Recent Articles

The text element is intended for longform copy that could potentially include multiple paragraphs. You can also use it for single lines of copy if you wish.
Featured image for “7 myths uncovered about ministry training”
June 6, 2024

7 myths uncovered about ministry training

It was the first time Caitlin hosted the holiday dinner for her family. 27 people would be at the tables, 19 at the main, and 8 at the “Kid’s Table.” Two babies would be held or sleeping in carrying baskets. ...
Read More
Featured image for “Political Religion”
May 15, 2024

Political Religion

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. —Psalm 2:2 “Politics are almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous!” said Winston Churchill. “In war you ...
Read More
Featured image for “Blessed”
April 24, 2024

Blessed

Blessed is the man . . . —Psalm 1:1 There’s an ancient Chinese teaching riddle that tells the story of a man who’s running from a hungry bear. Suddenly he’s at the edge of a cliff. It’s either jump or ...
Read More
Featured image for “The House of Christmas”
December 19, 2023

The House of Christmas

There fared a mother driven forth Out of an inn to roam; In the place where she was homeless All men are at home. The crazy stable close at hand, With shaking timber and shifting sand, Grew a stronger thing ...
Read More
Featured image for “Advent 4 – love might be reborn and rekindled”
December 18, 2023

Advent 4 – love might be reborn and rekindled

There is a powerful scene in Herman Melville’s great epic, Moby Dick, where Captain Ahab stands peg-legged on the deck of the Pequod during a violent storm (chapter 119). His obsession with the White Whale has carried the craft and ...
Read More
Featured image for “Advent 3 – We see the Light and clap our hands”
December 17, 2023

Advent 3 – We see the Light and clap our hands

Dance in the Desert. Madeleine L’Engle’s book is too dark for children, too simple for adults, too deep for theologians, and just right for everyone. She tells of a young couple on a desert journey through wilderness in a rough ...
Read More
Featured image for “Advent 2 – One fellow tells of his work as a hospital volunteer”
December 8, 2023

Advent 2 – One fellow tells of his work as a hospital volunteer

One fellow tells of his work as a hospital volunteer. He couldn’t believe the pain and suffering he saw there. Burn victims. Deformities. Terminal cancer. He watched the little ones cry. Some were so lonely: their parents couldn’t take the ...
Read More
Featured image for “Advent 1 – King Ahaz had a problem”
November 28, 2023

Advent 1 – King Ahaz had a problem

First Sunday in Advent: King Ahaz had a problem. His country was small, and was about to be gobbled up by war-hungry Assyria, the bully on the block. Every day the news was the same: no hope; no win; no ...
Read More
Featured image for “The Death of Hope Part 4 The Remixed”
November 17, 2023

The Death of Hope Part 4 The Remixed

By and large, today’s new cults of and for the Remixed are what I will call “intuitional religions.” By this, I mean that their sense of meaning is based in narratives that simultaneously reject clear-cut creedal metaphysical doctrines and institutional ...
Read More
Featured image for “The Death of Hope Part 3 Strange Rites”
October 3, 2023

The Death of Hope Part 3 Strange Rites

I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It’s Sheilaism. Just my own little voice … It’s just trying to love ...
Read More
Featured image for “The Death of Hope (Part 2)”
September 28, 2023

The Death of Hope (Part 2)

If there is no hope, there is no future.  In his 1992 novel The Children of Men (Made into a movie of the same name in 2006), P.D. James tells of a future where no children are born. James insists ...
Read More
Featured image for “The Death of Hope (Part 1)”
September 27, 2023

The Death of Hope (Part 1)

“…there’s an extraordinary wave of depression and anxiety in teens and adults, for example. There was one analysis that said that 44 percent of American 8th, 10th, and 12th graders report feeling, at times, that, quote, ‘my life is not ...
Read More
Featured image for “Who is at the table?”
May 12, 2023

Who is at the table?

The Last Supper. We scan the faces at the table seeing the 12 disciples and Jesus. But who’s really at the table? Fishermen who are considered the middle class of their day. A tax collector who likely ripped fishermen off ...
Read More
Featured image for “Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places”
January 10, 2023

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places

What do you love? What does your congregation love? These are essential questions to dig into because St. Augustine states, “Wherever I am carried, my love is carrying me.” Putting it another way, our congregations do what they love to ...
Read More
Featured image for “9 things your Pastor wished you knew about but can’t say out loud”
December 22, 2022

9 things your Pastor wished you knew about but can’t say out loud

An ice storm on Saturday night! Everything was cancelled. Roads were closed and powerlines down. Chad was the new pastor at Creekside Church. In fact, he was new to ministry leadership. His ordination service in this rural congregation happened only ...
Read More
Featured image for “Preaching Jitters”
December 1, 2022

Preaching Jitters

Chris was called to ministry. He knew it. He felt it. He prayed about it. But before he could be credentialed as a pastor, Chris had to channel his passionate confidence through several years of seminary training. Bible classes were ...
Read More
Featured image for “Deep and Wide”
July 15, 2022

Deep and Wide

“Deep and Wide.” It’s the name of a children’s song and also the title of a book by Andy Stanley. For the song, click here. Stanley’s book, Deep and Wide, is the story of his personal faith and ministry journey, as well as ...
Read More
Featured image for “Advice I would give my first-year ministry self”
June 26, 2022

Advice I would give my first-year ministry self

Written by Laura Osborne God has a plan for your life and it may not match up with your plan. My tenure in ministry is 15 years long now and running. It isn’t the track I thought it would have ...
Read More
Featured image for “3 Ways To Become A Healthier Church Leader Right Now”
June 23, 2022

3 Ways To Become A Healthier Church Leader Right Now

If you spend any amount of time in a rhythm of Church Leadership, your calendar is probably full of meetings, your whiteboard is full of strategies, and your cup of inspiration is likely running empty —you are busy. In fact, ...
Read More
Featured image for “The Most Important Work In Church Planting”
June 21, 2022

The Most Important Work In Church Planting

When they found him beside the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” This was Jesus’s reply. “I’m telling you the solemn truth,” he said. “You aren’t looking for me because you saw signs, but because ...
Read More
Featured image for “Dealing with Discouragement”
May 3, 2022

Dealing with Discouragement

When in juxtaposition to one another, the songs “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “Singin’ in the Rain” reflect the extremes of our emotions. Karen Carpenter sings, “Hangin’ around, nothing to do but frown. Rainy Days and Mondays always get me ...
Read More
Featured image for “Four Reasons I Love Church Planting”
April 21, 2022

Four Reasons I Love Church Planting

Four Reasons I Love Church Planting Years after each of them went through the great pain of losing their spouses, a curmudgeonly widower and a feisty widow were coaxed toward marriage by well-meaning friends. The wedding was a simple family ...
Read More
Featured image for “Want To Be A Story Teller? Make diversity your goal, not videos.”
April 20, 2022

Want To Be A Story Teller? Make diversity your goal, not videos.

Thousands of years ago, storytelling was a passageway into humanity; the craft of making images appear in the mind of your audience gathered around a fire was practically magic. Then, technology hurdled into the scene and, by and large, we ...
Read More
Featured image for “Take it slow – a new anthem for outreach”
April 19, 2022

Take it slow – a new anthem for outreach

I always try to pay attention to what’s happening in popular culture. Rhythms and reviews tend to either drive the thoughts and feelings of a generation, or at least reflect it.  Although not comprehensive, it still helps to understand the ...
Read More