I’ve been back from an 8 week sabbatical for a few weeks and I’ve had a lot of opportunities to interact with a variety of people. I am grateful for the many who have asked how it went and what I’ve learned. But I still have a few people each week who ask and I…
I have had two recent meetings and a couple of passing conversations at the coffee shop about the nation of Israel. It also came up at our Saturday morning men’s group. The two sit-down meetings were from visitors feeling out what kind of church we are. They were coming from two different churches who have…
Every year, Merriam-Webster releases its word of the year. They take into account the usage of words in search engines coupled with correlating current events to select their word. In 2022 the word was ‘gaslighting’ but now in 2023, the word of the year is ‘authentic’. That sounds super close to a core value of…
I have recently dusted off the covers of a couple of Christian classics. When I do this, I never regret it. I am currently rereading “The Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer and “Orthodoxy” by G.K.Chesterton. I read “Knowledge” back when I was in college and I found it very encouraging back then. But…
Preaching through books of the Bible lands me in some strange places. For example, this coming Sunday I will be speaking in 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 about sexual intimacy within marriage. Not only is this passage about a subject that is rarely spoken of in church, but it also is a subject I don’t think many…
I have found myself reflecting the last couple of weeks on the five solas of the reformation. The reason is because I attended a funeral and the church had some large banners hanging up front that declared in a flowing cursive script, “saved by grace ALONE through faith ALONE in Christ ALONE according to Scripture…
As a church planter, change has been a pretty constant part of my life. From meeting in a basement to meeting in store front and then going to two services and then moving to the Mattawan School center building cafeteria setting up and tearing down each week to then moving to our new building to…
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…
