I recently talked to a lady whose husband hasn’t been to church in fifteen years. The last time he came was on an Easter Sunday, and that Sunday the preacher decided to ridicule those who only showed up for Christmas and Easter. It reinforced his negative stereotypes of church, and he hasn’t been back since. This Sunday is going to be a big Sunday. Friends and family are going to come. Folks that only attend once a year are going to... Read more
For churches, Easter is the “Superbowl” of Sundays. The bushes are spruced up, the pile of old bulletins is finally cleared out. We’re getting ready for the onslaught of guests that are expected to pour onto our campus this coming Sunday. But what determines whether guests will come back again or not after Easter? Will it be the biblical soundness of the preaching, the quality of the music, or the cleanliness of the nursery? I believe all of those are important, but not... Read more
Maybe it’s Tuesday and your week has already started to go sideways on you. Maybe you just need to smile. Recently the high school students at Mt Vernon Church hosted a prom for the special needs community. Watch this recap video and be reminded that there still is good in the world. [wpvideo l2gvbRB2] Read more
As a pastor I’ve heard the term “unchurched” thrown around for years. I look at where I grew up (California) and see it everywhere. But I don’t minister in California. I minister in the South. And in some ways, I think it’s harder. The “unchurched” are those who haven’t grown up in church. They don’t read their Bible everyday. They don’t know the words to the great hymns of old. They don’t know how to dress or how to act in church.... Read more
Five more insightful articles to get you through the weekend. Enjoy! A Thread Called Grace – A powerful confession of someone dealing with sexual abuse in his past. A Year of Grieving Dangerously – Kay Warren talks about dealing with the suicide of her son Matthew. God Used Me to Stop a School Shooter – An incredible interview with a woman who talked down a school shooter. Let Them Eat Dirt – Amazing perspective for all parents out there who can... Read more
It’s the difference between attending a party and hosting a party. When you attend a party, what’s your goal and mindset? To have a good time, to make memories. Whose job is it to ensure you have a good time? Your host’s. When you host a party, everything is reversed. Your job is to ensure your guests have a good experience. Your sense of satisfaction derives from their enjoyment of the party. Make sense so far? Now, let’s transpose this... Read more
The Bully Pulpit is a riveting tale of two men and a magazine that changed the world. Telling the tale of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and McClure’s Magazine, The Bully Pulpit transports the reader into a surprisingly pivotal time in American history, the dawn of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, a pervasive culture of laissez faire had allowed corporations to run amuck and concentrate incredible wealth at the expense of the common man. Political... Read more
In John 5 there’s a verse that puzzled me for years. One of the times Jesus entered Jerusalem, he encountered a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. What he asks this man almost seems insulting at first: “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?'” (John 5:6). Was this a rhetorical question? Was Jesus mocking him? Why would this... Read more
As you drag into Monday, I know you’re tired, but is it a good kind of tired? Was your weekend energy spent on partying, video games, too much tv and too much alcohol? That’s not a good kind of tired. That’s a weekend of wasted opportunities mixed in with a dash of regret. Here’s a good kind of tired: spending your weekend doing something beneficial for someone else. This past weekend we wore our church out, but it was a... Read more
Bringing back and older post format. Here are links to five good stories I’ve read this week that I’ll pass onto you: Read Fiction and Become a More Interesting Preacher – Here’s why I read a ton of fiction along with my non-fiction. Twenty of the Most Influential Evangelicals in America – I’m assuming I’m #21, but numbers aren’t important. Update From an Overweight Christian – I love Thom Rainer’s honesty as he shares his struggle to overcome obesity. 6 Things I... Read more
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