Evangelicals are in the news! Donald Trump recently met with Evangelical leaders. I have seen so many articles about Evangelicals and politics these past few weeks. Some signaling the demise of evangelicalism. Some talking about the decline of evangelical influence. What in the world is an Evangelical, anyway? We are Faith Evangelical Congregational Church. WeContinue reading “Why we’re getting rid of the word “evangelical” from our church sign”
Tag Archives: church
What future societies might say about American Christians in 2016
Imagine people 2000 years from now studying Christianity. What would they say about us? What is important to us? They would have to conclude that buildings are very important to us, and what happens in those buildings on Sunday mornings is also very important to us. Take away the building and Sunday morning, and someContinue reading “What future societies might say about American Christians in 2016”
That time a military recruiter called me with an amazing proposal
A couple years ago, I got one of those out-of-the blue calls that sounded legit, but also made me very suspicious. It was from a military recruiter, the Army Reserves to be precise. At the time I was 39 years old. Not quite the age anymore to be considered for military service. He explained thatContinue reading “That time a military recruiter called me with an amazing proposal”
Woe to you, Christians – Part 2 – How to stop the two main things that will cause your death
Imagine you have been invited to your pastor’s house for dinner and some leaders of the church are there. It is a nice meal with pleasant dinner conversation. Do you think you would take this time to point out all the things you didn’t like about the people around the table? Some of you might! Continue reading “Woe to you, Christians – Part 2 – How to stop the two main things that will cause your death”
Is Sunday the new Sabbath? – Luke 6:1-11
Last week I introduced the next sermon in our series on Luke saying that Jesus told the Bible scholars they didn’t know the Bible. In Luke 6:1-11 he really gets in their face. At one point the Pharisees confronted Jesus’ disciples for rubbing grain in their hands on the Sabbath, saying the disciples were harvestingContinue reading “Is Sunday the new Sabbath? – Luke 6:1-11”
When churches don’t make disciples
“If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples.” – Mike Breen What do you think about that quote? Is it right? The first part I think most Christians would agree with. It’s pretty straightforward. Disciples are followers of Jesus, and when you have aContinue reading “When churches don’t make disciples”
How to submit to leaders and not hate it – 1st Corinthians 16:5-24, Part Two
In this final section of 1st Corinthians, Paul mentions a bunch of leaders that were familiar to the church in the city of Corinth. At one point, he urges the church to submit to it’s leaders. Submit is such an ugly word. It has definitely been abused by many leaders. As a leader in aContinue reading “How to submit to leaders and not hate it – 1st Corinthians 16:5-24, Part Two”
Race signs, Kids craft, Conference stuff – The Monday Messy Office Report – June 2, 2014
My tidy Friday office is mysteriously messy on Monday. Here’s what I found this week: 1. Conference stuff – After having been away from the office Wednesday through Friday of last week at my denomination’s national conference, not only is my office messier than normal, I also have a bunch of conference stuff to addContinue reading “Race signs, Kids craft, Conference stuff – The Monday Messy Office Report – June 2, 2014”
Church is a business?
I ordered a book today. One of my pastoral friends has highly recommended it, and it can’t come soon enough. Why? I get so freaking frustrated because I am running a business, the success of which is measured by numbers. Those numbers are decreasing. That gets me upset, even though I know that Jesus isContinue reading “Church is a business?”
Engaging Scripture 