The most formative influences in my life, after my parents, have been my professors. My life’s trajectory changed 20 years ago after sitting in Professor Holmes’ Life & Teachings of Paul class and Professor Eddy’s Historical Jesus class in college. My view of reality and the Christian faith was revolutionized by a paper I wrote for Professor Scourgie’s Intro to … More Call Me Prof!
My amazing wife is giving me the greatest gift I can think of for my 40th birthday: the chance to share the beauty and joy of dancing and swaying, eating and drinking, together with family and friends to the live music of one of my favorite bands. (And my favorite part will be watching my mom … More The Best Birthday Gift is Live Music!
“And a child shall lead them.” Isaiah 11:6 Our 7-year old, Peter Bjorn, made this precious cityscape that really caught my eye. It reminds me of a passage from Philippians. Followers of Jesus are called to cultivate a countercultural way of life that sets us apart from “a world of corrupt and sinful people.” Paul calls … More Peter Bjorn: Shining Like a Star (and van Gogh)
Yesterday our youngest, Abigail, celebrated her 4th birthday with a day filled with sparkly balloons, glittery outfits and unicorns! She is crazy about unicorns at the moment. I just tucked her into bed wearing her unicorn jammies, a unicorn snap bracelet on her wrist, a unicorn headband, hugging a unicorn stuffed animal, and reading her … More StarryEyed Birthday Girls & CrossEyed Disciples
During one of my Christmas breaks in college, I came home with an old paperback version of John Bunyan’s 17th century classic The Pilgrim’s Progress. I was going through a radical spiritual awakening, and was voraciously devouring the Christian classics I missed as a non-reading sports jock in high school. The Pilgrim’s Progress collided with my … More The Pilgrim’s Progress & Our Story Shaped Lives
Here’s some books I’ve been reading lately (aside from school reading). Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham Drawing on President Bush’s personal diaries, on the diaries of his wife, Barbara, and on extraordinary access to the forty-first president and his family, Meacham paints an intimate and surprising … More Books I’ve Been Reading
Yesterday I began my next doctoral essay. Here’s a sneak peek at the introduction -JB. “If you had sent a letter…there would have been nothing to prevent my seeming to be actually in your company, and enjoying it as though we had been together… But why do you not write?” –St. Basil to Leontis, 364 AD Pastors know … More The Unbearable Silence of Monday
This series of sermons and posts is from my CrossRoad sermon series from Lent 2019. The series emphasized that the cross was not just the way Jesus died, but a new pattern for how to live. Followers of Jesus don’t just celebrate the CrossEvent; we embark on the CrossRoad. Links to other posts in the … More CrossRoad 1: Introduction
For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” (2 Cor 10:10) Have you heard of the 10,000 Hour Rule? Associated with popular writer Malcolm Gladwell and his book Outliers, the principle holds that 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” are needed to become world-class in any … More Only 5,275 Hours to Go!
Here’s the introduction to “MainStreet Beginnings” book as we mark our 7th anniversary. Read more about the project here. Contact me if you’re interested in getting a copy. INTRODUCTION: A Hometown Apostle I was an unlikely choice—but then that sort of makes me a more likely choice in God’s eyes. He loves surprises and unlikely heroes. … More MainStreet Beginnings, Intro
MainStreet was a long, slow launch. We were one of the last “pioneer” plants to get the green light. That is, we didn’t have a parent or partner church when we were approved by the Northwest Conference to begin gathering a Launch Team. Thank God, Excelsior Covenant soon came alongside us to give us a … More Through the Fog (2011)
Today marks the 7th anniversary of MainStreet Covenant Church’s first weekly worship service. I thought this an appropriate occasion to announce the completion of a commemorative book I’ve produced that details the journey. As you probably know, I love history, and therefore I love probing origins. Any appreciator of the past quickly becomes an appreciator … More NEW! MainStreet Beginnings Book
The escape attempts from Alcatraz were thwarted every time as the fugitives were swallowed up in the frozen waters of the San Francisco Bay. The scandal of Christmas is that God does not leave sin-stained humanity stranded on an island or demand we swim through icy waters for our freedom. It celebrates God’s swim across the cold waters in order to secure our freedom. … More Christmas at Alcatraz
Jesus’ mission prioritized the marginalized and neglected people of his day. He didn’t send out his apostles—i.e., “church planters”—saying, “Go ye therefore to the sprawling suburbs and invite the upwardly mobile dual income families with children.” He said, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (Luke 14:21). Would you try growing a church with such folks? … More Funding the Jericho Inn: A MainStreet Update
The bleachers squeaked like crazy. It smelled like a locker room. It got hot and stuffy on Saturday nights in the summer. We were packed in like sardines as upbeat guitars and the 90s choruses of “Trading My Sorrows” and “Shout to the Lord” echoed throughout the Robbinsdale High School gymnasium. As the last song … More David Johnson: 38 Years of Divine Electricity
My pastoral counselor prescribed for me the daily practice of praying the famous Serenity Prayer for the next couple weeks. While this prayer is usually associated with recovery groups, it has much broader application for many other personal afflictions. I discovered two new things as I accepted this assignment. First, I was asked to look … More The FULL Serenity Prayer
At least 2 or 3 times in the past several years of pastoring, the following 4 lectures by Eugene Peterson have helped save me from drowning in the sea of vocational ministry. I, like countless other pastors, consider Eugene Peterson to be the Dean of Pastors and a voice of sanity in a culture of … More Jonah & Pastoral Vocation (Eugene Peterson)
The fog is heavy and blinding. The accusing voice is loud and convincing. The waves crash against my ramshackle frame. The wind tosses my beleaguered self to and fro. I’m driftwood, water logged yet still afloat. I need the Sun to burn away the fog. I long to hear the Good Shepherd’s Voice. I listen for … More Driftwood: A Psalm
“You’re name is NOT Jeremy!” the large, black man shouted into my ear with his thick Caribbean accent. His hands were heavy on my shoulders as he stood over me as I sat helplessly in a chair in a dim-lit room. “Your true name is Jeremiah! You are the weeping prophet!” he continued in his … More The Weeping Pastor
Dear MWHS Class of ’98, Our 20th high school class reunion has arrived! In a few hours the class of ’98 will be strapping on our Birkenstock sandals, donning our baggy button down shirts over cargo Khaki’s from Gap, and driving to Lord Fletcher’s with Green Day’s “Good Riddance/Time of Your Life’ or “Freshmen” by … More Dear Class of ’98 (on our 20th)
On a 103 degree afternoon 13 years ago today I wore a black suit and tie. I stood between two tall, healthy trees sweating bullets. It wasn’t the oppressive July heat but the nervous anticipation for what was about to take place. I was about to behold my bride adorned in her wedding dress for … More “I get to marry her? Really?!”
I need to drown again in the regenerating waters of my baptism. I’m drowning on the world’s air and gasping for water this week. I preached about abiding in the Christ on Sunday, and have spent the entire week making sand castles in a God-forsaken desert. … More A Desert Prayer
I wrote an end of the year reflection in December, doing some introspection. Its the final chapter in my Soul Artisan book. I thought I’d risk sharing some of it here. -JB Planting the church almost killed me. There are parts of me that still haven’t recovered 6 years later. I think I’ve been burned out since … More The Me God Made Me to Be
It was an evening back in early September 2002. The weather was perfect, as usual. It was San Diego. I had left everything familiar behind and moved west for my first semester of seminary at Bethel West. I was lonely. I was scared. I was adrift without a clue of what the future held. That’s … More A Steady Guide in an Unsteady World
I just sent off to the printer my latest collection of writings shared here over the past 4 months. I’ve titled it Wisdom Shouts: Private Thoughts in the Public Square (302 pages). I wanted to share part of my ‘preface’ to this volume. You can see my other 12 or so volumes here. Now a word about … More Wisdom Shouts & Roller Gardens
Jeremy Berg 