Here are some of the reasons that our involvement in mission trips is beneficial to our ministry among our own church family.
All in Church
He Is Risen!
Raised in a traditional Church of Christ, with all the benefits I gained with that heritage, I had a long journey to make from discrediting the Christian calendar to embracing it.
Getting Warmer
The strength of the congregation’s intra-warmth is actually the cause of the congregation’s weak inter-warmth. Warmth makes churches grow, they conclude. Especially when it comes to young people.
Nowhere to Hide
Before I walked through the death of my marriage I thought that church would be a place of comfort for a person in grief.
You Cannot Grow a Family Without New Births
Church growth is about telling outsiders about the good news of Jesus and inviting them to become part of his story.
Family Time
No matter how serious the content of our worship, Family Time leads us to end our services aware of one another. When people are hurting, we know it if they are only willing to speak it out
The Emotional Brain, Romantic Idealism, and Church-Planting
The answer might be surprisingly boring. If the priority is the growth of God’s Kingdom, however, then this kind of redirection should be welcome.
Soul Care in the Wilderness: A Preacher’s Journey
I learned how to take care of my soul in the wilderness of small town and small church ministry.
The Discipline of Friendship
Friendship requires trust, openness, and time, which can be difficult for ministers to achieve. People with whom you can be real, open, vulnerable, honest, and forthright with.
Preaching against the Clock?
If I were to preach again I would never preach longer than twenty-five minutes and would not worry about speaking for twenty minutes or less.
Back in the Saddle Again (Part 3)
Thou shalt let the toddlers toddle and infants be make all their baby noises. And unless absolutely necessary, thou shalt not whisk them out of the worship assembly.
Shepherding When Sin Strikes
Every church leader has witnessed it: one of the members of their church community gets caught it sin. They were caught in their sin and are desperately seeking your advice and counsel.
Timeless: Ancient Psalms for the Church Today
This project is to produce a new translation with notes and a short commentary for each of the 150 psalms along with the composition of two to three new songs for each psalm.
How I'm Changing As a Minister
I'm still a work in progress and have come to believe that I will always be changing as a minister. I thought it might be helpful to someone to consider my path as a preacher.
Not on Sunday
On Sunday, we have a schedule to follow, are probably dressed up, and conditioned to be quiet. Friends don’t schedule activities where they sit in lines and look at the backs of other people’s heads.
Back in the Saddle Again
What would I do if I could go back to the days of full-time ministry, preaching week after week? What would I change?
A Prayer for Ash Wednesday (2017)
Lord, on this day, we gather as a people broken,
bleeding from self-inflicted wounds.
When “Small Minded” Isn’t Necessarily a Bad Thing
There is beauty in the simplicity of a small church. This beauty is not manifested in the actions of worship inasmuch as it is created in the body of Christ coming together and worshiping as one united, small (or large) body.
Jonah the Reluctant Preacher
Jonah is often thought of as a children's story complete with a big fish, but the real message of Jonah is an adult one with an opportunity to stretch our understanding of God and salvation.
Job Description for a Shepherd
Our work as shepherds requires us to attend to our own life and walk before God even as we continue to develop the skills necessary to provide care for our congregations.