House Church & Flexibility to Follow the Spirit’s Lead
One of the things I love about house church is the ability to be flexible because the Spirit doesn’t move in a straight line. It is hard to turn a big ship but a small ship can be turned at a moment’s notice. When you organize “Big church” worship everything needs to be planned and […]
5 Key Discipleship Principles Every Christian Should be Familiar With
1 – Be a disciple maker of disciple makers, not just a disciple or a disciple who makes a disciple. Jesus made disciple makers, not just disciples. Now it can go viral. This changes what you do and why you do it in discipleship. 2 – Read the Word to understand the Word to live […]
A Cautionary on Judging the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Lives of Others
With all the events going on at Asbury, I think it is important that we examine the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to spiritual experiences. I bring this up because I see a lot of judgment and condemnation that I think isn’t always done with much consideration of what the Bible says about […]
If You Want To Make Disciples – First, Be One.
I was shocked when he said it…maybe even a little offended. I was sitting in a room listening to Curtis Sergeant deliver one of his workshops (which I highly recommend). Here is what he asked, “Are you a disciple worth multiplying.” Ouch! That stung…but the more I thought about it the more I realized that […]
Legalism Kills the Fruit of the Spirit
If you think you can work your way to salvation there is no need for the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-26). When I was younger I really believed that if I got it all right that I was in the right camp and therefore, God would save me. On the flip side I believe […]
Does God Still Speak Today? How Do You Know?
Sometimes we will hear megachurch preachers say that God told them to do a particular thing or that God told them to tell the church something specific. Is that really how God operates? This is an area of my faith that has grown over the last five years. I would have said years ago that […]
Junk the Spiritual Gifts Inventories – Focus on Ephesians 4 Instead
Over the last 20 years, spiritual gifts inventories abound. I cannot help but wonder what drives the desire to want to know our gifts. Hopefully it is a desire to serve out of our strengths. On the slightly darker side is an obsession with the self and our desire to feel uniquely gifted. Oddly enough, […]
The Next Needed Shift on the Holy Spirit In Churches of Christ
The way we talk about the Holy Spirit today is far different than I remember it being 20+ years ago. Now, we acknowledge that the Spirit is alive and well…working in our world and in our lives. I have been very happy to see that shift take place. But we are still holding back. The […]
What is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Did I Commit the Unforgivable Sin?
I have multiple people ask me during my time in ministry if they had committed the unforgivable sin. If you are asking, you probably didn’t. What is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? It goes back to Mark 3:2. Jesus has been healing people and casting out demons. He has also done this, in the first […]
Race in the New Testament: The Holy Spirit’s Role in Unity
In the Bible you will find a few racially diverse groups: JewsGentilesSamaritans Not all Jews were Jewish by race but most were. Some were Gentiles who converted but by and large the Jewish people were pretty homogeneous, racially speaking. The Gentiles are those who were not Jewish – everyone else. The nations. Among the Gentiles […]