Anger or Acceptance
Most American Christians realize our cultural context for ministry has changed dramatically in the past few years. The emotional response among many believers is anger—at the culture, media, politicians, Christian leaders, etc. This anger expresses itself in diatribes on social media, personal confrontations, and even militant protests. Anger like this is often driven by fear—in […]
Same Old, Same Old
We are facing serious problems today like pandemics, moral foundations vanishing from higher education, and economic difficulties brought on by global events. Prominent Christian leaders have spoken poignantly and passionately about these issues. On pandemics, one leader wrote, “It disturbs some that the power of this disease attacks our people equally with the heathens, as […]
Pastoring During A Pandemic
When the stay-at-home orders went into place last March, Gateway student, Brian Simms, thought his church, CrossPointe Fontana, would have to “fight and scratch to stay alive.” CrossPointe, however, is no stranger to adversity. The church has a unique history. CrossPointe is the product of a merger between two churches eleven years ago – First […]
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 […]
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 […]
When I Don’t Feel Like Teaching
You are working from home due to the quarantine. It just seems harder to get anything done. Preparation time for your Bible study has been hard to find, and you are frustrated at the lack of excitement and participation when you get your class together on Zoom. When you don’t feel like teaching, what do […]
Christian Faith & Pestilence
The biblical biographies of Jesus describe that he came preaching, teaching and healing. That three-fold ministry is then passed to his church. So James writes, “is anyone sick? Let him call for the elders of the church…” (James 5:14). More broadly, scripture teaches that the Lord makes provision for healing and for containing pestilence. His […]
7 Daily Questions for the Disciple in Quarantine
When life gets difficult, maintaining discipline makes life doable. Effective living means putting first things first. Effective self-management requires discipline to carry out those priorities. These days of “shelter-in-place” are precious days that will require daily personal rhythms to make them meaningful. Yesterday on the neighborhood app “Next Door,” this conversation was posted. “I was […]
Fear of the Unknown
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chron. 20:12 This was the prayer of the anxious yet confident king Jehoshaphat. How is this relevant today in light of the global pandemic forcing the closure of businesses, schools, travel, and yes, churches? Perhaps we can learn something from this […]
Surprising Community
In the past week, our church world has been turned upside down. Church members who have sat in the same pews for decades have had to navigate to Facebook, YouTube, or Zoom to participate in worship. Pastors who are skilled at speaking to a room of congregants have had to become instant tech experts and […]