Kingdom Living

My training started out in clinical psychology. And that means you are always trying to figure out what is wrong with people and systems. For years, I really struggled with negativity and looking for problems…dwelling on difficult things. Someone would tell me good news and I could instantly think of a way it could go […]

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We have seen over and over that when we pray specific prayers, God answers in specific ways. When you pray a specific prayer and you see the specific answer, it is a lot easier to credit God. If you pray generic prayers it is harder to pinpoint the answer. God may or may not have […]

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What has become more and more apparent over the last 10-20 years is that Christian nationalism is a massive gospel compromise that must be addressed. There are appropriate reactions and responses to blending the Christian faith with the nation…then there are overreactions as well. One of the overreactions I have seen is that a lot […]

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We live in a world where no one is allowed to be okay…all in the name of making sure everyone is okay. Something is supposed to upset you all the time…and what is supposed to upset you the most young man, is you. You are upsetting, so they say. The message is that you are […]

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Having preached a fair number of funerals there are a few objectives for most preachers preaching a funeral: 1 – Honor the life of the deceased2 – Comfort the family and friends3 – Reflect the wishes of the deceased and family Now, that second one is well intended but often results in the construction and […]

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Dallas Willard often emphasized VIM – Vision, Intention and Means. You can find this in his book Renovation of the Heart in chapter 5. He said that Christians must have “the vision of life in the kingdom”, “the intention to be a kingdom person” and “seeking out and applying to means to that end” (of […]

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By Tod Vogt Josh’s StoryHe grew up in a suburban church – equipped in all the ways many other young Christians are equipped.  He learned the books of the Bible, the names of the apostles, the major stories and characters of the Bible.  Josh went to a Christian college where he majored in Bible.  He […]

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How does your church involve the members? For most of my ministry we had involvement forms that you would hand to new people and ask them to pick a few things to do. While that is necessary on some level from an organizational perspective it isn’t the best starting point. What is the best starting […]

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If legalism it taking the Bible and adding things that aren’t there…and if liberalism is taking the Bible and adding things that aren’t there…aren’t legalism and liberalism really the same thing? Legalists add requirements and remove requirements…they “go beyond” the scriptures. Liberals add requirements and remove requirements…they “go beyond” the scriptures. While there are some […]

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It has been a long season…nearly a year ago everything you knew about ministry was turned up on its head. No more hospital visits. No more fellowship events. No more Bible classes. No more in-person worship. And everyone looked to you for answers you didn’t have. And that hurt. As a Christian leader your faith […]

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