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.
Our youth group grappled with the tough question last night: “Can someone lose their salvation?” We discussed both sides of the issue while presenting some of the Biblical evidence on each side. The Reformed tradition is quite firm on their doctrines of God’s “Unconditional Election” of certain individuals for salvation and the “Perseverance of the … More Q&A – Can Someone Lose their Salvation?
Testimonial Sermon originally given at Bethel Methodist Church in my hometown of Mound, Minnesota, on April 30, 2006. This is my story and I’m stickin’ to it. Thanks be to God! Introduction As I was preparing to preach this first sermon in my hometown, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ preaching debut in his … More My Faith Story: A Collision of Stories
Do you have theological questions and doubts about the Bible and Christian faith? You’re not alone! I want to share a valuable resource for finding well-thought out and balanced answers to many of the toughest doubts and questions faced by both Christians and skeptics. Please check out the Woodland Hills Church Q & A channel … More Q&A – Solid Answers to Faith Questions
December is here again. The season of Advent is upon us. We often complain about the busyness of this season full of holiday parties, shopping sprees, and endless traveling to be with our crazy families for the holidays. Yet, we all have those special memories and traditions that we try to recreate each year and … More Winter Dreams: Books & Hot Cocoa by a Cozy Fireplace
When it comes to studying the youth culture and the direction we’re going as a whole, my go-to expert is Walt Mueller. (That’s why he’s listed under my favorite blogs.) Here’s his latest observation and warning: Youth culture is a map and a mirror. It is both directive and reflective. We watch it to see … More Wisdom Gap: “Do what just feels right…?”
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” (1 Cor 3:6). Kevin DeYoung has written a response HERE to a letter to unbelievers, written by Shaine Claiborne and published in Esquire. DeYoung believes there is a “New Gospel” being propagated out there that is watered down, misleading and leaving out the more offensive truths of … More DeYoung vs. Claiborne: A New Gospel or Pre-evangelism?
I am posting Advent devotionals this December prepared by Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts. Enjoy! Advent is a season of waiting, expecting, and hoping. Beginning four Sundays prior to Christmas and ending on Christmas Eve, Advent helps us to prepare for the coming, or “advent” of the Christ child at Christmas. (The word “advent” comes … More Advent Devotional: 1st Sunday (by Mark Roberts)
MSNBC’s Morning Joe with Joe Scarborough featured an interview with Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Newsweek’s John Meacham (who had just published an article entitled The End of Christian America). A good conversation. Enjoy.
Is “being missional” more than the latest church conference buzzword? Is this a passing fad or a necessary rediscover of an essential characteristic of the very definition of church? Dan Kimball offers some help in capturing what it means to become more missional: – Being missional means that the church sees itself as beingmissionaries, rather than … More VIDEO: What is the Missional Church?
What happens when 3 generations of Evangelical Christian leaders get together to discuss church and politics in the 21st century? These videos capture a lively and thoughtful conversation between Chuck Colson, Gregory Boyd and Shane Claiborne moderated by Krista Tippett of “Speaking of Faith” radio program. Check out some video clips below. The full program … More Evangelical Dialogue on Christianity & Politics
Mark Roberts posted A Brief History of Thanksgiving at his blog and I especially found George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 inspiring: Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor–and … More George Washington’s “Thanksgiving Proclamation” (1789)
Yesterday I shared an alternative model of evangelism shaped by the interactions and approach of Jesus in the Gospels. I thought it might be helpful to offer a concrete example of this approach in action. As I was planting the Revolution ministry in Mound I was helped along by my daily interactions with teens … More Jesus-Shaped Evangelism in Practice
FROM THE DI ARCHIVES: Prior to my current ministry role I spent a few years living “missionally” in a smaller town community where God called me to use new and innovative means of reaching unchurched and ‘de-churched’ teens for Christ. Check out The Revolution. I wrote the following reflections while in the trenches trying to … More Jesus-Shaped Evangelism for the 21st Century
In my first review of this film I pointed out some of the underlying spiritual/psychological themes in the film: (1) the danger of letting a relationship take over one’s entire life, (2) turning a relationship into an idol which we cannot live without, (3) engaging in self-destructive behaviors (e.g., self-injury, suicide attempts) as a desperate … More MOVIE REVIEW: “Twilight: New Moon” – Part 2
“The Medievals conceived the world as a book written by God, the plot of which is given in God’s other book, the Bible. Today, however, the world is plotted by different narratives, either humanly authored (modernism) or authorless (postmodernism). Now the world writes itself; or better, it is writing itself…It is against this background—of the world … More QUOTABLES: Gerard Loughlin on God’s Story
This particular Friday night I was proudly wearing both my “good husband hat” and my “committed youth pastor hat” as I went to see the much anticipated “Twilight: New Moon” film on opening night. (Keri asked me to go to the midnight opener the previous night and I had to draw the line somewhere!) Gazillions … More MOVIE REVIEW: “Twilight: New Moon” – A Youth Pastor’s Perspective
QUESTION: Can I trust God if he does not possess exhaustive definite foreknowledge? Excerpt from Motivations for ascribing foreknowledge to God by GREGORY A. BOYD published in “Religious Studies” (Cambridge University Press 2009). Aside from exegetical objections, the single most frequent criticism raised against the open view in the polemical literature is that it undermines … More Boyd on God’s Foreknowledge & Intelligence
The “My Top 3” series is your chance to get to know some of my personal favorites. Today, on a lighter note, I share my favorite 3 bands. These are not necessarily my vote for the BEST bands of all time. I would have to place The Beatles, Led Zepellin, Elvis Presley and many others … More My Top 3: Rock & Roll Bands
This is by far one of the warmest, most concise, well-reasoned and articulate cases I’ve seen for the existence of God lately. Tim Keller visits Google’s Mountain View, CA, headquarters to discuss his book, “The Reason for God.” This event took place on March 5, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series. His arguments … More Does God Exist? (Tim Keller)
NOTE: Please don’t the following too seriously. I’m just thinking (or joking) out loud again. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Yeah, well, if that’s what it means to be insane, then what do we call folks who do certain things religiously and … More Why do we Rake and Shovel?
I can’t believe I’ve never made this observation before. We all know Christianity and church life is all about COMMUNITY. Well, at least it has become the big buzz word for the last decade or two. The Sunday worship routine that had for so long become a spectator sport with the people on stage providing … More Christian Community: The Goal or Starting Point?
We Christians in the Christian blogosphere can easily isolate ourselves and our writing into a little club of associates who all speak our language and understand our biblical framework. This goes for Christians in general who only surround themselves with other Christians and pastors whose social interaction is almost exclusively with fellow believers. When … More An Interview: Some Personal Thoughts
Rob Bell is one of the most popular pastor-teachers in America today. He is best known for his Nooma short films used by churches everywhere. He was recently interviewed by YouthWorker Journal at a national conference to give us some of his thoughts on youth ministry today. Here’s the interview originally published on October 2, 2009 … More Rob Bell on Youth Ministry
What if we could follow Jesus on Twitter? This question is asked all the time and is worthy of a good conversation. I’m glad you can find innumerable articles with similar titles as mine. Would he give new revelation via Twitter or just quote his own Bible verses daily? One person was surprised and humored … More WWJT: What Would Jesus Tweet?
Greg Boyd is involved with some very deep and provocative research and writing at the moment (and always). He gives us a link to a recently published article entitled “Two ancient (and modern) motivations for ascribing exhaustive definite foreknowledge to God: A historic overview and critical assessment.” If the title is any indication I would … More BOOK PREVIEW: “Jesus Versus Jehovah” by Greg Boyd
Kingdom Harbor 