I often feel like I am treading water in a sea of strong and savvy senior pastors, watching them stand proudly at the helm of their mighty cruise ships, while I barely keep afloat while clinging desperately to a piece of driftwood—ancient driftwood that may contain the secret to our true pastoral calling. … More The Island of Misfit Pastors
My fancy bound dissertation came in the mail this week! In the coming days, I want to share several excerpts from the introduction and concluding sections of my thesis. … More The Good Pastor
I’m thrilled to share my past four years of doctoral studies has resulted in a thesis that has been approved. You can call me Dr. J if you want! :) I have been researching sages & students in the ancient world, and having the time of my life with renowned New Testament scholar Scot McKnight. … More I’m a Doctor!
I’m in the final laps of my doctoral dissertation. Here’s a piece I wrote along the way reflecting on Fred Rogers in relation to my thesis on recovering wisdom culture and the place of the “sage” in ministry today. … More Mister Rogers Among the Sages
This week we observe Epiphany and commemorate the Baptism of the Lord with a message on the song God placed in our heart at our own baptism, and the need for “godparent” figures in our lives (friends, mentors, pastors, parents) who will remind us of the song when we forget or lose our way. … More WATCH: God’s Song in Your Heart
“O Gracious and Loving God, the ancients believed that writing is a sacred gift from you. Send me the gift of words so that I can say what must be said in a way that will cause as little pain as possible. Inspire me with your wisdom and guide my hand as I write.” ― EDWARD HAYS … More Wielding Words with Wisdom
We’ve never needed Mr. Rogers-like leaders more than we do right now. … More What Would Mister Rogers Do?
“Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 Churches are busy with many good endeavors, but seeking and passing on wisdom seems to have fallen down the list of priorities. According to my teacher, Scot McKnight: “People today care less about growing up or gaining wisdom and far more about staying young, maintaining relevancy, and dressing according … More Wisdom Culture & the Juvenalization of American Christianity
These small dry packets contain the raw materials that come alive and reveal their true taste and color when steeped in a hot cup of water. This is an apt metaphor for spiritual formation. … More Steeped: Tea Bag Faith
The average church-goer hears 12 hours of sermons ALL YEAR. Now, who’s discipling who? … More Americans Consume 11 Hours of Media Daily
As a father, I have wanted to surround my kids not just with books, but the allure of a library that beckons them to a grand adventure. When my kids walk into my study, I want them to feel like the Pevensy children walking into the Professor’s study in The Chronicles of Narnia. … More Journeys Through Bookland
Giving thanks today for my teacher, Scot McKnight, whom I have the privilege of doing my doctoral studies with at Northern Seminary. Scot embodies Christ-centered wisdom, humility, ferocious curiosity and rugged commitment to letting the ancient Scriptures speak for themselves. … More Thankful for my teacher, Scot McKnight!
Instead of pushing a heavy boulder up a hill, what if spiritual growth was more like stepping into a river and being gradually swept along by God’s life-giving current? … More Boulders & Rivers
Modern day pastors have been all too willing to accept the role of a CEO running the church like a business, serving more as a visionary leader than a shepherd of souls. We’ve served the bottomline more than the “least of these.” Board rooms and whiteboards have replaced prayer chapels and the pastor’s study. More pastors … More Pastor: Shepherd or CEO?
The big box “church-as-business” model that arose in the last quarter of the 20th century was a complete (and short-lived) anomaly in the long 2,000 year history of Christian ministry. It rode the wave of American-styled capitalism and is grounded in the values of American consumerism and market driven strategies — not the New Testament … More From Big Box to Big Souls
Over three decades ago, my late hero and Protestant “Saint” (if Presbyterians canonized people) Eugene Peterson wrote the following in the opening paragraphs to his book on pastoral ministry called Working the Angles (1987): “American pastors are abandoning their post, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting … More Reclaiming the Pastoral Vocation
Dallas Willard has been a guiding light and master sage for many pastors who believe at the center of their craft is the call to deeper inner transformation of the human soul. His writings are a goldmine of thoughtful wisdom and, more importantly, his personal life and legacy reveal a man who had the smell … More Renovation of the Heart
“What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?” (Mark 8:36 MSG) We are pulling up the anchor and setting sail on a new adventure at MainStreet this Fall. To shift to a more earthy metaphor, we are putting on … More Pilgrimage of the Soul
Last night I sat by my boys’ bedside and after tucking them in I said, “Let’s start something new and special called, “God Talk.” I told them I spend much of my life thinking, studying and learning about God, and I would love to ponder questions they have about God, life and the mysteries of … More Stamped & Sealed with a New Name
LECTIONARY REFLECTION | Luke 13:10-17; Psalm 71:1-6 “Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, … More Childhood Wounds
ISAIAH 5:1-7; PS. 80:1-2, 8-19; HEB 11:37-12:1 “They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground…Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is … More Treasures New & Old
When I began a doctoral degree in New Testament context a couple years ago, I never would have guessed my thesis topic would end up focusing on the role of “Letter Writing” in spiritual formation. Well, here I am reading all kinds of ancient, medieval and contemporary letter correspondences, and really loving it! Along the way … More Letters to a Godson
“It may be that God has the eternal appetite of infancy.” -G.K. Chesterton I had a great conversation this week about the role of imagination in spiritual growth. We spoke a bit about how children tend to be more open to new things than adults. (I recently wrote about Abby’s 4-year old “StarryEyed” infatuation with unicorns.) … More The Role of Imagination in Faith
MainStreet Covenant wants to partner with our parents and provide resources to help nurture the faith of our children beginning in the home. Beyond our wonderful Sunday school ministry and new Jason’s House gatherings, we are trying to be proactive in offering things like Tech-Wise Sunday, a Grace-Based Parenting Lifegroup series this past fall, giving each family … More Partnering with Parents to Raise Godly Kids
“What is this babbler trying to say?”(Acts 17:18) “In public he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them” (Mark 4:34). “Let your house be a gathering place for sages; And wallow in the dust of their feet; and drink in their words with … More Preaching or Teaching?
Jeremy L. Berg 