Daily Spark: “Let the Light Shine” (Jeremy)
March 17, 2020
“Daily Sparks” are short, uplifting video reflections from Pastor Jeremy to start (or finish) your day!.
Category: Uncategorized
Letters in Uncertain Times
March 15, 2020
As the Coronavirus spreads across the globe and with it the contagion of fear, I want to take up the shepherd’s pen and follow in a long line of letter writing pastors who sought to guide and encourage their sheep in times of trial and testing. … More Letters in Uncertain Times
C. S. Lewis, Coronavirus and the Atomic Bomb
March 13, 2020
If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. … More C. S. Lewis, Coronavirus and the Atomic Bomb
The Tunneling Tenacity of Heaven’s Light
March 4, 2020
The scandal of the Christian message is that Heaven put on a hard-hat and headlamp and came down in search of you and me—and often meets us halfway in the middle of the deepest, darkest place. No matter how twisty and snakelike our path, the Light of Salvation will always meet us where we need Him. … More The Tunneling Tenacity of Heaven’s Light
Decline of Church, Increase of Politics
March 3, 2020
On this Super Tuesday, remember to not let your civic duty eclipse your ultimate allegiance. Go vote at the poll, but save your worship for the pew. … More Decline of Church, Increase of Politics
Stonewall Faith & Prayers
March 2, 2020
If I’m honest, I think the image of heads praying against a stonewall hits too close to home for pathetic pray-ers like me. Haven’t we all tried to draw nearer to God’s presence in prayer, but felt like our prayers were deflecting off of a glass ceiling or crashing into a thick stone wall? … More Stonewall Faith & Prayers
Touching Where Heaven Touched Earth
February 25, 2020
Suddenly you are funneled into that little doorway as you descend to your golden moment, whereupon you have about 10 seconds to observe and pay homage at the spot where Heaven invaded Earth and Eternity kissed mortality before a staff person shoos you onward to keep the line moving. … More Touching Where Heaven Touched Earth
The Feast is Ready! Come and Get it!
January 28, 2020
“Every wise teacher trained in the kingdom is like the homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new and old things” (Matt 13:52). Jesus warned against trying to pour new wine into old wineskins—a constant warning to Christians and church leaders down through the ages not to get too attached to our ministry models … More The Feast is Ready! Come and Get it!
Wisdom Culture & the Juvenalization of American Christianity
January 21, 2020
“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
WOW – Aquinas on the Incarnation
December 30, 2019
This week’s Words of Wisdom (WOW) come from Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274): “The time of the Incarnation was most suitable. Had God come to man to redeem us immediately after the first sin was committed, human pride would not have been humbled in consequence of that sin; man would not have realized, through an impressive stretch of time, the greatness of the treasure he had lost. … More WOW – Aquinas on the Incarnation
A Christmas Prayer (Isaiah 9:6)
December 18, 2019
Do you struggle to pray? Does your mind drift and wander off? Let’s turn one of the most familiar Scriptures of the Christmas season into a prayer. … More A Christmas Prayer (Isaiah 9:6)
Christ Our Champion (Mike Fox)
December 11, 2019
Sometimes we need the advice of a wise and trusted counselor, sometimes the comforting arms of a loving father, sometimes the stability from a benevolent leader and sometimes we need the protection of a strong champion. This week we will look at the title “Mighty God”. … More Christ Our Champion (Mike Fox)
Why ‘God-with-Us’ Seems Far Away
December 1, 2019
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” Andy Williams sings in the background while we scrap and scramble about, trying to hold ourselves together and not lose our minds in all the wonderful-ness. While many are weighed down by the external busyness of the season, I want to speak to those of us who … More Why ‘God-with-Us’ Seems Far Away
Thankful for my teacher, Scot McKnight!
November 29, 2019
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!
A Catalytic Mobilizer on a Plastic Chair
November 29, 2019
When I’m an old worn out pastor sitting on a porch drinking coffee, and my memory is all but gone, I’ll still remember those two words spoken over me in that church basement on plastic folding chairs with a flickering fluorescent light above… … More A Catalytic Mobilizer on a Plastic Chair
WOW – Oswald Chambers
November 26, 2019
“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.” —Oswald Chambers … More WOW – Oswald Chambers
Enneagram: Core Longing
November 15, 2019
From Your Enneagram Coach: Finally, let’s explore Core Longing, or the central message each of our hearts is longing to hear. Each Type has a tendency to feel, think and act in certain ways in order to satisfy their Core Longing. But we forsake our Creator when we try to fulfill this unending craving in … More Enneagram: Core Longing
Job’s Digital Footprint
November 6, 2019
On Facebook and Instagram, we’re voluntarily inscribing the details of our lives in a book for the whole world to read. We’re leaving digital footprints in the social media sand that will someday, when we’re gone, reveal a lot about who we were and the kind of life we led. … More Job’s Digital Footprint
WOW – Confucius
November 6, 2019
This week’s Words of Wisdom (WOW) come from ca. 500 BC. “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” -CONFUCIUS, Chinese philosopher
Pastors as Spiritual Guides
October 31, 2019
This is the final post in a 4 part series. Read part 1, part 2, and part 3. I’m writing this from a monastery where I am diving deeper into the writings of the ancient Desert Fathers and later mystics and spiritual masters such as Saint John of the Cross, Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen. … More Pastors as Spiritual Guides
Pastor: Shepherd or CEO?
October 30, 2019
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?
Reclaiming the Pastoral Vocation
October 28, 2019
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
Mind, Body, Spirit & Doritos
October 24, 2019
In this cultural moment when so many are seeking holistic healing, holistic medicine, Whole Foods, and whole-bodied spiritual practices (e.g., meditation, yoga, etc.), Christian teachers have such an opportunity to share the holistic message Jesus taught. Yet, I fear too many pastors and churches are still drunk on the leftover wine of ancient Gnostic and … More Mind, Body, Spirit & Doritos
A Parable Retold
October 23, 2019
Here’s a retelling of a parable through the lenses of the Enneagram. Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in their False Self, thinking they were the better personality Type and regarded other Enneagram Types with contempt: “Two different personality types went up to the temple to pray, one a self-righteous Type One and … More A Parable Retold
A Breathtaking Reality
October 22, 2019
“The obviously well kept secret of the “ordinary” is that it is made to be a receptacle of the divine, a place where the life of God flows.” -Dallas Willard … More A Breathtaking Reality
Jeremy Berg 