When I served as a church planter in Arkansas, my friend Cliff Jenkins introduced me to a ministry practice that I had not seen before. He was encouraging parents to perform their own children’s baptisms. Since that time, I’ve implemented the same practice and have discovered other churches that are doing it as well. Here…
Month: October 2013
Hope When You’re at the End of Your Strength:: 2
About three o’clock in the morningb Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” Then Peter called…
Hope When You’re at the End of Your Strength:: 1
“Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble…
Why Teachers Quit
Interesting article from The Atlantic regarding Why Teachers Quit. While these statistics may be startling to some, those of us how know a little about education or educators (I’m married to a Kindergarten teacher) know that these numbers sound about right: * 40-50% of teachers leave teaching in the first 5 years * 9.5% of…
8 Reasons Believers Give to Your Church
Here’s a simple and concise post by Rick Warren on the 8 Reasons Believers Give to Your Church. I think he’s spot on with this article, right down to the title. This is well worth your time, especially if your church is preparing for next year’s budget promotion or stewardship campaign!
Hope for When You’re at the End of Your Rope:: 2
What do we learn from Mark 5 that will help us when we’re at the end of our rope? 1. The end of your rope is where God begins. Like the woman in this week’s lesson, we will try to do everything we can to solve our problems and resolve our issues. We use our…
3 Trends Redefining the Information Age
Barna Research has published a new report that reveals some interesting new trends that are the result of our consumption of the internet and social media. Many of their observations will feel obvious to you, but the one that is alarming is our culture’s exchange of depth for surface. In my opinion, this trend began…
Hope for When You’re at the End of Your Rope:: 1
Have you ever felt as though you were at the end of your rope? Maybe that’s how you feel today about your life. If you’ve never felt that sense of desperation, hold on, because the likelihood of you living your entire life not having experienced it is really, really small. On Sunday I shared a…
hope: a new series coming to FBCDSM!
This weekend I’m beginning a new, four week series on hope, based on four familiar narratives from the gospels. Here are the titles and texts I’ll cover: HOPE: At the End of My Rope (Mark 5:25-34) HOPE: At the End of My Strength (Matthew 14:22-32) HOPE: At the End of Myself (Luke 15:11-32) HOPE: At…
Applying 1 John:: 3
This week I’ve already posted two major take-a-ways from John’s conclusion to his epistle. Theology is incomplete without application, and so far we’ve observed that genuine faith results in, at least, believing prayer and loving “carefrontation.” The third major application from 1 John is joyful obedience. We know that anyone born of God does not…