So every month, I sit down with Luke Norsworthy, the host of the podcast Newsworthy with Norsworthy to talk about the interviews he had that month, and about all the mistakes he made doing them. This past month, it feels like society really fell apart, racial division is growing more and more pronounced, violent shootings, police brutality, and subsequent retaliations has everyone on high alert, and the political climate feels like a tinder bed waiting to blow up, and to top it... Read more
Little known fact: Kim Jong-Il is the world’s best golf player. It’s true, Byron Nelson, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, are good, but they aren’t Kim Jong-Il good. Because all of them at one point during their career have done something that the Grand Emperor of North Korea never has. Missed. Seriously, According to the 17 guards who were present for Kim Jong-il’s very first golf game of his life, he shot thirty-eight under par, and then immediately retired from the... Read more
When you hear anyone talk about power, chances are the first things that come to your mind is the abuse of it. If there is one idea that everyone knows about power it is that famous phrase from Lord Acton “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And you don’t need anyone to convince you how true that dictum is. Did you know studies have revealed that people in power are more likely to use their power to accrue wealth, coerce sexuality, and blind them to their... Read more
I said a few weeks ago that two of my favorite parts of ministry is being able to do funerals and weddings. That may sound a bit strange, but I believe they are really two sides of the same coin. These are the most sensitive moments in a family’s life,filled with great joy and great pain, but they are also holy spaces where we get to see Heaven and earth get a bit closer. And this is the primary job... Read more
So for the next few days, I want to do a kind of book review/summary of Andy Crouch’s great new book “Strong and Weak.” If you’re not familiar with Crouch, he’s the Executive editor of Christianity Today, and the author of a couple of other great books “Playing God” and “Culture Making.” And if that doesn’t impress you, than maybe the fact that Lacrae wrote about him in a song lyric will. He’s one of my favorite authors and thinkers... Read more
Today I want to start a blog series reviewing one of the better books that I have read in the past year. The book is Strong and Weak by Andy Crouch and it has changed some of the ways I do ministry, and the ways I approach leadership as a Christian. I also have a weekly column on Scot McKnight’s popular blog Jesus Creed, and I’m starting this series on Scot blog because I want lots of people to know about this book,... Read more
So a friend sent me a link to this story from NPR recently, and I thought it was too good not to share. It’s a true story about a robber who interrupted a back yard dinner party in Washington D.C. with escalating threats of violence…and about how a gentle response changed the moment, and possibly the man doing the robbery. The entire video is fascinating, specifically the part where they bring in an sociological expert to talk about why these non-violent, non-aggressive... Read more
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I... Read more
This is another post in a Friday series on practical ministry tips and tools. For the next few weeks we will have a few different people sharing tips on how to do a funeral. The following is a guest post by Josh Graves on the Theology of Funerals. Josh serves as the Preaching Minister at the Otter Creek Church of Christ in Nashville. The Christian funeral is a sacred moment when people of faith (because all people are technically people of some sort... Read more
“We must fight the most difficult war, which is the war against ourselves. We must disarm ourselves…. I have waged this war for many years, and it was terrible. Now, I am disarmed. I no longer fear anything, because love banishes fear. I am disarmed of the desire to be right, and of justifying myself by putting others down.” -Athenagoras Patriarch of Constantinople Read more
Jonathan Storment
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