Category: The Church

0 Comment
Times of worship

I’m sitting in my office right now, pondering John 1:6-14.  “And we have seen his glory, the Glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”  I’ve had a few conversation today, worked on some admin work, and prepared for a group of students I’ll be meeting with tomorrow night.  In the midst of all that, the song “Waymaker” by Leeland pops onto my Amazon Echo, and I’m changed.  I start to worship in my office, not caring if anyone from the one or two groups meeting around me, hear me or see me should they pass my windowed door.

Read the rest of this entry

0 Comment
When the church gets creative

Apparently a young 20 something from California who migrated to Columbus with his wife wrote a handful of songs he wanted to share with a few of his friends from church.  Henry is painfully shy, yet looks like a rock star (my first impression) but he went to friends, including one of my best friends in high school, and asked if he could perform some of those songs for them.  At the same time, I asked Clay if my wife and I could come hang out with them for New Year’s.

All the pieces came together.

Read the rest of this entry

2 Comments
Unity > Cool

“ I don’t think people want cool when it comes to their church, I think they want unity.  The difference is huge, and I think the church in general should pay attention to this.  Many new churches that have a cool and relevant way about them are growing, and so we think somehow, (and I have certainly thought this) that the reason for this growth is because the church is cool. “ 

Read the rest of this entry

0 Comment
Our Work as Our Worship – Part 1

Three years ago I launched a mission with the intent purpose to save lives, not in the spiritual sense, but in the literal physical sense. Dead people cannot hear the gospel, can they? But a victim of a disaster who is grateful for saving their lives or the lives of their family, is fertile soil for witnessing your love and compassion to strangers and they might just want to ask what compels you to such sacrifice and action.

Read the rest of this entry

1 Comment
What I saw when I went to a church that was actually growing

A popular church word people throw out these days is the word “authenticity”.  It speaks of those in the gathering being real and speaking their mind, but ironically in many of the churches who speak of this authenticity, no one actually speaks anything at all of their mind.  Lights go out.  Band plays.  Cue Video.  Pastor walks on to the stage, tells a cool story, combined with a quick Bible verse about love (makes us say “awww), forgiveness (makes us cry), or giving (makes us cringe).  In the end, a few stick around to talk about the weather or sports, but most leave quickly because of the things they have to do in real life.

Read the rest of this entry

4 Comments
I Visited 7 Churches. Here’s what I learned…

One Sunday morning I sat on a red padded pew with bright stained glass all around me, and I worshipped.  I worshipped when the horrible hymn droned on for every freaking verse.  I worshipped when the children’s message focused on an age group that did not exist in the present group of people.  I worshipped during the liturgical prayers that asked God to forgive the church corporately for their selfishness and pride.  And I worshipped as the pastor spoke from the book of John on a passage I’d heard a million times before.

Read the rest of this entry

0 Comment
Warriors in New Hampshire

1050 men singing their hearts out “I belong to You!” It’s cool outside in the beautiful and plush Waterville Valley two hours north of Boston in the White Mountains, but hot and stuffy in the local Ice area. The men lift their hands to God, amidst the strobe lights, fog machines, and the driving band leading the way.

Read the rest of this entry

2 Comments
How do I “be the church”?

Not to be outdone, John, the disciple who Jesus loved, in his golden years vividly describes a vision he has of a world sized worship service focused on Jesus.

“And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
belong to the one sitting on the throne
and to the Lamb forever and ever.”

Every creature everywhere. That’s a lot of creatures, not to mention humans.

There are other scenes like these, especially in John’s Revelation, and I’ve heard these passages preached about eloquently and often in my life, but nowhere, and I mean nowhere, do these descriptions ever give the name of an individual church organization as a catalyst for launching this incredible worship scenario. Unless the twenty elders is a representation of Hillsong, then I will gladly admit I’m wrong.

So why is it so easy to feel like you’re a follower of Jesus in the wilderness if you don’t belong to a church organization?

Read the rest of this entry

0 Comment
Super Mario and the difficult task of “being the church”

When Mario got out of prison and went to church, he set two goals for himself. First, he wanted to give away more money than he spent on drugs and alcohol, and second, he wanted to be the opposite of his father. Mario’s dad physically abused all of his kids, and fed Mario alcohol in his bottle as an infant. Being the opposite of his dad wasn’t going to take much, but sometimes the internal conflict that thought brings can produce its own difficulties. Mario struggles with anger. Mario struggles with trust. But he fights those things with service. He serves this Haitian community by giving it money and food.

Read the rest of this entry