I’ve been thinking about this passage in response to yesterday’s conversation: Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)28 ?Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you?ll recover your life. I?ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me?watch how I […]
Burned Out on Church
Since announcing that we’re moving to Austin to plant a church, I’ve been in contact with a fair number of people who have a friend or relative in the Austin area who aren’t connected to a church of any sort. Most, if not all, of these referrals would consider themselves to be Christians, but they […]
March 31, 2009 by 34 Comments
Two Problems for Present Day Christianity
1. Present day Christians are not very good at accepting outsiders (sinners who do not follow Jesus). 2. Present day Christians are far too accepting of sinful behavior from insiders (Christians who have been following Jesus long enough to know better). Shouldn’t it be just the opposite? Any thoughts about why this is so?
May 21, 2008 by 23 Comments
Measuring What Matters
I’ve said before that one of the more challenging aspects of leading a church is knowing what to measure when evaluating how things are going. The two most common metrics are nickels and noses. We count the number of people and we count how much money they give each Sunday. Most churches count these things […]
April 15, 2008 by 18 Comments
Three Temptations for the Church
Just after his baptism, Jesus goes into the wilderness to be tested. At stake in these tests is what kind of Messiah will Jesus be? He faces three temptations: 1. Use his power to turn stones into bread.2. Throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple and force God to save him, while claiming a […]
January 10, 2008 by 16 Comments
Good to be Late?
As a follow up to the Late for Church? post, I’m going to share with you a story someone sent to me today. It seems that sometimes it is good to be late.
August 30, 2007 by 3 Comments
Late for Church?
In I Sold My Soul on eBay, Hemant Mehta describes a number of experiences he had while visiting churches across the country. He visited all different kinds of churches from the very small to the mega variety. What makes this book so interesting to me is that Mehta is an atheist. His descriptions of each […]
August 23, 2007 by 29 Comments
A Question or Two
Here’s a good question that came in at the end of the comments of this post. Is it possible for a local church to be both attractional and missional and still make an impact on the culture ? For example : Can we still invite people, have gospel meetings, seminars,vbs, etc. and also reach out […]
February 13, 2007 by 10 Comments
Put Your Money in the Box
Sam sent me this article and it reminded us both of something we did at the church we both used to work with. Instead of passing the offering plates, we put an offering box at the back of the room and simply reminded people that it was there each week. I don’t remember there being […]
February 11, 2007 by 12 Comments
Stuck in a Moment
It’s been a great couple of days. I flew out to Fresno on Thursday, spoke at the Zoe Conference Friday, flew back Friday afternoon and then had a nice sabbath rest yesterday. This morning I presented a teaching on communion. We’re in the middle of teaching series called “Reboot 07.” Like most churches do this […]
January 28, 2007 by 8 Comments
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons