When I first started in ministry, one of the most beneficial things I did was to find a group of like-minded pastors to hang out with. These guys became my sounding board and offered a unique form of group therapy. It's a practice I've continued ever since. When we started our new church in San Diego in 2005, I found a group of church planters who were in various stages of starting their churches. We were an interesting bunch: Assembly of God, Southern Baptist, Acts 29, and me. What we found was this: we had more in common than we thought. Our first children's tent was a gift from the Assemblies of God guy. We shared leads, ideas, and marketing designs. It was a ministry incubator. Too many guys in ministry don't take the time to network outside of their own church. And it's a shame. They lose the perspective…
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Back in 1984, most churches still had a Sunday night service. Preachers would use material they didn't want to use on a Sunday morning and the worship leaders were usually young and gaining experience. On this particular Sunday night, December 16, 1984, my buddies and I settled into the back row and hunkered down. That's the best way to describe it. We had to endure the evening service in order to go to our youth devotional. Hunkering down helped us endure. In our church tradition, every service closed with an altar call, or what we called a "song of invitation." It was simply an invitation to walk to the front row, ask for prayers, or receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. I took the walk on December 16, 1984, and was baptized at the age of 15. Afterward, we gathered in a circle and sang a song that still holds…
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Everyone has a worldview whether they know it or not. A worldview is simply your way of viewing the world. How do you interpret events? What assumptions do you have about reality? Why is one thing right and another thing wrong? A worldview is a lens through which you see, hear, and experience your environment. We are surrounded by competing worldviews from the movies we watch to the books we read. A movie that glamorizes adultery is selling you a worldview that fidelity doesn't matter. Advertisements that promise a happier life if you use Crest toothpaste are offering a worldview that places happiness purely on the surface. Lady Gaga is offering a worldview that allows you to view more than you ever wanted to view. One of the tasks of the church is to help Christ-followers follow Christ. The process of discipleship is a matter of mentoring them in a…
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I grew up in a tradition that talked about "gospel preaching." In fact, we had "gospel meetings" instead of revivals, even though the intended outcome was the same. Although I have slid to the other side of the keyboard, I still believe in gospel preaching. In fact, it's a shame we don't talk more about it. To be clear about terms, I define "gospel" as what God has accomplished for us through the atonement of Jesus. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus stand at the heart of the gospel message -- that God redeems the sinner who comes to him in faith and penitence. This redemption opens the door to new life, new hope, and new purpose. In 1992 I read a book that deepened my understanding of the gospel, especially as it relates to preaching. It was called "The Core Gospel" and it was written by Bill Love. …
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