When You Give…Not If You Give Jesus Expects Us to Help Those in Need, But Are We? In Jesus’s engaging teaching that we call the Sermon on the Mount, he talks about giving to those in need. He says, “When you give . . . ” He doesn’t say, “If you...
Living Stones: Replacing 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...
Should You Pay Your Minister? 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...
Why Does Today’s Church Follow an Old Testament Model? 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...
Seek Positive Influences 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...
We Need Human Connection God Created Us to Thrive in Community In visiting congregations for my book 52 Churches, I realized the importance of community. Regardless of the music or the message we encountered during their service, the bigger...
Reflecting on Church #44: Welcoming Visitors as You Would Embrace Longtime Friends 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 #44. We revisited...
The Writings of Dr. Luke Paul is the most prolific writer in the New Testament. Who is second? That would be Dr. Luke. Luke wrote an account of Jesus’s life (called “The Gospel According to Luke,” or simply “Luke”). He also chronicled the...
My Next Book is about Online Church I’m doing research about online church for my next book about Online Church. I’ve also started writing, too, and am excited with what I have so far. If you you would like to share your thoughts with me...
Reflecting on Church #39: A Different Twist on Sharing a Meal 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 #39. Many churches share a meal or food...
