Blog

Hunting for discipleship in the Old Testament – part one Have you heard the story about the boy in the Sunday School kindergarten class? When the teacher held up a picture of a squirrel and asked the class what it was, the boy answered, “I think it’s a squirrel but I’m going to say Jesus!” It’s easy to give the “Jesus” or spiritual answer to the question, “Disciples for what?” The “right” answer is “for the glory of God.” Who would dispute that? Another answer…

It was like a scene from a Stephen King movie. Twelve men huddled together on a dark beach behind a leader. A few torches shed light onto a horrific scene. Running toward them was a howling, bleeding, naked man. “What do you want from me?” the man screamed at the leader. The leader, Jesus, calmly confronted the demon-possessed man (Mark 5:1-20). He and the disciples had just crossed over the lake at night and were immediately met by this “nude dude in a rude mood.”…

It’s not about exercise. It’s about disciplemaking. Christians in North America are discovering the beautiful simplicity of Jesus’ method of disciplemaking. We’re longing for something simple because we’re growing tired of over-stated promises of curriculums and programs. We want a disciplemaking process that is relational, simple, and do-able — something that everyday Christians can do as people walk through life together.  I’m thrilled to announce the upcoming release of my book Walk with Me: Simple Principles for Everyday Disciplemaking by Moody Publishers. Here’s an endorsement…

Crowds and disciplemaking go together. Numbers rule the day. Politicians count the number of people at their rallies. Churches count attendance. We count and compare our Facebook or Twitter followers. Numbers and crowds measure success. I’ve always had a “thing” with crowds. Disciplemaking is a ministry of the small and the slow, a work hidden from the public eye. I’m cautious about crowds because crowds can appear to be “a mile wide and an inch deep.” Disciplemaking seems the opposite of attracting crowds . ….

The church’s seasons, like Advent or Lent, have been mostly irrelevant or a mystery to me. My “liturgical” friends make a big deal out of Lent, Ephiphany, or Pentecost. In my baptist tradition, no one preached against the church seasons, they just weren’t mentioned. It’s not unusual to have an Advent sermon series but we usually don’t light candles. This year is different for me. In my diverse reading cycle, I came across Mark Cosper’s book, Recapturing the Wonder. He caught my attention on the…

The fact-checkers met Jesus at every turn. Fact-checkers are religious people whose goal in life is to ensure that we’re obeying God in precise and pure ways. They help us keep the “i”s dotted and the “t”s crossed.  Fact-checkers are driven by obedience and doctrinal purity, good things to be motivated by. Unfortunately, they sometimes get carried away. In Jesus’ time, they fact-checked people’s obedience to the Law. They believed that true obedience could be precisely measured and one standard was applicable to everyone. Fact-checkers…