I attended Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. Amazing experience. I can’t recommend it enough! One of the best things about the school (formerly: Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary) is that they foster the gifts of both women and men to use for the Kingdom. They make no distinctions, as a faculty, based on gender. Pastors are men. Pastors are women. God invites both to discern such callings and to lead the church into the next generation. (more…) Read more
The following reflection comes from my close friend Dale Best. He’s the Director of Communications & Production at Neighborhood Church. On Wednesday night, I had the privilege of attending the taping of the first two episode of the Rob Bell Show. The new show, which is tentatively set to debut on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN later this fall, features the pastor and author doing what he does best: connecting with and communicating to audiences who consider themselves spiritual but are burned... Read more
I’ve pondered starting a podcast for years. Tried it once but didn’t have the time to really invest. Now that I’m leading a church community, it seems like the time has come. PangeaCast is the digital voice of The Pangea Blog and Pangea Communities – a movement of peace, justice, and hope. What makes this exciting is that those who subscribe (iTunes, Feedburner) will be able to follow our “church planting” journey up here in Seattle. For instance, you may... Read more
I’m going to The Praxis Conference. This could be one of the most interesting events that I’ve been a part of. Check out why they exist: The Praxis Conference is a collaboration of academics, artists, and authors focused on reclaiming the historical church’s priority on liturgy, art and sacred space into the modern day evangelical context. Our church, Pangea Communities, fits this description in many ways. We care about narrating the historical story of God through liturgy. We do all... Read more
Hi-Larious! Read more
HT: HuffPo We all have heard about the Westboro Baptist Church. They hate LGBTQ folks. They hate Billy Graham. They hate all Evangelicals. They – well at least they attribute such hatred to their false god – hate just about everyone but themselves. But… what if such a posture eventually feels wrong? Well, the grandson of the founder talks about why he just left the church… Read more
Have you ever been pissed off? I realize that this is crude langauge for some, but it’s authentic language. Sometimes we are angered in a way that makes our blood boil. What are those anger-triggers for you? Sometimes we get angry about things that really shouldn’t anger us. Coffee’s too cold. Coffee’s too hot (seasonal drama). Toilet paper’s too soft. Toilet paper’s too thin. Internet too slow. Traffic jam. Running late. Dishes dirty. Children’s poop issues. Dog’s poop issues. Your... Read more
Over the past couple of months I’ve occasionally posted my reflections from an experience I had with The Global Immersion Project. If you want to read other reflections, check out: “A Land Without a People for a People without a Land?” or “The Art of Resistance: Bansky, Memory, & Hope.” I should simply add that TGIP continues to make an impact on my life, both my personal reflections and my guidance of our new church. In fact, I hope to... Read more
Recently I reflected upon 5 Church-Types to Probably Avoid. My list (which for the explanation of each point you will need to check out that post as well) was as follows: 1) A church in which “Truth” is the most common word in the vocabulary. 2) A church that is driven by a strong personality… and nothing else. 3) A church that feels more like a social action club and less like a committed worshiping community of Jesus followers. 4)... Read more
I want to start out by saying how grateful I am for the opportunity to blog at Patheos.com. It was just over three years ago when they approached me about such an arrangement. I actually tried to talk them out of it in some ways, as I let them know that I was just having a “good month” and that they couldn’t expect me to be a “big-time blogger.” And although I don’t consider myself a big-time blogger, I am... Read more
The Pangea Blog
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In