10 Stunning Facts About Davinci’s Last Supper for Maundy Thursday

Last updated on: April 2, 2015 at 12:08 pm By Tim Suttle

Every year on Maundy Thursday our church does a short visio divina around Leonardo DaVinci’s famous mural, “The Last Supper.” This practice, and this painting, have both come a rich part of our Holy Week tradition. Here are a few fun facts about Davinci’s famous masterpiece: DaVinci didn’t choose the subject matter. The work was commissioned by the Duke of Milan (Lodovico Sforza), and as was often the case in a commissioned work, the subject matter was chosen for DaVinci. The painting... Read more

The Kingdom of God is Like… A Little Friday Funny

Last updated on: March 27, 2015 at 6:51 am By Tim Suttle

The kingdom of God is like a hum drum mid-inning break at a Houston Astros game, when a dance contest suddenly breaks out between the mascot and a security guard. Half of the people in the stadium were off at the concession stand or restroom, most in the stadium weren’t even paying attention, but for those who witnessed the event, it was pure joy. I’m guessing that the whole thing was staged, but who cares, you know? It makes me happy…... Read more

Shrink On Sale for $4.99 Now thru April 5th

Last updated on: March 26, 2015 at 9:52 am By Tim Suttle

The most powerful reason the church is in decline in North America is that the church’s way of being in the world does not represent a genuine alternative to mainstream society. The church leadership conversation has been coopted by our culture. When the church becomes an agent of the culture, indistinguishable in most ways from society at large, people cease to see the value in belonging, and they opt out. The solution to this is not a new model, strategy... Read more

Why was Brownback Booed at KU v. WSU Game?

Last updated on: March 25, 2015 at 9:12 am By Tim Suttle

It was meant to be a typical celebrity sighting by the CBS crew. During a commercial break in the KU v. WSU game, the camera focused on Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. The shot was displayed on the screens in the arena, and when fans got a glimpse of Sam Brownback, they started booing loudly. Let’s just say it was kind of uncomfortable to watch. The next day the incident received some media attention–local and national. Most of the coverage points to... Read more

5 Reasons Your Church Should Be Smaller

Last updated on: March 24, 2015 at 5:34 am By Tim Suttle

This was first published at Crosswalk.com, so please stop by and visit the original post. For years it has bothered me that, although the majority of churches in America have fewer than 300 people, most church leadership advice comes from pastors of huge churches. The assumption that bigger is better pervades the church leadership culture. What if that’s the wrong tack? Here are five reasons your church might be better off focusing on faithfulness instead of success… even if it that means... Read more

Scot McKnight on Shrink: Great Is The Enemy Of…

Last updated on: March 16, 2015 at 6:50 am By Tim Suttle

Scot McKnight and I noticed a point of resonance in our two most recent books, and thought it would be fun to interact with the other’s work. Specifically, we are attempting to find points of reverberation around the topics of faithfulness, and the church. The following post is Scot’s engagement with my latest book, Shrink. Good. Yes, that’s right. Before I explain that, an anecdote. In an interview I was asked what was the most encouraging sign in the church today,... Read more

Scot McKnight’s A Fellowship of Differents Can Change Your View of the Church

Last updated on: March 16, 2015 at 6:32 am By Tim Suttle

Scot McKnight and I noticed a point of resonance in our two most recent books, and thought it would be fun to interact with the other’s work. Specifically, we are attempting to find points of reverberation around the topics of faithfulness, and the church. This is my engagement with his latest book. For the other side of the story & some words about Shrink, check here. Can a person be a Christian and not be part of the church? Or, is... Read more

10 Questions for the Only Pastor I Know Who Doesn’t Have a Cellphone

Last updated on: March 11, 2015 at 7:20 am By Tim Suttle

This article was previously published at Crosswalk.com. You can go here to see the whole interview. How many of your friends can you name who do not have a cell phone? If I don’t count anyone under the age of 16, or over the age of 80, then I can only name one: my friend Garrett. He’s barely 40 and is a pastor, which seems like a tough job to do without a cellphone in hand. Over the years he’s taken... Read more

Immigration and the Health of a Nation

Last updated on: March 5, 2015 at 7:52 am By Tim Suttle

I was reading some Eugene Peterson this week, and ran upon a section in which he talked about how we assess the health of a nation. He said, “We measure the health of our nation and the success of our lives in terms of per capita income and gross national product.” (Working the Angles) The book was written 25 years ago, and nothing has changed. Add the Consumer Price Index, Dow Industrial Average, S&P 500, Consumer Confidence, Employment statistics, and you are hitting... Read more

Monday Morning Confessional

Last updated on: March 2, 2015 at 7:21 pm By Tim Suttle

I confess that I led worship with some excellent musicians yesterday and had such a good time. I felt like the sermon was pretty decent, but all I could think about for the rest of the day was how much fun I had playing with this band, and how often I leave church feeling like that. Redemption Church is incredibly blessed when it comes to musicians. It’s an embarrassment of riches. This MMC is a tribute to the musicians who... Read more