The Rev. Dr. Jeremy Berg is the founding and lead pastor of MainStreet Covenant Church in Minnetonka Beach, MN, where he has served since 2010. He is an adjunct professor of Biblical and Theological Studies who has taught classes at Bethel University, University of Northwestern—St. Paul, North Central University, Crown College, and Solid Rock Discipleship School. Jeremy earned a doctorate in New Testament Context under Scot McKnight at Northern Seminary (Chicago). He and his wife, Kjerstin, have three kids, Peter, Isaak and Abigail.
More from Bishop Willimon’s book on vocational ministry called “Pastor.” “The priest is the one who keeps pointing the congregation to the presence of Christ in our midst; keeps narrating our lives in a manner quite different from that of the world. The world tells us that we are our own creations, that we are … More Pastor 4 – Recollecting the Mighty Acts of God
I’m sharing highlights from my reading of William Willimon’s definitive book on pastoral ministry called “Pastor.” Today, I share a quote from a section discussing Acts 4 and every pastor’s favorite topic — inviting people to give their money away! 32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that … More Pastor 3 – A Revolutionary Offering
Here’s a litmus test to see whether you see the world through a Christian worldview or have been conformed to the culture we inhabit: Do you believe in Retirement? Read the New Testament and show me on Christ follower who wasted away their final years in self-indulgence and liesure while a broken and dying world … More Thoughts on ‘Retirement’
From William Willimon’s definitive book on ordained ministry entitled Pastor. “The history of pastoral care in America is a history of the adoption of inappropriate models of leadership by the clergy. This stands as a warning to us of the perils of uncritical adoption of secular techniques and models of leadership…..” “The pastor as manager … More Pastor 2 – More than a Manager
I’m reading through William Willimon’s definitive book on ministry called “Pastor.” Allow me to share some highlights as I go. “We live in a capitalist, consumptive culture where there is no purpose to our society other than “meeting our needs.” The culture gives us the maximum amount of room and encouragement to “meet our needs” … More Pastor 1 – More Than Meeting Needs
“Soon I turn 65. One could look at this two ways: 1) it’s the age most people retire, or 2) it’s the age Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and led England and the Western World to victory over Hitler’s aggression. I find Churchill much more inspiring than retirement.” -John Piper, Pastor
This post comes from a question and answer series with Francis Chan. I found this at http://www.desiringgod.org. Q: Jesus has always blessed his Church with gifted teachers. Unique to our day is the increased accessibility of these teachers. How should we make the most out of these resources while at the same time being committed to … More Francis Chan on ‘Celebrity Preachers’
Hi friends, December and January are always peak reading months for me. Something about snowy weather, hot chocolate, fireplaces, and new books and Amazon Gift cards for Christmas seem to factor in. So, if you’re curious, here are the books I’m reading or have recently read. I especially enjoyed One.Life by McKnight. Peace. After You … More Books I’m reading these days
A friend who is planting a new church emailed the other day and asked me about some of the best things I did as Life Covenant Church was starting. I started to write down the first few things that came to mind, and what came out are some small practices that looking back have had … More Church Planting Wisdom (by Tim Morey)
One last Christmas quote from Bonhoeffer — a bit late. (Though we’d do well to celebrate the scandal of the incarnation all year long.) “For the great and powerful of this world, there are only two places in which their courage fails them, of which they are afraid deep down in their souls, from which … More QUOTABLES: God Is In The Manger
Qideas.org is tracking the Ten Most Significant Trends of the past decade. Interesting stuff, for example: At the Q gathering in 2010, urbanologist Richard Florida observed that young adults meeting one another no longer ask, “What do you do?” They ask, “Where do you live?” More and more people will change careers in order to stay … More 10 Significant Trends of Last Decade
“The basis for the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount is not what works but rather the way God is. Cheek-turning is not advocated as what works (it usually does not), but advocated because this is the way God is — God is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. This is not a … More QUOTABLES: The Cost of Following Jesus
This is a good glimpse into the mind of a typical university student trying to follow Jesus:
From Barna: Do you agree with these six themes? What do you think? What can we do? Change usually happens slowly in the Church. But a review of the past year’s research conducted by the Barna Group provides a time-lapse portrayal of how the religious environment in the U.S. is morphing into something new. Analyzing … More 2010 Barna Report – “Megathemes”
Yep, it’s true! Keri and I have a lil’ Berg baby on the way!! We’ve been keeping our little secret for several weeks so we could surprise our parents and families on Christmas! So, surprise!! With God’s help we hope to give birth to both a new church and a new baby in 2011. Keri … More Personal Update: We have BIG NEWS!!
Keri and I decided to play “Pirates” with our niece Hailey this week. Aren’t we scary?!
Some fun facts to ponder from Allan Bevere: -In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1907, Oklahoma became the last USA state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. -Oliver Cromwell, in England banned Christmas Carols between 1649 and 1660. Cromwell thought that Christmas should be … More Christmas Fun Facts
Jeff Dunn has a nice piece at iMonk today on the scandal of those shepherds being in our nativity displays. He begins: If I were to be in a Christmas play, I would want to play a shepherd. I mean, they get to wear cool robes and carry a stick. I like carrying sticks. I … More “Losers Who Win” (Dunn)
There was more in the air than just oversized snowflakes on December 10 in Mound, MN. The MainStreet Revolution hosted the “Christmas Cafe” open mic event at the Threshold, and filled the air with sweet songs and melodies by some of the best local teen talent. Nearly 70 people turned out — mostly teenagers and … More A Snowy Night of Local Teen Talent
Wanna write for Daily Illumination? Do you have something you’ve already written elsewhere and want to share with the DI audience? Consider becoming a Luminary today! What’s that? Webster defines it this way: lu•mi•nar•y |ˈloōməˌnerē noun ( pl. -naries) 1 a person who inspires or influences others Daily Illumination welcomes guest contributors, or luminaries, to submit writings to be featured at DI on occasion. We welcome a … More Share Your Writing at Daily Illumination
Kingdom Harbor 