Our congregation has begun a year long emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians confess to being perplexed by the work of the Holy Spirit. They say they understand the idea of God the Father and God the Son, but the idea of God the Holy Spirit mystifies. That problem may be more about modesty than mystery. […]
Books galore have been written on preaching. Some of them should be read. There is only one thing you need to know about preaching: it should be a message from Jesus about Jesus. Pretty simple. Simple, not easy. Preaching and, even more so, the preparation for preaching is the hardest thing a pastor does all week. You should be prepared […]
I read two, but only needed to read one, books by Frank Peretti. One was plenty. I mean this in a good sense. In his book, This Present Darkness, he gave a great picture of demonic oppression. He personalized how certain demons plague the people of God. The idea was clear in the first book. I do not suppose that […]
Earlier this week in an online post I mentioned Lake Superior State University’s annual list of words and phrases that should be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. I’d like to be the first to nominate the word/phrase following the science. This phrase is meaningless at best and idolatrous at worst. When people use this […]
Words are our ware. Beware the words. Here are three words that lead to trouble. The Problem of Pride Watch pride, the word. Everyone seems to be proud. Victorious sports teams celebrate with pride. Parents speak with pride about their children’s accomplishments. Companies that seek success do so by instilling pride in their workers. Pride is everywhere and everyone has […]
I have been walking a lot this summer. A lot. In a subsequent post I may reflect on the what and the why of it. But not today. During my walks, I have seen a lot of yard signs. A lot. One in particular seems most significant. I saw signs thanking health care workers and first responders. There were signs […]
I always thought we should change the words from: Like a mighty army moves the Church of God” to “Like a might army meets the Church of God.” Why is it that church meetings seem to take forever and go nowhere? As a pastor or lay leader you better get good at meetings. You will have a lot of them: […]
Much has been written in many places, not the least of which is the Bible, on fasting. Read up on it. Did you ever have anyone at the seminary encourage you to seriously consider fasting as part of a regular spiritual discipline? Neither did I. But I am now: seriously consider fasting as part of a regular spiritual discipline. Fasting […]
Your seminary training did not train you to be a leader. It couldn’t. Seminary training rightfully focuses on training students to be and think like theologians. While you may have spent some time on leadership development, that is not the point of being at the seminary. You’re not at the seminary anymore. Get yourself leadership training, lots of it. Pastor […]
“I tell you the truth,” is a happy translation for the word “amen.” “Truly, truly,” is pretty good too. Doesn’t it always sound nice to hear Jesus start a statement by, “I tell you the truth…” He rightly identified himself as the way, the TRUTH and the life. As you know, truth has taken a beating. People are not even […]