A Gift You Can Give
Over the past two months, it has been my privilege to attend numerous state convention annual meetings—preaching, teaching, hosting Gateway events, and interfacing with pastors and other leaders. A common theme in both the meetings and the conversations has been the wearisome ministry season pastors and other leaders have endured since the pandemic began. To […]
Veterans Day
One of the most emotionally moving experiences of my life was touring Omaha Beach and other locations related to the Normandy Landing in World War II. Two particular moments left a life-changing impact on my understanding of the mentality and quality of American military leaders and soldiers. The first was reading a plaque describing the […]
Making the Most of Christmas
It’s Halloween, which means Christmas decorations are going up in public places and holiday advertisements are everywhere. A phrase has been coined to describe the expansion of the Christmas season earlier and earlier into the Fall—Christmas creep. Serious studies have been done on this phenomenon, published in places like the Harvard Business Review. Despite the […]
The Fear of the Lord
Every semester at Gateway, we have an Academic Convocation when a faculty member presents original research to the faculty and seminary community. Our most recent presenter was Dr. Adam Groza, who presented a paper entitled “Recovering the Fear of the Lord in Christian Ethics.” It was insightful, captivating, and sobering. You can view the convocation […]
Mission During Chaos
Is it possible to stay on mission during chaotic times? Apparently so, according to Jesus. One of the most chaotic times for early believers was the interlude between the crucifixion and the ascension. The disciples were confused and terrified (John 20:19). They were facing religious and secular opposition. Some of them went into hiding (John […]
Durability From Another Perspective
Last week, my blog was about the durability of churches and church-related ministry organizations. Being the guest speaker at the 150th anniversary of a Baptist Association spurred my comments on this subject. The focus of my previous blog was a biblical and theological perspective on durability. Essentially, my point was churches (particularly) and church-related ministries […]
Durability
It was my privilege to speak recently at the 150th anniversary celebration of the St. Joseph Baptist Association in Northwest Missouri. The association was founded in 1871 and now has 46 cooperating churches. They have maintained a consistent witness for the gospel, cooperated on multiple ministry efforts, planted churches, and otherwise extended the gospel in creative […]
Misinformation
We are drowning in misinformation and seem unable to swim to the truth. While politicians decry fake news, they also propagate it and relish its effects on their opponents and elections. Every day people are making life and death decisions based on what they read online from purported experts citing medical studies with obscure sources. […]
Healthy Culture
In his book, The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle defined organizational culture as “a set of living relationships working toward a shared goal.” This is a value-neutral definition. When the living relationships are unhealthy and subset groups of people have their own shared agendas, culture is created—but not the kind of healthy culture needed for organizational […]
Christian Unity
Over the past few months, Christian unity (or the lack of it) has been at the forefront of my thinking. One particular verse has captivated me. In Colossians 3:15, the Bible mandates, “And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts.” The word translated “rule” means […]