On Friday my phone started blowing up with text messages from friends, both in and outside of California, sending me links to articles where Governor Newsom, California’s governor, issued instructions banning singing and chanting in churches while continuing to limit attendance of indoor gatherings. The orders immediately resulted in divergent viewpoints, adding to the increasing…
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A Reminder From My Stint as a Soccer Coach: From Victory, Not for Victory
When Evie was six, I coached her soccer team and I loved it. One game in particular reminded me how to live as a Christian. We were called the Soccer Rockers and it was a blast. The kids and their parents were great. Evie’s favorite game that year was the game we played when the…
Colliding Data Points and Why Your Church Leaders (Likely) Aren’t Idiots
Your church leaders are likely not idiots. Yes, of course, that is possible. There are foolish leaders in all types of roles, and all of us are fully capable of making unwise choices. But just because your church leaders are not making the same call you would make does not mean they are idiots. When…
Why We Are Working More Now and the Upside/Downside of Templates
A common discussion among pastors in this season centers around the counter-intuitive bewilderment that we can be working more hours in the midst of not having physical gatherings. If you had told me that we would go months without having physical worship services, I would not have imagined I would be working more. But every…
3 Thoughts on the Differences Between “Being Biblical” and “Being Political”
Here is a frustrating reality for a pastor during a politically polarizing time: when speaking about a social issue, the pastor can be affirmed for being “biblical” by people who are politically passionate about that viewpoint and then be accused of being “political” by those same people when sharing something that is contrary to their…
5 Things I Am Preaching to Myself While Preaching to a Camera
Last week I shared six things I am greatly missing from teaching in old-school physical gatherings among people I love who are singing to God and ready to hear a message from His Word. When preaching to a camera, it can easily feel like I am preaching to God’s people without being among God’s people….
6 Things I Am Deeply Missing While Preaching to a Camera Each Week
A few weeks into this madness, the global pandemic that has resulted in the unprecedented move to not provide physical worship gatherings at our church, Kenton Beshore called to check on me. Kenton is my predecessor, our pastor emeritus, and he still serves as teaching pastor for us. “How in the world are you not…
How to Complain to God the Right Way
I was working on a message at home and Evie, my youngest, came and sat next to me and saw on the document “How to complain to God.” Her response was like many responses, “What! That’s crazy! Can you do that?” Though her complaints are not as weighty as the anguish among many in this…
Responding as a White Pastor to Concerns From Whites About Saying Too Much on Race
What a crazy time to be a pastor! Before the horrific events of the last few weeks, there was already a myriad of memes poking fun at the misery of 2020. But in just the last few weeks pastors are making many decisions that are polarizing – from when and how to re-open the church…
The Psalm that Has Challenged Me the Most in this Season
Early in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Justin Taylor blogged about Psalm 131 and linked to Christian counselor David Powlison’s article in the Journal of Biblical Counseling. I was already scheduled to teach Psalm 131 so I devoured the article by Powlison and threw myself into the Psalm – which has been so good…