I am preaching a series on 1 Corinthians, and just a couple of chapters in, I am being reminded of the great glory and depths available to those who have His Spirit.  And I am struck by a disparity that I have encountered over these past couple of decades of pastoral ministry.  What accounts for…

How would you save the world if you had limitless power?  Would you eradicate all illness?  Would you show up in intimidating power?  Would you create educational programs? Eradicate poverty? Eradicate hunger? In First Corinthians chapter 1, the apostle Paul addresses the power of God expressed in providing salvation.  And it is so radically different…

If you had told me all the treasure, all the blessings, all the growth that would come to me in the summer of 1993, I would not have walked but I would’ve SPRINTED into that summer. It began with a single conversation with a friend, Jeff Howe.  We are both from Michigan but the conversation…

When my kids were younger I was looking for any rope to hold onto.  Linda and I would read books about strong willed children, training children, shepherding their hearts, and any other thing that seemed to offer wisdom and action. Now that all of my children but one have moved on to adulthood, I know…

I was planning to write a blog this morning regarding the foundational  nature of the Image of God in humanity.  This is a bedrock doctrine which can be demonstrated by how frequently it has been attacked by evil and the evil one throughout the centuries.  I have not spent much time considering the way that…

I grew up in between the GARBC and the IFCA.  Christians, like the military, love their acronyms and insider speak.  Those both stand for General Association of Regular Baptist Churches and the Independent Fundamental Churches of America.  Both are loose associations.  Both pride themselves in their independence from a larger ecclesiastical accountability.  And both would…

I have spent some time the past couple of weeks praying for the revival or awakening or really long chapel service at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky.  I have prayed for revival off and on over the years, but I have never really given much thought to what it actually IS that  I was praying for.…

I like to wrap up the year by sharing some highlights from my reading in the past year.  I will not comment on every book, but will skip across the titles worthy of mention.  I read or listened to 35 books this year. 1. Providence (by John Piper) John Piper has a way of writing…

I have learned two things in nearly 20 years of pastoral ministry. 1.  I need a personal time in the Bible on a routine basis. I remember when I was younger, I would think that spending time each day in the Bible would make my DAY go better.  I will have a better morning, a…

Throwback Blog from 2016! This blog is not written to make you feel guilty. It is more of a confession that I will let you all in on with the hopes that it moves us all along further down the road to gratitude. So let me state at the outset, that I can be a…

At some point between the idea of planting ReCAST and the actual first church service in that basement over 13 years ago, I attended a conference called Sticky Church.  Another church planter had an extra ticket and I was available that day, so I went along.  The gist of the conference was well intentioned, if…

Can we assume that Eve was the first woman?  She was certainly the first female.  But is the word “woman” merely reserved for a gendered cultural expression that can only be defined based on social constructs?  I assume that cultural expressions were quite limited being that just her and Adam existed AND that the fashion…