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This is an entry from a dear friend of mine, Pastor Dale Lewis of Calvary Chapel Bitterroot Valley in Montana. Dale’s a passionate “new covenant” guy. He and I share something special in common: we both love Ray Stedman’s commentary on 2 Corinthians, entitled “Authentic Christianity.” I was impressed and challenged by this post when …

This past week has been incredibly busy and an incredible blessing.  My wife and I made a quick trip back to Phoenix so that I could co-officiate the wedding of a young refugee couple from the Chin ethnic group of Burma.  Then, the morning after our return to Southern California, I traveled about 4 hours south of …

Please allow me to introduce what I want to say about a certain leadership style by way of analogy.  I tell pre-marital couples, during the lesson on sexual intimacy, that basically anything goes in their sexual relationship except that which violates the other’s conscience or sense of propriety.  If he wants her to do something …

Proverbs 24:30-32 30 “I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; 31  And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. 32  When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on …

Recently I was speaking with a minister here in London who suggested that preaching is old-fashioned and doesn’t connect to the current generation. I will concede that preaching styles do change over generations as the same message is contextualized into our various contexts. The purpose of this post is to give a biblical defense of …

My wife and I have been traveling for the last 24 hours and have finally arrived in Westport, Ireland. A friend of ours flew us out so that I could perform his wedding ceremony tomorrow afternoon. The time of non-connected reflection that the flight afforded me and the wonderful generosity of a friend has caused …

I was recently blessed with getting to spend some time with Pastor and Author Eugene Petersen. Like so many Evangelicals, I first heard of him when his paraphrase of the Bible, The Message, came out. Every time I heard his name, he was being verbally crucified for his ‘liberal’ translation. So like many young Christians, …

Sometimes we are overly-simplistic in our criticisms and cautions. That’s just part of being human. Still, accuracy and balance (if biblical and true) is something to pursue. And one area in which I think pastors particularly get a little overly-simplistic is that of transfer growth. Transfer growth occurs when someone who is already a follower …

Making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:16 A couple of weeks ago, Kellen posted “Plan or Die” on the Cross Connection Network.  It struck an area in my life that God has been at major work on–time management.  One of the transitions I struggled with as I moved from …

Note: I have been duly impressed with the recent posts about church planting, multi-site churches, and ministry practices. Great job, everyone. Your thinking is stimulating and challenging to me.    As a blogger and writer of musings, I most often gravitate toward subjects that point to some truth I’m learning, have learned, or want to …