This was my communion meditation for this weekend ... Back in the days before digital photography, a young college guy wanted to have a picture of his girlfriend duplicated.  He took it to a photography studio where the owner carefully removed it from the frame.  On the back, the owner noticed this handwritten note: "“My dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all eternity.” It was signed "Love, Helen.” It also contained a P.S.: “If we ever break up, I want this picture back.” In communion, God declares his love for us. At the cross of Christ, God declares "I love you with all my heart.  I will love you forever." Yet many Christ-followers wait for the P.S.  When does the "but" come?  Could God really mean it? If…

Even people who don't use computers know about Facebook. Launched in 2004, Facebook had 100 million users by 2008.  In other words, it took four years to add 100 million people.  By the middle of 2010, Facebook had over 500 million registered users.  One year later, the total stood at 800 million.  In church planting terms, that's exponential! I want to focus on how you as a pastor can benefit from being on Facebook. 1.  It allows you to connect faster with more people.  As your church grows, it becomes increasingly harder for the people in the pew to feel like they "know" you.  One key ingredient of effective preaching is the relational bond between preacher and audience.  I have found that being on Facebook not only allows me to learn names and faces quicker, but it also establishes camaraderie and rapport.  I have had more than one person say…

It's early on Saturday morning and since there's not much happening yet on Facebook ... I thought I would write about it! All joking aside, it's a topic that pastors ask me about often -- "How can I best use social media tools?"  For our purposes, I'm going to limit the discussion to just three over the next three posts: Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. First a little background: social media has come a long way.  Back in the early 90's, my first exposure to "social media" was through electronic bulletin boards and FIDO Net.  Then along came listserves which allowed multiple people to create email discussions that would be broadcast to subscribers.  I can still remember sending out a sermon request and having a pastor from Boston respond -- I thought that was the coolest thing ever! My next stop on the digital journey was Silicon Valley and a few…

There are songs that make me want to cry and then there are songs that make me cry. Yesterday I attended a prayer summit for area pastors.  About 70-100 of us gathered at BridgeWay Church in Denver from a variety of church backgrounds and environments.  The morning began with worship.  That's when God got me (again). The worship leader began playing "How Great Thou Art." It's not the fact that I grew up singing this hymn that makes me emotional.  I grew up singing lots of hymns, many of which I hope to never sing again.  The reason is simple: "How Great Thou Art" was my mom's favorite hymn. On the other hand, the reason is anything but simple.  When I sing "How Great Thou Art" I'm not just singing words -- I'm remembering.  The melody alone is enough to make me think of mom.  I can almost hear her…