“To bring the mind to dwell intelligently upon God as he is presented in his Word will have the effect of causing us to love God passionately, and this love will in turn bring us to think of God steadily.” – Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart Prior to Jesus, I listened to rock music non-stop. If I was in the car, the local rock station was blasting whatever was the flavor of the day (don’t judge, it was... Read more
“That night my imagination was, in a certain sense, baptized; the rest of me, not unnaturally, took longer.” – C.S. Lewis, Surprised By Joy Growing up, I lived in my imagination. Although few people knew it, I would spend hours in my mind imagining stories that were fully equipped with characters, plotlines (and plot twists!), action sequences, vivid settings, and more. Sometimes I would be aided by action figures and Legos, but more often I was simply staring... Read more
Christians are formed by everything we encounter, so The Living Room Disciple recently had a podcast discussion on the way we are formed by music, both inside and outside of the church. As a worship pastor myself, I’ve been thinking a lot about that discussion. If you missed the podcast episode, you can find it here! In our conversation, we thought about the way we are formed by the lyrics of the songs we listen to and sing. While a... Read more
Anything that is built without a firm foundation is destined to crumble. This is why we hear the word ‘foundation’ used in phrases like: “The foundation of a solid marriage is trust” or “The foundation of a healthy lifestyle is diet and exercise.” It’s clear that foundations are really important for the success of something. When it comes to being a Christian – a Christ follower — we know that our foundation is Jesus himself. We know this mainly... Read more
An Honest Christian Reflection On A “Too Busy” Life I feel that I can safely say that I am doing a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Probably too much. In my first draft of this, I listed all the things I was doing, but I realized that may give you a low-level of anxiety just reading it, so I’ve backtracked on that. You’re welcome. Even though I’m doing so much, I have practices in place in my life... Read more
Let’s Begin With a Proverb “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV). It seems that I can only remember this proverb in the King James Version. It’s interesting though since modern translations such as the NKJV, NIV, and ESV translate it much different (you can read those translations here), but my mind seems to only have space for this verse in the traditional King James.... Read more
For most believers in the Western world today, victory over anxiety is possible, but it comes from the same place as all of our spiritual growth: from a lifetime of apprenticing under Jesus. Outside of a miraculous intervention from the Lord, there is no shortcut. When Jesus Says “Anxious” Perhaps the most famous teaching in all of scripture about “worry” or, in some translations, “anxiety” comes from Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel according to Matthew. In chapter 6, nearing... Read more
A Long Time Coming For a decade now, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to share with people what I’m learning and thinking about in my Apprenticeship to Jesus. Usually, at some point, I’m sitting in my living room chatting with a friend, and just rambling about what the Lord is showing me or how my understanding of scripture is influencing the way I’m living. Eventually, with age came the ability to listen others instead of constantly speaking, and over time... Read more
It isn’t possible for Christians today to follow Jesus while being willfully absent from a community of believers, and yet many of our Church practices developed over the last fifty or more years seem to act as if that were the case. As faithful followers of Jesus, we need to lean back into those commands of community and togetherness, realizing they are a gift and not a burden. The Ditch We Veer Towards In their book Misreading Scripture With Western... Read more
Middle School Questions I still have a vague memory of being at a youth group on a Wednesday night back when I was in middle school. I was in the recreation area right outside the Sanctuary just before service was supposed to start. All around me was the clutter of foosball tables, the blasting sound of early 2000s Christian music, and dozens of high pitched and crackly pre-teen voices. Walking towards the Sanctuary was the young Youth Pastor who, if... Read more
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