Aaron Renn has an excellent episode on how metaphors shape the conversations we have around race in our country. He notes that we construct our lives around metaphors, and these metaphors in turn shape how we live our lives. Think of one common way of describing relationships: “Love is war.” How would it shape someone … Continue reading We Need a New Metaphor for Race Relations
A Non-Anxious Presence
Why does everyone seem so anxious these days? And how can pastors lead their congregations through these anxious times. Those are the questions that Mark Sayers attempts to answer in his book, A Non-Anxious Presence. Sayers first digs into the sources of the pervasive anxiety that seems to sit over the whole culture, even the … Continue reading A Non-Anxious Presence
How I try to be productive (my productivity system)
Being productive is not easy these days precisely because it's easy to misunderstand what productivity really is. When you hear the word "productivity" might just think of getting a bunch of stuff done really fast (efficiency). You might think of shooting off and replying to emails. But I think a focus on efficiency or just … Continue reading How I try to be productive (my productivity system)
Pursuing a Deeper Life
It’s easy to skim along the surface of life these days, bouncing from distraction to distraction. What I want in life is depth. I want to have a life that counts. Not “successful,” but one that counts for eternity. To that end, I’ve been a bit of quest recently for how to live a deeper … Continue reading Pursuing a Deeper Life
A Theology of Sex and Gender (Part 3): The Fall of Humanity into Sin
Genesis 3 narrates the fall of humanity into sin. The terrible consequences of sin manifest themselves in a broken relationship with God, each other, and created order (3:16-24). Adam and Eve are kicked out of God’s presence in the Garden of Eden (3:24). Enmity and strife makes its way into their relationship (3:16). The world … Continue reading A Theology of Sex and Gender (Part 3): The Fall of Humanity into Sin
The Relationship between Projects and Systems
Ministries are a collection of systems and also contain a host of projects to be done. How do they relate? Before looking at how projects and systems relate, it's important to review what they are and the differences between them. Projects in ministry are time bound. Projects have deadlines. Because projects have deadline, this means … Continue reading The Relationship between Projects and Systems
Defining Projects
Tasks are not projects, which are not initiatives. Having distinctions like this in work can be really helpful in planning your week and making progress on things. Of course, I realize that the way I classify things may be artificial and unique to me, but it has helped me bring clarity to my work. So … Continue reading Defining Projects
How to Pastor a Small Church
Most churches are small. And most will stay small. If most churches will stay small, why are so many pastors using large church strategies and systems to pastor their small church? And how can small-church pastors apply strategies and systems that work for small churches? Those are the kinds of questions that Karl Vaters seeks … Continue reading How to Pastor a Small Church
Cyborg Nation
This is my third installment in reflecting on our cultural moment and how we can begin responding as the church. In the first part I talked about secularism, and in the second part, I talked about what it means to be a post-Christian. Today, I want to talk about the third profound shift we’ve seen … Continue reading Cyborg Nation
Books I read in January 2022
January 2022 was a great reading month for me. Here are the books I read that month: Family Firm by Emily Oster Pretty good book on making decisions as a family. The first section on coming up with family values and having those guide your decision-making as a family was the best part of the … Continue reading Books I read in January 2022