s mutual. We share transparency. It’s biblical—when I’m withContinue reading “Men. You Need to Confess.”
A Little Bit Further Along
No church can survive solely upon the labors of its pastors. No church can thrive when the expectation is that all ministry must be formal and must originate from the front of the room. No church can remain healthy when it falls to the elders to give and the members to consume. Rather, the workContinue reading “A Little Bit Further Along”
