Every January we celebrate MainStreet’s birthday. On the occasion of our 6th anniversary since launching weekly worship in January 2012, I want to share some favorite memories from a forthcoming book documenting the MainStreet journey. Enjoy! In the summer of 2010 we were given the green light by the Northwest Conference and Church Planting Director, … More MainStreet Memories: God’s List
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14). The first Scripture that made an impact on … More LIFE VERSES 2: Phil 3:13-14
Journal from December 9, 2017 I’m 38 years old. Forty is not far away. Time is our most valuable commodity. I want to make the most of my limited trips around the sun. If my most Formative Years are now behind me (19-37), and the years beyond 60 are Legacy Years where we focus on … More Life is Fleeting
Most people don’t read the Bible at all. Some Christians read them a bit, trying to apply a “daily verse” to their life somehow. Few experience what you might call “inhabiting Scripture” — entering into the text, plumbing its depths, making your home in a particular scripture long enough to know your way around it … More LIFE VERSES 1: Intro
A pastor once challenged his congregation, “I’m not going to preach on another Bible verse until we start obeying and living out the one I preached on last week.” He supposedly preached on that same verse an entire year, or so the story goes. … More New Year: One Verse
“I’ll retire when they pry my cold, dead fingers off of my Bible.” -R.C. Sproul R.C. Sproul died this past week and so we mourn the loss of one of the stalwart defenders of the faith and larger-than-life Bible teachers of the last century. Here’s my meager tribute. My college years at Bethel were a … More R. C. Sproul (1939-2017)
I just sent a very strange, funny and slightly embarrassing email to a former teacher and coach at my high school. In a former life, I was a star basketball player who held the all-time leading scoring record at my high school for quite a while. My career total of 1,307 points was immortalized in “permanent” marker on a ball inside a trophy case near the gymnasium. … More My Fading Glory
So, I walked into a Holiday Gas Station bathroom this week, and suddenly a light from Heaven burst through the dim light of that grimy little stall and I felt the Presence of the Divine touch my shoulder and smile upon me! Bear with me….I’ll explain … More Epiphany in the Porcelain Sanctuary
Here’s a book I wrote exploring the big plot of the entire Bible through the metaphor of a Divine Symphony or the Dance of the Trinity. Just in time for Christmas! … More My Take on the Bible’s Big Story
As we begin to wrap up this year, I’m taking inventory of some of my reading activity this past year for future reference. I read more than usual this year due to two main factors. First, I started school again for my doctoral degree and this is requiring thousands of pages of academic reading! Second, … More 2017: A Bookish Year
I wanted to share one other encounter in the nursing home chapel this past week. As I went around shaking hands, I tried to make eye contact and said things like, “God bless you!” or “Have a Merry Christmas!” One gentlemen sat expressionless in his wheel chair, waiting for his turn to be pushed back … More “It’s Good to See You!”
When God’s Word is unleashed in a room with passion and fervor, let people drop to their knees with conviction, rise up with cheers of excitement, or form an angry mob and try to throw me off a cliff; just deliver me from the spiritual wet blanket of indifference. … More Deliver Me From Indifference
I took a long, deep breath and caught a strong whiff of a memory of a moment that probably never happened. Was I smelling joy or sadness, gratitude or longing in that old pole shed? Was I really searching for an old book in that oversized shed, or something less tangible like a feeling of nostalgia, or a burst of joy, or the echo of a memory of a time I never knew and a place I never lived when things were perhaps simpler, more wholesome. … More Antiquing: In Search of Something
I was alone at the church this Wednesday, preparing a large table for our second “Agape” gathering — a new monthly celebration of the Eucharist. I found my soul anxious and my spirit restless. I was physically tired, but mostly suffering from fear of disappointing others and myself. Whenever I put my hands to some … More Justifying My Existence
I feel extremely blessed to be doing further studies at Northern Seminary under Dr. Scot McKnight. For friends, family and members of my church, I’m excited to share some glimpses along the way into what I’m learning. I’m part of a new, one-of-a-kind Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program with a historical focus on the Jewish … More Becoming Doctors of the Church
Have you ever argued with an author, or wrestled with a book? Has an idea ever so overwhelmed you that you gasped audibly and threw the book down in either disgust or delight? Have you ever returned to a section, re-reading a sentence over and over hoping to find some other way to interpret it? … More On Wrestling with Books: Luther’s Tower Experience
Do you ever wish you had a time machine so you could go back to relive various moments a second time? I’m not talking here about moments you regret and wish you could “do over.” I mean going back to moments that seemed so ordinary at the time, but in retrospect you wish you would … More Greg Boyd, Apologetics & The Case for a Christian Movie
During bedtime prayers this week, something incredibly silly and irreverent happened. Complete hilarity ensued before the throne of the Almighty as toddler humor took over our prayers. I didn’t know whether to scold and lecture my kids about making light of prayer, or burst out laughing along with my 4 and 6 year old. What … More Fowl Prayers: Silliness Before the Throne
It all began when I turned my knob from FM to AM on my radio dial. I was about 19 years old and had discovered the new world of talk radio. It began with non-stop sermons on a Christian station nurturing my new hunger for Bible teaching. Before long I was also drinking in my daily dose of conservative political talk as well. I was hooked. But then Jesus came along … … More Me & Jesus Cruise the AM Dial
“Lord, I hope this day is good.” -Don Williams (1939-2017) These are lyrics from a Don Williams song that has snuck its way into my morning drop-off routine with the kids. Somedays its the Lord’s Prayer, other days a blessing or psalm. Last week I was teaching them Psalm 143 as a morning prayer: “Let … More Don, Dad & Me
We just snapped that classic milestone photo of our 6-year old, Peter, climbing up those enormous school bus steps, turning around for that split second with a proud smile, and the look of excitement with tinge of apprehension in his eyes. Snap photo. And just like that the driver pulled the lever and the doors … More The Upward Climb: First Day of School Reflection
She was 16 years old, and for some reason attending a dance at the Technical College in her hometown. He was about 20, and for some reason flirting with a high school girl. (It was the 70s after all – people did a lot of “iffy” things.) He asked her to dance. She said yes. … More Happy 42nd Anniversary, Mom & Dad!
I’m going to see U2’s 30th Anniversary Joshua Tree Tour concert at U.S. Bank Stadium in a few weeks. My only other U2 concert was their Popmart Tour 20 years ago at the Metro Dome (a horrible echo-chamber for concerts). Needless to say, it’s about time. I’m pumped. I’m a long time fan of U2 and an … More Bono & the Psalms
“Daddy, why are you going to Chicago again?” my 6 year old asked as I tried to explain why this would be our last “story and snuggle time” for an entire week. The conversation continued as follows: “Peter, you know how Jesus was a great teacher, right?” I asked. “Yes.” “And how he had 12 … More Back to School: A Rabbi & His 12
A few years back I had to write a paper exploring an image or metaphor that describes my personal vision for pastoral ministry. Here’s what I wrote. (Note: Keri was pregnant with Abby at the time). “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…” Gal. 4:19 … More Pastor as Spiritual Midwife
Jeremy Berg 