Last Friday, Linda and I returned from an 11 day Caribbean Cruise. She took me on this cruise as a celebration of a pretty significant milestone as far as birthdays go. (I’ll be 50 next week!) Now that we have two cruises under our belt, I think I can more knowingly say that I DO…
DetailsI 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…
DetailsI 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…
DetailsThrowback from 2019! How much glory was obscured in that manger? Who was this baby, that came to us in such strange circumstances? This week I will be preaching from Matthew 17:1-13 to identify just how much Jesus was hiding. I believe that many of us drift off theologically this time of the year. We…
DetailsThrowback 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…
DetailsWay back in early 2020 we began a movement to institute a more routine opportunity for people to come forward at the end of the church services at ReCAST for prayer. It may be that there is a unique difficulty, a particular struggle, a poignant movement of conviction, or even a unique praise that needs…
DetailsI am a reluctant follower. My past experience and upbringing without a father, quite distant mother, and way too much freedom has made it hard for me to overcome a radical independence. And I have a nearly lethal measure of confidence. (Remember that pride is a sin and sin leads to death…) Eugene Peterson has…
DetailsAt 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…
DetailsI think I have noticed a trend. Maybe it’s just in my local context, which I can speak to quite well. But I imagine that what I am experiencing is likely happening in the broader context of other churches as well. First of all, I think many people cannot define what a pastor exists to…
DetailsCan 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…
DetailsI am preaching the very difficult passage of 2 Samuel 11 this week. David and Bathsheba is a super shocking passage in context. Everything is going great in David’s life and then *WHAM* he’s raping one of his soldier’s wives and murdering her husband as a cover up! And the text is starkly unemotional about…
DetailsI have never been a huge fan of a major distinction between clergy and laity, pastor and parishioner, shepherd and sheep. There are certainly responsibilities I have by virtue of my occupation. And I certainly believe that I will give a certain type of higher accounting for my calling before God as a teacher and…
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