My mom took us three kids to the mall when we were at prime begging age. Mom probably intended to simply return something and come home empty handed. Instead, she came home with a kitten from the mall pet store. That lucky kitten was rescued from bondage, adopted into a new family, and brought into a new realm of life and possibilities. Let’s explore Romans 8:12-17 in this light. … More “Here, Kitty, Kitty!”
Ephesians 2:1-10 expands our understanding of salvation, highlighting the ongoing battle against the unholy trinity. Salvation is not just about forgiveness, but about being raised up with Christ and fulfilling our divine role as rulers over creation. This calls for a deeper engagement with the Church’s role in manifesting God’s kingdom on earth. … More Seated in Heavenly Places
My new short story tells the story of Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27, imagining Paul, a lone Jew on a ship of superstitious pagans, each telling stories from their sacred texts. As the storm outside grows more perilous, and the shipmates begin to panic, Paul remains calm and brings spiritual leadership to these doomed “souls in chains.” … More New Book Debut this Sunday
In this week’s lectionary text, 1 Corinthians 9, the Apostle Paul emphasizes his holy obligation and divine calling to proclaim the gospel, representing a countercultural surrender to a higher purpose. I share some of my own experience and challenges of my call to full-time ministry, and conclude by highlighting the current crisis of clergy burnout and offering a call to love and support those who have surrendered their life to full time Christian service. … More The Company of the Summoned
Paul’s strange and even disturbing instructions to believers in Corinth beg explanation. For Paul, every molecule in the universe had been shifted by the Christ Event, and the imminent return of Jesus placed a question mark next to all ordinary things of life. Pastor Paul’s words likely jolted his first hearers awake and raised many questions–questions we do well to ponder again today. … More The End is Nigh (Sort Of)
What gives is that Paul has a very different notion of evangelism than we modern evangelicals do. Paul is not interested in training his churches on how to initiate gospel conversations with their friends and family, nor is he concerned with teaching them how to present the four spiritual laws to a passerby on the street. Paul’s vision of evangelism does not look like ours. … More Wise Evangelism
This Christmas we need more than a sermon, more than words, more than a heart-warming thought that will dissipate by Christmas morning. We need the gift of Christ’s peace to fill our hearts—not a sentimental idea of peace, but a lived and deeply felt reality of Christ’s abiding presence. … More Blessed is the Prince of Peacemakers
On Christmas Eve we wrap up our “Beatitudes of Bethlehem” Advent series by looking at the Prince of Peacemakers. What if ‘peace’ was more than a sappy sentiment or pretty proposition? Take a journey back to a first century prison cell to discover a “peace that surpasses understanding” and Paul’s “secret to contentment” (Phil 4).
When a “ship” (or society) begins to come apart at the seams, you reinforce it with what has hitherto bound it together, and toss overboard the things that are sinking it. … More Shipwrecked 3: Wise Leadership in the Political Storm
Images abound for our tendency to settle for less than the best. “Failure to launch.” “Cold feet.” “The boat is still in the harbor.” “She needs to spread her wings to fly”—and sometimes you need to kick them out of the nest before they’ll ever try. … More Learning to Swim in Your Faith
People are being shaped and “discipled” far more effectively by the secular media they consume all week long than by any Sunday sermon they might hear twice a month. … More The 21st Century Areopagus
You know you’ve successfully launched a social revolution when even non-coffee drinkers like me are regularly heard saying, “Hey, wanna grab coffee this week?” … More Apostle Paul at Starbucks
While most churches are trying to attract people to their Sunday services, where are the churches finding new ways to engage spiritual seekers where they are? … More We’re Not In Mayberry Anymore
Anyone interested in a sample of my academic work, here’s a full essay on race and ethnicity in the ancient world and today. (I shared a few sections a few weeks back.) Dr. Dennis Edwards said of it, “This is great, dare I say prophetic!” Unfortunately, the formatting and footnotes did not transfer to the … More One Body, Many Ethnic Parts
LECTIONARY REFLECTION | COLOSSIANS 1:1-14 This week’s New Testament lesson comes from Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae. Read full passage here. Paul does a couple things here that we can learn from and imitate. First, Paul takes the time to say thank you. Paul affirms who the Colossians are right now – “To God’s … More Two Go-To Habits (Mike Fox)
LECTIONARY REFLECTION | Acts 16:9-15; John 14:23-29; 5:1-9 Most of us have seen Warren Sallman’s famous painting Christ at Heart’s Door based on Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” Jesus glows with the light of fresh hope while the dark thorns and thistles of sin threaten to overtake … More Are You Open?
When the last shovel of dirt is tossed onto my grave and the benediction has been read, I want people to walk to their cars and drive back to the church for cold sandwiches thinking, “He took Jesus at his words, did his best to pursue His Kingdom and live by cross-wisdom — leaving the … More CrossRoad 3: The Foolishness of the Cross
Last night a handful for MainStreeters gathered on Ash Wednesday to watch the movie “Paul, Apostle of Christ.” We all came away amazed at what it cost to be a Christian in first century Rome — that is, often your very life! Better than any Bible film I’ve seen, this one beautifully portrays how the early … More Counting the Cost (Skye Jethani)
Repost from 2018. Happy Valentine’s Day! While many will rely on Hallmark’s card writers to find the perfect words to say “I love you” today, some Christians might reach back to the famous “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13 read at many weddings. Yet, the man who wrote these words would probably find it quite … More Your One True Love
The guy must be nuts! Look at him sitting there on a hard dirt floor, the smell of human waste thick in the air, hands raised to the sky with big smile beaming from ear to ear as he prays to his god! I can’t make any sense of it. … More Sermon: Paul’s Secret
Kingdom Harbor 