It has only been several months since the passing of Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. He was the man who unified South Africa. Ravaged by many years of apartheid and racial tension, many lives...

Everybody benefits when there is a growing culture of men and women practicing biblical conflict resolution. Yelling, pushing, and slamming doors, were some of the sad trademarks of my childhood and teenage years. I didn’t know how to deal with...

We have been examining the values of one of the most influential churches in history – the church at Antioch. We find the beginning of their story in Acts 11: “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that...

There’s a phrase being bandied about the web in blogs and posts these days about leaning in. There are people who encourage this, people who disparage it, and people who are just confused, and that’s okay. But for me, a...

There is a whole lot of discussion right now about how to tell if Christians are in fact Christians. The alternative is I guess that they would be people who profess Christ, but are deceived. If you’ve read my posts...

I have been listening to sermons online, lately.  I heard one on Monday by Francis Chan about the power of prayer, and the ability of prayer to become a lifestyle– a way of walking in love with God.  He questioned...

I don’t know if it’s all the testosterone and endorphins that are released this time of year or what, but lately I’ve begun to feel the tensions of “us versus them” dynamics hitting the church. Clearly this is not a...

Have you ever found yourself somewhere and wondered how you got there? That’s exactly how I am feeling today as we are kicking off our forty days of prayer for Southern Methodist University here in Dallas.  It’s been a five-year...

The thing about coffee is that you need to know how to pick the beans.  Damage the stem and you kill the plant.  That’s what my wife, Johanna, tells me with grave sobriety.  It was a lesson seared into her...

The Missional Community on the River While wandering through the internet and listening to a past sermon from a guest speaker at church, I remember the speaker mentioning a story that hit a chord in my heart. It spoke volumes...