If you watch television, you’ve probably seen the advertising campaign that overlays a contemporary setting with a spiritual theme, concluding with the phrase, “He Gets Us. All of Us.” This campaign is directed toward the Millennials and Generation Z as an acknowledgement to the rising spiritual openness in America. The research observes that there is…
Category: Discipleship
Finding Shade
We have a German Shepherd. Without a doubt, she is the smartest dog we’ve had, possessing an extensive vocabulary of English words (yes, that’s a thing). She’s active and athletic, and provides a lot of joy for our family. One of the things I’ve noticed about her is that she doesn’t care to be outside…
Measuring Spiritual Authenticity
One of the most subjective things we can evaluate is our own spiritual authenticity. Am I becoming more mature in my faith? Am I growing in my discipleship? Is there progress in my walk with Christ? Questions like these can create a struggle, leaving us to either listening to our “gut,” or, finding some prior…
Who’s the G.O.A.T.?
Sports has brought us an interesting new acronymn: G.O.A.T., which stands for Greatest Of All Time. As Americans, we’re interested in such debate. For instance, what is the greatest television show of all time? Certainly we have our prejudices, but if you base the question on the longest running broadcast, the answer would be The…
The Patience of Jesus
Many people I know most readily identify with Peter more than any other apostle. For me, Peter represents the ongoing struggles I have with my personal discipleship. One day I’m “up,” and the next day, well, not so much. Paul wrote of his struggles candidly in Romans 7:14-25, stating that he could not do the…
Book Review: Living in Christ’s Presence
I can’t think of anyone who has had more influence on my views of spiritual formation than the late Dallas Willard. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, I recommend that you spend some time researching his work. Dr. Willard was a professor of philosophy at the University of South California until his death last year….
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…
Foundations
Last Wednesday night I was invited to speak at the weekly gathering of InterVarsity on the campus of Drake University. Whenever I do that, I am usually assigned a teaching topic, and my assignment for that evening was to talk about how to build your spiritual life. As I thought and prayed about this, I…
The God of Another Chance:: 3
Peter’s interaction with Jesus on the shore of the lake brings to mind three take-aways about failure and the God of another chance. The first observation is that your failures are not final. Whatever it is you have done, its not the end, because God is not the God of a second chance, he’s the…
The God of Another Chance:: 2
After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then…