Tag: minister

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Bible Insights

Living Stones: What the New Testament Says About Temples and Priests

Through Jesus We Become His Priests and His Temple, Which Should Change Everything

In the Old Testament the people go to the temple to encounter God. The priests help them in this. They act as a liaison between them and God.

In many ways we still do this today. We go to church to encounter God. We look for our ministers to help us in our quest, to act as a liaison between us and God.

But this is a wrong perspective. We cling to the Old Testament practice and largely forget how Jesus fulfilled it. Peter helps us understand this in his first letter.

He says we are living stones built into a spiritual temple, prepared for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus (1 Peter 2:5; also see Ephesians 2:22).

Yet from our perspective of going to church to encounter God, this verse is confounding. It turns what we do upside down, and that’s the point. Jesus came to turn the old ways upside down and make something new for us.

We need to embrace this. We need to change our perspectives.

Living Stones

As living stones our actions matter. We live for Jesus. We live to honor him, praise him, and glorify him. We live to tell others about him through our actions and even through our words. Our faith is alive, and our actions must show it.

Spiritual Temple

As living stones we become part of the construction of his spiritual temple. And if we are part of his temple, we don’t need to go to church to meet him because, as his temple, we are already there and can experience him at any time.

Holy Priesthood

As living stones we are being made into a holy priesthood. If we are truly priests through what Jesus did for us, then we don’t need ministers to point us to God, explain him to us, and assist us in encountering him.

God is preparing us to do that for ourselves as his holy priests.

Spiritual Sacrifices

As living stones and holy priests, serving God in his spiritual temple, we offer to him a spiritual sacrifice. This spiritual sacrifice negates the need for many of the animal sacrifices and offerings we read about in the Old Testament.

This thinking is so countercultural to the way most Christians live today that it bears careful contemplation. Through Jesus we can do things in a new way.

We are living stones built into a spiritual temple, being prepared for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices.

This can change everything—and it should.

[Read through the Bible this year. Today’s reading is 1 Peter 1-3, and today’s post is on 1 Peter 2:5.]

Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

We Need to Stop Interpreting Scripture Through the Lens of Our Practices

lens of scripture

The Bible Should Inform Our Actions, Not Justify Our Habits

Christianity has its traditions and religious practices. We often persist in them with unexamined acceptance. And if we do question our behaviors, we can often find a verse in the Bible to justify them. But that doesn’t make them right.

The Lens of Scripture

We need to interpret the Bible through the lens of Scripture and not from the perspective of our own practices. The Bible is the starting point, not the ending.

When we begin with what we do today and work backwards, looking to the Bible for support, we will usually find it, but we may be in error.

Consider the following.

Church Attendance

The Bible says to not give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25). Most people interpret this as a command to go to church. That’s not what the verse says. This command is a call to Christian community.

This may happen at church on a Sunday morning, but it could also happen at a different location the other 167 hours of the week. This meeting together thing happens whenever two or three are gathered in his name.

The point of this verse is that we shouldn’t attempt to live our faith in isolation.

Communion

Another area is our practice of communion. We even read the Bible when we partake. This makes us wrongly conclude that our celebration of communion is biblical. It’s not.

The context of communion is at home with family, not as part of a church service. We’re doing communion wrong.

Sermon

Why do we have a sermon every Sunday at church? Because it’s in the Bible, right? Yet biblical preaching is to those outside the church.

You’ve heard the phrase, “preaching to the choir,” which is understood as the futility of telling people the things they already know. Yet preaching to the choir is effectively what we do at most churches every Sunday. P

reaching is for people outside the church.

Worship Music

Why does a significant portion of our Sunday service include music? While singing to God is prevalent throughout the Bible, it’s interesting to note that nowhere in the New Testament is the use of musical instruments mentioned.

Does this mean our singing to God should be a capella? It’s worth considering.

And the idea of having a worship leader is also an anathema to the biblical narrative. When we gather together we should all be prepared to share and to participate, which might include leading the group in a song.

Sunday School

The justification for Sunday School—aside from tradition and “that’s the way we’ve always done it”—often comes from the Old Testament verses to train up a child (Proverbs 22:6) and teach your children (Deuteronomy 11:19 and Deuteronomy 6:6-8).

But who’s to do this training? The parents. Delegating this critical job to the church is lazy parenting.

But if we’re going to persist in the practice, let’s at least give Sunday School a meaningful purpose.

Tithing

Giving 10 percent is an Old Testament thing. The New Testament never commands us to tithe.

Think about that the next time you hear a minister say we’re supposed to give 10 percent to the local church. That’s wrong. Though tithing might be a spiritual discipline, it’s not a command.

Offerings

Though there is some basis for the Sunday offering, we’ve co-opted it into something it wasn’t meant to be. Paul’s instruction to take up a collection each week was for the express purpose of giving money to those in need (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

How much of a church’s weekly offering goes to that?

Church Buildings

Though the Old Testament had their Temple and the Jewish people added synagogues, the New Testament followers of Jesus met in homes and sought to connect with others in public spaces.

The idea of building churches didn’t occur until a few centuries later. Church facilities cost a lot of money and take a lot of time, distracting us from what is more important.

Paid Staff

The concept of professional, paid clergy also didn’t occur until a couple centuries after the early church started. Peter tells us that we are all priests (1 Peter 2:5, 9), and Paul tells us that we should minister to each other (1 Corinthians 14:26).

When we pay staff to do what we’re supposed to be doing ourselves, we’re subjugating our responsibility and acting with laziness. Paul set a great example, often paying his own way on his missionary journeys. Today’s ministers should consider this. Seriously.

Read the Bible

Prior posts have touched on these subjects in greater detail. They might be worth considering as you contemplate the above items. We persist in these practices out of habit and under the assumption that the Bible commands us to do so.

We conclude this because we read the Bible wearing blinders, focusing our attention on our practices and seeking to find them supported in the Bible.

It’s time we reexamine everything we do through the lens of Scripture and make needed changes. And if we do, it will be a game-changer.

Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Should You Pay Your Minister?

pay your minister

Pastor Compensation

For the most part, the church of today is an institution. Institutions require structure and leadership; self-perpetuation is essential—regardless of cost. For an institution to work, it needs paid staff.

That’s why local pastors receive a salary: to keep the institution of church functioning and viable. To pay your minister follows the Old Testament model of church.

But we don’t live in the Old Testament or under its covenant. We live in the New Testament and under its covenant—at least in theory.

In the New Testament, we (that is, those who follow Jesus) are his church. Each one of us is a priest (that is, a minister) to care for one another. We should not have to pay someone to do what we’re already supposed to be doing.

Further, our bodies are God’s temple. We don’t need to go to a building to go to church; we take church with us. In short, the institution of church is over—at least in theory. Without a physical building or an institution to maintain, there is no need to pay someone to run the whole mess.

However, there seems to be one exception to this idea of no compensation. In his letter to the people in Corinth, Paul builds a case to pay preachers. But he’s not talking about the folks who run local churches. He’s talking about those who go around telling others about Jesus.

Today, we might call these people evangelists or missionaries. Based on Paul’s teaching it’s right to pay them.

Yet once Paul builds his case to appropriately pay missionaries, he points to an even better way: for missionaries to earn their own money and not require outside support.

Paul often covers his expenses and those who travel with him by working his trade; he is a tentmaker.

Springing from this is the idea of a tentmaker-minister, someone who pays their own way as they care for others.

So if you are part of an institution and want it to perpetuate, then buy a building, hire staff, and pay your minister their due.

However, if you want to pursue a different path, as seen in the New Testament, take the church with you wherever you go and help others wherever you can, paying your own way as you do.

[1 Corinthians 9:7-18]

Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Why Does Today’s Church Follow an Old Testament Model?

Old Testament Model for Church

Don’t Do Church Wrong

I think we’re doing church wrong. At first I assumed it was just me, but today’s church is stuck in a rut, an Old Testament rut. We follow an Old Testament model for church.

Moses’s Method: The Old Testament Model

When God gave Moses the Law, he established some key expectations for worship.

First, he set specific parameters for the tabernacle, which later became the temple. It housed various articles and activities of worship.

With little exception, the people had to go to the temple to worship God. They understood the temple as God’s dwelling place here on earth.

But the people wouldn’t connect with God directly; they were afraid of him. They wanted an intermediary, someone to reveal the Almighty to them and to represent them to him.

To address this, God established the priesthood. These priests would serve God in his temple and be his representatives to his people.

Of course, this religious structure required financial support to maintain, so God instituted a temple tax, the tithe, an obligation to pay 10 percent to provide for the needs of the building and to support the staff.

Today’s Approach

Today, we still follow this Old Testament model: we have a church building where we go to worship God, hire a minister who represents God to us, and take a collection to support this hungry and growing infrastructure.

This is not what Jesus had in mind. In one single action, he did away with the building, the staff, and the offering. We should do the same.

Jesus’s Way

When Jesus overcame death, the veil in the temple ripped apart, exposing the inner sanctum of the most holy place and symbolically allowing everyone direct access to God.

No longer was God distant and removed; he became approachable by everyone.

The New Temple

God ceased living in the temple and began living in us. Our bodies became the temple of God. No longer is a physical building needed; we became his temple.

The New Priesthood

No longer did priests need to serve as a liaison between the creator and the created. Instead, all who follow Jesus became his priests. The laity, serving as priests to each other, should minister to one another, not hire someone else to do it for them.

No longer is there a need for paid staff to be the link between God and his people. We can now all approach God directly, hearing from him and acting on his behalf.

The Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to us sees to that—if we are but willing to listen, hear, and obey what he says.

The New Finances

Finally is that pesky temple tax, which we call a tithe. A church’s building and staff take up 90 to 100 percent of a typical church’s budget. But once we remove the facility and the paid staff, there is no longer a need to give 10 percent.

Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded to tithe, not to God, not to the local church—as many ministers insist—and not for ministry.

The only time New Testament writers talk about tithing is in reference to Old Testament practices, which Jesus fulfilled.

Instead of tithing to church, we see a principle where everything we have belongs to God. We are to be good stewards of his blessings, in turn using them to bless others.

We must use our resources to help those in need and advance God’s kingdom, not to support and perpetuate a religious institution.

Which Model to Follow?

So why do we persist in following the Old Testament model of going to church each Sunday to seek God, being served by a minister, and tithing when Jesus died to give us something new, something much better?

Jesus turned us into his temple, promoted us to priests, and changed the 10 percent temple tax into a principle of generosity.

Yes, it’s easy to do what we have always done; it’s comfortable to cling to the status quo, but Jesus offers us so much more—and he yearns for us to take hold of it.

There is a new way to worship God, to worship him in spirit and in truth—and it doesn’t involve attending church each Sunday.

So stop following the Old Testament model of church: going to a building to meet God, revering the clergy, and tithing out of guilt or obligation. Instead, be God’s temple, act like priests, and share generously.

This is the new model that Jesus gave us.

Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

A False Assumption About Church Growth

false assumption

A Lesson in Reacting to the Unexpected

In college I heard an account about a struggling church who hired a minister to help them grow. He was full of energy, enthusiasm, and ideas. In no time he connected with the local community.

They responded by showing up for church on Sunday morning and for the community programs throughout the week.

By the time he reached his one-year anniversary as their pastor, the church had added programs, went to two Sunday-morning services, and had more than doubled their attendance.

And the church fired him.

A False Assumption

What neither the church leaders nor the congregation were aware of when they hired their pastor, their goal to grow their church carried an unspoken expectation, a false assumption. They anticipated the new attendees would be people just like them.

When their growth came from people who differed from them, they realized they weren’t getting the results they wanted and blamed their new pastor.

This church was in an urban location. The members, however, drove from their suburban homes to this inner-city church each Sunday.

These white-collar, middle-class people carried the false assumption that their increase in numbers would come from people just like them: white-collar, middle-class.

Yet the church didn’t reside in a white-collar, middle-class neighborhood. It sat in the middle of a diverse community of blue-collar workers along with the underemployed and unemployed.

The church members didn’t feel comfortable with this rapid shift in the demographic of their church. They blamed the minister and got rid of the problem.

The church soon returned to what it once was. Most of the locals stopped attending, the church retreated to one service, and its members ceased their outreach into the community.

Though the church members’ desire for numeric growth is admirable, their failure to embrace the outcome isn’t. Though we can understand their false assumption of what the growth would look like, we can’t excuse their reaction to it.

Love and Embrace Everyone

Their surprised results should have caused them to look inside themselves, to uncover their biases of people and who they wanted to go to church with.

Yes, embracing a different socioeconomic group might have been uncomfortable for a time, but it would’ve been a necessary interpersonal development for each of them on their spiritual journey.

Instead of embracing their commonality in Jesus and the unity he prayed for, they sought solace in the status quo and what made them feel most comfortable.

It’s easy to be critical of this close-minded congregation, yet I wonder if we are all a bit like them, just in diverse ways.

God, reveal to us our blind spots—any false assumption we may carry—and show us how to love all your people, not just those who are just like us.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Bible Insights

What Kind of Person Are You?

Tychicus

Paul Affirms Tychicus as a Dear Friend, Faithful Minister, and Servant of God

Tychicus is a character in the Bible who most people don’t know. His name occurs only five times, once in Acts and four times in Paul’s letters. The letter to the Colossian church is one example.

Each time Tychicus’s name is mentioned, it’s in passing, and we know little about him, except that Paul often uses him to carry messages to the various churches.

We learn the most about Tychicus’s character in Paul’s letter to the church in Colossi. Once again Paul plans to send him to this church, carrying news about Paul.

After he tells them this, he also gives us three characteristics of Tychicus:

1. A Dear Brother

First Paul affirms Tychicus as a dear brother. Think of him as a much loved, valued friend. We all want to have friends like that. But the place for us to start is to be a friend like that.

May we be a dear, loved, and valued friend to others.

2. A Faithful Minister

In addition to Tychicus’s loyalty, Paul confirms he’s also a faithful minister. First, focus on the word faithful. Tychicus is trustworthy, dependable, and consistent in his work. Paul knows he can count on him.

Next, look at the word minister. Today we think of a minister as someone who preaches sermons and leads a church.

But given what we know of Tychicus’s activities, his work as a minister carries the connotation of a helper, representative, and liaison.

That means he works behind the scenes, not upfront where people would see him or offer praise. Tychicus seems both competent and content in this role that other people today may deem as unworthy.

May we be a faithful minister like Tychicus.

3. A Fellow Servant of God

The final trait Paul mentions is Tychicus is a servant of God, just like Paul. Though we may equate the word servant to slave, that could be an overreach.

A true servant has a desire to serve others. This means serving God, with the practical application of serving Paul and the church.

Being a servant requires humility. Not many people possess this characteristic, but Paul values Tychicus as God’s servant. May we likewise aspire to serve God as we help others in his name.

These three traits reveal so much about Tychicus. Though he’s not a celebrated leader or a prolific writer, he’s a godly person, a worthy example for us to follow.

May we be more like Tychicus, someone who’s a dear friend, faithful minister, and servant of God.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Colossians 1-4, and today’s post is on Colossians 4:7.]

Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Seek Positive Influences

positive influence

Be Careful Who You Invite into Your Life

Who influences you? Who are the people that guide your decisions and inform your perspectives?

We must be careful who we let into this most critical mental space of our lives, for if we are unwise in who we let shape our sensibilities, we risk letting others guide us down the wrong path.

That’s why we must seek positive influences.

You may have heard the thought-provoking quote, often attributed to Jim Rohn, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

The corollary to this is “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” My take on this concept is, “Who you hang out with will shape who you become.”

The Ripple Effect

If we’re influenced by the five people closest to us, then we must acknowledge that each one of them faces the impact of the five people closest to them.

That means we’re directly affected by five people and indirectly affected, albeit not to the same degree, by twenty-five more, some of whom we may not even know.

Allow this ripple of interpersonal impact to expand one more level and we find 125 more who influence the people who influence the people who influence us. If this seems far-fetched, studies confirm a connection.

While some may quibble with the details, few will dismiss the impact that others have on our lives, be it positive influences or negative. We must be careful who we let in, who we keep at a distance, and who we need to avoid.

This doesn’t mean we should ignore people with struggles or who focus on what is contrary to our life’s mission, but we should exercise restraint and how much access we provide to them.

Scrutinize Who Impacts Your Life

This is one reason I stopped listening to the news and scaled way back on social media. Read more about this in my post on toxic environments.

There’s so much negativity in both these destinations, which I don’t want in my life. I’m wise to push those influences aside.

That’s why we should look for who we can invite into our life. We can start by considering people with traits we respect. Beyond that we should evaluate our entertainment choices: the books we read, the shows we watch, and the places we go.

This idea of influence also applies to the church we attend. Are the people there uplifting, or do they pull us down?

If we leave church discouraged or need time to mentally decompress from the experience, we may be better off to seek an alternate Sunday destination.

Beyond church, who influences you spiritually? Does anything need to change? May we surround ourselves with those who present us with positive influences.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
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Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #43: Is Your Pastor on a Pedestal?

Pastor on a Pedestal

Celebrate Your Minister

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #43.

This congregation received us warmly and embraced our presence. They exuded a sense of family, just as true church should be. I felt a peace. I felt at home. As a community, they drew me in.

52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith

Although their service style was not what I’m comfortable with, these are good folks and part of me wants to join them.

However, my key observation was their excitement over their new leader, who will officially arrive in two weeks. The church’s enthusiasm was palpable. It was contagious and soon I joined in their anticipation.

I wanted to come back in a few weeks to meet her.

However, I’m concerned over the height of their anticipation. Surely, no person can live up to that and meet everyone’s wishes. When we put a pastor on a pedestal, we form unrealistic expectations for our spiritual leader.

As with all people, inevitably our ministers will one day disappoint us. And the higher the pedestal, the greater the disappointment.

I pray that the potential leadership before them will successfully emerge and not be thwarted as the newness of their minister’s arrival wears off.

[See my reflections about Church #42 and Church #44 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Visiting Churches

Reflecting on Church #36: Don’t Expect a Minister to Do What You’re Supposed to Do

minister to one another

We are All Priests Through Jesus

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #36.

We arrived at church only to learn they cancelled the service because their pastor had an emergency.

Despite this, we hung around and talked for a long time, having brief conversations with most of the people who had gathered for Sunday School, which wasn’t cancelled.

52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith

During this time we had a deep spiritual discussion with a long ago friend. In doing so, we were able to minister to one another in a most satisfying way.

Though we didn’t experience a church service, we did experience deep spiritual community. From my perspective, I had a meaningful church encounter even though there was no official service.

It was one of my more noteworthy memories at the churches we visited.

The time was memorable for my wife, too, although it hit her a bit differently. “If they’re so full of the Holy Spirit,” she said, “you’d think he would have prompted someone to lead their service.”

Yes, indeed.

Though they held a successful Sunday School on their own without pastoral support, they didn’t even attempt to do so for church. I’m not sure if this was the minister’s decision or theirs, but they should have tried.

Even if no one felt capable of teaching a lesson, they could have still done the worship portion of the service and handled all the other elements too.

The idea that a church needs to have a pastor present to hold a service is ridiculous. As followers of Jesus, he expects every one of us to minister to one another. This is what we should always do, whether a minister is there or not.

[See my reflections about Church #35 and Church #37 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

The Warning Signs of a Preacher Gone Bad

False Teachers

How to Identify a False Teacher

Peter writes to caution the early church about false teachers, leaders who misguide, doing more harm to the church of Jesus than good. We need to watch out for them.

Here are some of the characteristics of a preacher gone bad.

False Teachers

  • Scoff at what they don’t understand
  • Act instinctively (like unreasoning animals)
  • Indulge in evil pleasures
  • Are a disgrace to the church
  • Commit adultery with their eyes
  • Lure others into their own insatiable desire for sin
  • Are greedy, cursed, useless
  • Brag or boast about themselves
  • Have twisted sexual desires
  • Promise freedom, while being enslaved to sin and corruption

I’ve known preachers like this. I’ve heard their sermons.

Whenever I hear a preacher mock what he doesn’t understand, my ears perk up. I am on high alert. Is he a false teacher? Then I look for other common characteristics:

Does his close mindedness disgrace Jesus and his church?

Is he greedy? That is, are his pleas for money insatiable?

Does he promote himself and his ministry?

Does he promise his followers freedom and then enslave them in rules?

False teachers are not someone we disagree with. Differences in opinion are fine. False teachers have identifiable traits, and I fear our church today has many more false teachers than we realize.

Watch out for them. Don’t follow them. Leave their influence at the first indication of these signs.

We’ve been warned.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 2 Peter 1-3, and today’s post is on 2 Peter 2:12-19.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
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​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.