Despite all of our connections and communication devices, AARP reports that 1/3 of adults are chronically lonely. Ever since the garden of Eden, God said that it wasn’t good for man to be alone; but we face friendships, families, and lives torn apart by sin. In order to be together, we need to learn to […]
Read More »Jesus said, “By their fruit, you will recognize them.” We need a way to be faithful to the vision that focuses on the fruit we produce over the next five years. How will we know if we’re fulfilling our call? It’s a difficult challenge for sure. In Jesus’s parable of the sower, a farmer sowed […]
Read More »In my previous posts, I discussed the biblical basis for our vision process. In Acts 18, God connected evangelists, apostles, and teachers together to change the city of Corinth. The reason God’s spirit moved so effectively in Corinth is because there were tremendous needs that only God could meet. If it was going to be […]
Read More »If you had 5 years to make a measurable, discernible impact on a city for Christ, what would you do? Where would you begin? How would you know if you were accomplishing what God sent you there to do? In Acts 18, a group of Christians had 18 months–not 5 years. Priscilla, Aquila, and Paul arrived […]
Read More »On Sunday, we discussed the importance of resurrection friends who love Jesus. Australian poet Michael Leunig offers a prayer for friends for the week: “We give thanks for our friends Our dear friends. We anger each other We fail each other We share this sad earth, this tender life, This precious time. Such richness. Such […]
Read More »Last night, I concluded our second season of Life Groups with a huddle of eight leaders. Since last September, Josh Hall has led an initiative to reach the unreached, unchurched, and uninvolved through relationships. We trained over 40 participants to use the natural networks of their lives and invite unreached people to have spiritual conversations. […]
Read More »Zach baptized two students Sunday morning who participated in the Boston mission trip, dedicated their lives to following Jesus, and were commissioned two summer missions. This puts them in the category of someone like Saul. According to Acts, he was baptized and very quickly embarked on his first mission experience. For believers, the Bible treats […]
Read More »Each week during the “Love Jesus” series, we’ll be sharing testimonies and showing examples of people committed to resurrection love. Through their actions, they’re showing a Christlike lifestyle in our community. One such model is in our college ministry. Sunday evening marks the end of the spring season for college ministry. What a remarkable year […]
Read More »There is nothing quite like getting away with a group of friends to rest, renew, and dream. This past week, I’ve had the privilege of spending a few days with deacons and staff in separate retreats. Our themes were the same. We heard reports from our strategic planning process, discussed some of the more challenging […]
Read More »Loving Jesus is a daily decision to show and demonstrate the presence of Christ in our lives. During Connections Weekend in February, Scot McKnight called love a “rugged commitment.” It’s more than a feeling or a set of principles. Loving Jesus binds us to Him and his followers. Sometimes it requires a difficult climb over […]
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