I don’t know about you, but almost every week I see two or three posts on Facebook—that’s really the only social media platform I use—from people looking for the “perfect church.” And they almost always come with a list. They want a church with a great children’s ministry, the right…
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The Perfect Church Checklist
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Where Is The Forgiveness?
Where Is the Forgiveness? Rethinking the Gospel We Have Been Told For much of my life, I heard the gospel presented something like this: Man sinned. God was angry. Sin demanded punishment. The wages of sin were death. Someone had to die. Humanity could not pay the debt, so Jesus…
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Why Mature Faith Isn’t Afraid of Questions
“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11 Paul wrote about growing up. Maturing. Putting away childish ways of thinking. I believe that applies…
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Don’t Ask Facebook Where to Go to Church — Ask Jesus Instead
Don’t ask Facebook which church we should attend. Instead, maybe we should spend some time with Jesus and ask Him where He wants us to go—or if He wants us to attend a church at all. Maybe He has other plans than crowdsourcing recommendations. Over the past year, I’ve read dozens of posts…
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Why My Evolving Beliefs Don’t Make Me a False Teacher
Why Every Christian Should Stop Calling People “False Teachers” (And Start Asking Better Questions) If everyone who doesn’t agree with your opinion is automatically a false teacher, then wouldn’t that make you a false teacher to someone else, too? I hate that religion and church culture have conditioned people to…
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Understanding Righteousness of Christ: A Grace-Filled Journey Out of Legalism
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the righteousness of Christ, the gift of being given His righteousness, and what Scripture means when it says our own righteousness is like filthy rags while His is complete. These reflections have been shaping how I understand grace, identity in Christ, and what…
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Do Sermons Need A Disclaimer?
Why Every Sermon Needs a Disclaimer In our everyday lives, disclaimers are everywhere, and perhaps none is more relevant to the church than the idea of a Sermon Disclaimer. For example, when medicines are advertised on television, the commercial inevitably ends with a lengthy statement warning viewers that the miracle drug…
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Should We Deconstruct the Church?
Some may think that I am a deconstructionist, trying to DECONSTRUCT the church. Honestly, I didn’t even know about this term until recently. Over the years, this blog has gone through many changes —really. It’s not really about turning the world upside down, but more about a journey I am…
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It’s All About the Church Building
A New Perspective on Church Buildings and Ministry Years ago, I had a client who was the marketing director of a prominent television ministry. Before working with us, he’d been involved in another major ministry. I remember discussing topics such as products, pricing, donation requests, upsells, and the financial aspects…
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Is It Revival or Reformation?
For years, I have prayed for, studied, and preached about revival. When I became a pastor in the institutional church system, my sole desire was to bring revival to the church and transformation to the city where the church was located. Sadly, after 17 years, that was not the result.…