My smart phone was due for an upgrade recently, so when an advertisement came via email offering the newest version of my phone; I took a look. The advertisement on that email said that if I pre-purchased the new phone—it was due to be released in a few weeks—I could also get a Google HomeContinue reading “How my Google Home taught me about discontentment (and how to be more content)”
Author Archives: joelkime
How I found out I owned 62 slaves (and what I’m doing about it)
Does the Bible affirm slavery? The guy in the video below sure thinks so. No doubt this man’s methodology was really insensitive and hurtful. Inexcusable. But take a look at his argument. He claims the Bible supports slavery. Is he right. On the billboard, he lists a Bible verse that seems to endorse slavery. AtContinue reading “How I found out I owned 62 slaves (and what I’m doing about it)”
How you might be a slave-owner without knowing it (or…does the Bible condone slavery?)
How are you treating your slaves? You don’t have any, you say? Wrong. You almost certainly do. You just don’t know it. Are you a good slave master? How many of you benefit from slaves? You’re thinking, “I don’t have slaves! That was a thing of the past.” I thought you might say that. Would youContinue reading “How you might be a slave-owner without knowing it (or…does the Bible condone slavery?)”
How to access God’s power for your life
Don’t you hate it when the batteries are dead? I pull out my cordless drill to work on something, and there is no power. Thankfully, my drill came with a second battery, so I swap them out, and I find that they second one is dead too. Ever dealt with that? So frustrating, right? Powerlessness. PowerContinue reading “How to access God’s power for your life”
Advice to a new young pastor (and what all of us can learn from it)
On July 1, 2008 I became the senior pastor of Faith Church. I was scared. What had I gotten myself into? I had been youth/associate pastor at the church for the previous six years. The youth group was awesome, and I had a ministry umbrella over me, deflecting the rain of difficulty, responsibility, and leadership.Continue reading “Advice to a new young pastor (and what all of us can learn from it)”
Do you need a spiritual HIIT trainer?
Have you heard of HIIT? High Intensity Interval Training. This winter my workout partners and I have done some HIIT workouts. They’re really tiring. You exercise hard for 20 secs, take a 10 sec rest, and then exercise again, rest again, etc. We’ve done a variety of exercises and work/rest patterns, and every time weContinue reading “Do you need a spiritual HIIT trainer?”
Is it weird to preach a sermon about leadership that is mostly for those who aren’t leaders?
Have you ever been asked to lead something in the church and thought “What? Me? No way!!!” The thought of being a leader can raise a number of feelings. Here a few that I have heard: It’s too much responsibility. What if I make a bad decision? I don’t want to have to deal withContinue reading “Is it weird to preach a sermon about leadership that is mostly for those who aren’t leaders?”
Why we’re installing modesty scanners in our church lobby
What is modesty??? Who gets to make the call? What centrally recognized authority do women have so that all can go to that authority to answer the question “Is this outfit modest?” There isn’t one! There is no centrally recognized Christian modesty panel that we can refer to. Men, we really have little ideaContinue reading “Why we’re installing modesty scanners in our church lobby”
Why I’m preaching 3 different sermons about modesty…at the same time…kinda…
Tomorrow I’m preaching 3 different sermons on modesty…at the same time. Kinda. Obviously, I can’t speak three sermon simultaneously, unless I recorded them separately and played them all at the same time. Or maybe I could record two, playing them at the same time as I preach the third. Imagine the cacophony. Instead, I’m planningContinue reading “Why I’m preaching 3 different sermons about modesty…at the same time…kinda…”
Could prayer meetings and hand-raising be the worship that God really wants?
Last week I mentioned the massive investment Christians have made in building-centered, staff/program-heavy, Sunday worship. I wondered if God might evaluate us concluding, “I wish you would have done something different.” But how do we know what God would say? Most of us involved in leading church worship do want to know God’s evaluation of our worship.Continue reading “Could prayer meetings and hand-raising be the worship that God really wants?”
Engaging Scripture 