In my work with campus ministers and students around the nation, I often tell the story of UT and its missional communities.  Though I attended the University of Texas and grew up in Austin, I do my best to not...

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to sit in on many sermons, given by many pastors.  Perhaps this can be attributed to the nature of my job over the last 5 years, to work with campus ministers of...

I like being upside down. Strange, I know, but it’s something my friends have discovered that happens to me if I’m a) tired, or b) it’s late at night. I’m not quite sure why I usually end up with my...

As students are being encouraged to become immersed and imbedded in the greater university cultures around them, missional churches are both excited and terrified of the impact on their pre-existing ministry communities. On the one hand, these missional churches (and...

Thoughts on Verge During the Verge conference in Austin , TX last school year, we were blessed to have a pre-meeting to the conference.  During this time, many of the nation’s leaders in missional community thinking came together with local leaders that...

“Christian living does not mean to be good but to become good; Not to be well but to get well; not being but becoming; Not rest but training. We are not yet, but we shall be. It has not yet...

For the last five years I have watched ministries wrestle with the need to meld prayer and mission.  “Cell Groups”, “Simple Churches”, “House Churches”, “Alpha Courses”, “Seeker Friendly Services”, etc.  are all programs put in place by ministries to make the...

I have a confession to make. I HATE doing the dishes. I’ll cook you anything you want to eat, whip up salads, bake desserts, but dishes? Forget it. There is a reason why God inspired the invention of the dishwasher,...

The other day I was thinking about how much easier it was for me to make friends when I was kid. You like coloring? Disney cartoons? Great! Let’s be friends! Of course, the flip side to this is that it...

We’ve all been there before… everyone’s looking around, no one wants to volunteer, and finally, after some awkward glances and not wanting to prolong the silence, some self-sacrificing individual finally sighs and says, “Okay, I’ll say grace.” As comical as...