Have you ever been in the middle of singing or listening to a song when you suddenly thought, "Wait! What in the world does this mean?" I remember that moment when sitting in church singing this song: "Lord of harvest, send forth reapers! Hear us, Lord, to Thee we cry; Send them now the sheaves …
Tag: Missions
God’s ways
A few weeks ago, Will and I drove our family to Kentucky to see my parents. I forgot just how good it felt to be home, where the smell of my mother's fresh whole wheat bread welcomed us and wrapped around us comfortingly. I walked through my mother's garden with her, enjoying her presence and …
Bringing the Gospel to the Marketplace (part 3 of 3)
Formal churches may be dying out, but people want Jesus. They want Him badly. God is still active, and the opportunity to cooperate with Him in the workplace is so strong that my heart twists painfully whenever I hear of yet another denominationally-centered business. Some denominations use their unique strengths to build empires for their …
Continue reading Bringing the Gospel to the Marketplace (part 3 of 3)
Bringing the Gospel to the Marketplace (part 2 of 3)
For some time now, I've tried to slow down when I'm shopping. I don't like shopping all that well, so my inclination is to fly around the store with my cart, grab my goodies, and whiz out the door while ignoring people as much as possible. But one day I realized that when I shop, …
Continue reading Bringing the Gospel to the Marketplace (part 2 of 3)
Bringing the Gospel to the Marketplace (part 1 of 3)
Everywhere I hear the quiet desperation of faithful church-goers: why don't many people want to come to church? People are so busy with sports and family events and work that church isn't a priority. Church is where you go if there's nothing better to do. I'm sad about this, but not devastated. This is why: …
Continue reading Bringing the Gospel to the Marketplace (part 1 of 3)
Our Best Life Now
In Joel Osteen's popular book Your Best Life Now, he details how to go about securing the best life possible for yourself, mostly through positive thinking and believing that God will give you everything you want. I thought about this "best life" while struggling through wondering if our family was truly living the life that God …
Should A Church Have Rules?
Growing up, I was mostly very compliant with rules of any sort. I didn't just accept everything at face value--I often turned things over in my mind and tried to make sense of them--but I didn't usually challenge those things even if I thought they might be wrong. For me, keeping peace and avoiding hurt …
Navigating Adaptive Challenges
When I first read this paragraph from God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church by Brad Roth, my mind leaped to a scenario exactly like Roth described: a community losing its missional bearings and directing its energy into constructing a recreational building. In the church, we so often favor the concrete …
What I Have Been Reading
It's about time for another overview of some of the books I have been reading. I'm not going to list nearly all of the books I have read in the past few months, but I will name a few I can recommend. I'm part of a local library book club, which I love, but I don't always love …
To leave or not to leave? A perspective.
From time to time, I walk alongside someone wrestling through the question of whether they should start attending a different church group. I sympathize, because I have been there myself, and know that it can be a difficult decision. Staying can be hard, and leaving can be hard. I'd like to share some thoughts from my own …
