Idolizing Religious Liberty
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled upon cases that involve religious liberty. In one judgment, SCOTUS, in a 7-2 decision determined in favor of a Colorado baker, Jack Phillips, who refused to make a marriage cake for a homosexual couple. In a second verdict, in a 5-4 decision, SCOTUS upheld the Trump administration’s ban on Muslims from certain […]
Spirit & Word
One of the puzzling aspects of spiritual life is how the Holy Spirit and the word of God work together to transform us. As a person who regularly reads, studies, and meditates on Scripture – as well as one who seeks the leading, guiding, and filling of the Holy Spirit – the dynamic interplay between […]
Changing Your Image of Evangelism
Evangelism has an image problem. Many believers envision evangelism in negative ways. According to a recent Barna study, Reviving Evangelism, almost half of millennial Christians believe sharing the gospel and asking someone to change their religious beliefs is wrong. About one-fifth of boomers agree with this conclusion, with each intervening generation stair-stepped in the percentage which […]
Biographies
Leaders are readers. We need a steady input of new ideas, dialogue with bright minds, people to challenge our perspectives, and the contemplative reflection reading makes possible. For the past few years, most of my vocational reading has focused on leadership and evangelism – my primary professional passions. But within those subjects, a particular genre has been […]
A New Urgency
Over the Christmas Eve/Day weekend, we attended five different churches in Southern California. Although the churches were diverse in their size, constituency, and methodology, there was one common emphasis—a somewhat surprising emphasis given the season—in those Christmas services. At each service, the pastor presented the gospel and urgently called people to respond. A gospel presentation […]
Mission Discipline
Mission discipline is when most aspects of organizational function line up with the organization’s mission. No organization is perfect, so expecting all aspects to align totally with the mission is unrealistic. But the more an organization’s behaviors (actions, policies, budgets, personnel choices, rewards, etc.) align with the mission, the healthier the organization will be. Leaders […]
Defining Diversity
Gateway Seminary has been a diverse community for so long we often forget how unique we are in this regard. We started our five-campus graduation cycle this past weekend and our diversity was on full display, reminding me again of the tapestry that is the Gateway family. The first graduate listed in the program for […]
Crisis in our Churches (Revival in Churches) – Three
During a recent Gateway class presentation on ecclesiology, students poured out their discouragement and frustration over the state of their churches. Our professor set aside his notes and addressed the issues at hand. He followed up that class session with a series of letters to students, pointing out historical precedent which gives us hope for […]
Crises in our Churches – Two
In a recent class presentation on ecclesiology, students poured out their discouragement and frustration over the state of their churches. The professor set aside his notes and addressed the issues at hand. He followed up that class session with a series of letters to students, pointing out historical precedent which gives us hope for the […]
The Chauvin Verdict
I stepped off a plane on Tuesday and heard the news Derrick Chauvin was convicted on all counts of the death of George Floyd. Like many others, I had been thinking about some observations I could offer that might contribute to moving all of us forward in positive ways once the verdict was announced. My […]