In this series I am sharing some of the passages of the Bible — or Life Verses — that have most impacted my own life. “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also….they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, proclaiming that there is another king, Jesus.” ACTS 17:6 After college I immediately began … More LIFE VERSES 7: Acts 17:6
Influential pastor and teacher, John Piper, got a heated response from some recent comments made in an interview regarding women as pastors and seminary teachers: “If it is unbiblical to have women as pastors, how can it be biblical to have women who function in formal teaching and mentoring capacities to train and fit pastors … More Women Pastors & Professors Who Shaped Me
During Advent in 2013 we examined Psalm 23 in a sermon series entitled Who’s Your Shepherd? It remains one of my favorite series we’ve done to date. I contended that when we let God be the guide, or shepherd, directing our lives and influencing our decisions, He leads us to green pastures of the “abundant … More MainStreet Memories: Who’s Your Shepherd?
In this series I am sharing some of the passages of the Bible — or Life Verses — that have most impacted my own life. I was 21 years old. I was in the honeymoon period of my newfound faith. I can still remember how exciting it was reading my new Study Bible back then. Everything was … More LIFE VERSES 6: Romans 8:11
Once every few years, I’ll wander back to the upstairs of the Bethel University library and retrace my steps back to that holy ground where the light of historical curiosity once split the sky and blinded my time-bound vision long enough to glimpse Eternity through ancient eyes. … More Longings, Libraries & Ancient Portals
Here’s another favorite MainStreet moment as we celebrate our anniversary this January. Enjoy! I’m continually amazed looking back at the MainStreet journey to realize just how unprepared and unformed I was as a pastor to be attempting such a significant task. I marvel that the Covenant and Northwest Conference would invest so much time, energy … More MainStreet Memories: Stripping Off the False Self
In this series I’m sharing some Bible verses that have been pivotal in my personal faith formation and life journey. For each time I speak….the word of the LORD has resulted In reproach and derision all day long. But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in … More LIFE VERSES 5: Jeremiah 20:9
On our anniversary this January, I’m sharing some favorite stories from the early days of planting MainStreet. Enjoy! Preachers make a living with words, and so we’re all too aware of the old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Equally as powerful as a picture is some dramatic participatory theater or a … More MainStreet Memories: Over Our Heads
On the occasion MainStreet’s anniversary this January, I’m sharing some favorite stories I’ve written down for a forthcoming book documenting the MainStreet journey. Enjoy! In September of 2011 we were preparing for our first monthly preview worship service at the Gillespie Center. I remember that spring looking at our small, tired launch team and saying, “Well, … More MainStreet Memories: Crown Connection
This series is expounding some of the Bible passages that have been most significant in my own faith journey. –JB 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. From my point of view, … More LIFE VERSES 4: Hebrews 4:12
On the occasion of our 6th anniversary, I want to share some favorite memories from a book I’m working on documenting the MainStreet journey. Enjoy! Church planting is not for the faint of heart. It is frontline missionary work with a high casualty rate. More church plants fail and than succeed. Many wide-eyed dreamers set … More MainStreet Memories: Across the Lake
On one occasion, while [Jesus] was eating with [his followers], he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water,but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and … More LIFE VERSES 3: Acts 1:4-11
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
Kingdom Harbor 