Ken

We are launching a new series at Mountainview this weekend.  It's called "Onward" and it will walk us through the entire book of Philippians.  Written by the Apostle Paul while in prison, Philippians is both a very personal and pastoral letter.  In this short book we get a glimpse into Paul's friendships and we hear his loving concern for them. Many commentators often draw attention to the theme of joy that runs throughout the book.  Depending on how you parse it, the word joy or one of its companions appears nineteen times in four chapters.  As you know, whenever a writer repeats a word or phrase that many times -- it must be important to him or her.  For Paul, the joy of the Lord is a very real and present part of life, even when he is writing from a prison cell. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I…

Many coffee shops thrive as a "third place."  People gather to meet with one another, hold meetings, share stories and tears, all over a cup of (hopefully) good coffee.  The idea behind a "third place" is simple: After home and work, people need a third place to go -- a place to socialize and reconnect.  People need to feel a sense of community.  Coffee shops like Starbucks and Peets have built a strong reputation as a "third place." Which makes this morning's observation a little ironic. I'm sitting in one of the aforementioned third places and it's filled with people.  The only thing most of them seem connected to is the Internet.  If they are socializing, it is on Facebook.  To be fair, some of them are on their phones.  Not talking on their phones but on their phones nonetheless. What is it about a coffee shop that draws together…

Marshall Shelley is the editor of Leadership Journal, one of my favorite journals.  I can remember as a young pastor getting excited about receiving my quarterly edition in the mail. Of course, I only read LJ for the cartoons -- which were some of the best. In addition to his work as editor of LJ, Shelley has also written and edited several books.  One that I just read is "Growing Your Church Through Evangelism and Outreach."  Here is a quote that resonated with me: "Faith has three essential aspects: the inner life of devotion, the outer life of service, and the intellectual life of rationality. The third area needs lifting, too; all three legs of the stool are essential. We must teach people to pray, to serve, and to think.  Jesus said not only, 'Take my yoke upon you' but also 'Learn of me.'" Pray. Serve. Think.  All three are…

This is the day after Easter. As I sit in my usual chair at Starbucks, on my second refill, I'd like to share a few Easter reflections with you.  In no particular order, sort of like my sock drawer. The message of Easter never gets old.  As one of my preaching friends (@collinpacker) said, "If you can't preach on Easter, you can't preach."  In other words, there is no need to create a clever sermon -- just tell the Easter story.  Letting people know that God still raises the dead is the most hopeful message I know of.  That alone should be enough to get a preacher fired up. We have a great team of volunteers.  On Easter weekend, our normal attendance doubles.  This means twice as many kids, twice as many communion cups, greeters, cars, trash bags, programs, etc.  Many of the people who come to an Easter service…

Even if you've never read the book that inspired it, you've have certainly seen a bumper sticker, t-shirt, or bracelet that read "WWJD?" For the snarky among us, it does not stand for What Would Jesus Drive? but for What Would Jesus Do?  Hybrid owners have been misled. WWJD comes from a book by Charles Sheldon entiled, "In His Steps."  It is the story of how Sheldon challenged his church to constantly ask themselves the question, "What would Jesus do?"  If faced with a difficult decision or choice, "What would Jesus do?"  It is a question that forces people to remember that they serve a higher purpose than just their own desires. But the question is not entirely accurate.  We can certainly ask "What would Jesus do?" and find examples of how he treated people, handled their criticisms, and treated the hurting with compassion. But what if we also asked,…