The question “Can I lose my salvation” is one of the biggest questions I wrestled with when I first became a Christian. I loved Jesus but still struggled with so many things and because I struggled with so many things, I wondered if my struggles would take me outside of God’s grace. I remember coming…
Jesus
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…
Made Right by Christ, NOT by Your Church’s Re-opening Plans
What does drinking have to do with re-opening the church? Since this is already a divisive conversation, I will just go ahead and make it a bit more divisive with this real-life illustration. When I first became a pastor, it was common in some church ministry circles to hear conversations against the use (any use)…
5 Things Christ Will Reverse What the Coronavirus Has Revealed
The Coronavirus crisis has revealed what we already knew. It has alerted us, all at once, to the pain and suffering around us and within us. Here are five things I have been grieving, five things the global pandemic has painfully reminded me of: 1. The brokenness of our world We live in world that…
Looking Down On Others in Our Christian Subcultures
There is a lot of looking down on others in our culture. A few minutes on social media makes this very clear. Sadly, this is even true in our Christian subcultures. On one hand, the looking and talking down is rather surprising because as Christians we should not look down on others. We look to…
Loneliness in the US, the UK, the Garden of Eden, and the Church
Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General of the United States, believes it is not good for you to be alone. In fact, the former Surgeon General is on a crusade against loneliness because of the damage that loneliness produces in people’s lives. According to Murthy loneliness is the biggest health problem facing our country. About his…
Grieving, but With Hope
The church I serve as pastor gathers together in the same community where Kobe Bryant and his family live. Many have “their Kobe story,” such as the time they ran into him at Starbucks and he was kind and approachable or how they enjoyed seeing him just be a “Dad” at a local kid’s event….
Popeyes, Our Fascination With “New,” and the Exhaustion of Climbing
Because I grew up in the New Orleans area I grew up eating and loving Popeye’s Chicken (Popeyes started in New Orleans). As a kid, my parents would drive us by Al Copeland’s house at Christmas, the founder of Popeyes, because of the incredible Christmas lights he put up each year. My childhood nostalgia had…
5 Ways You (and the People in your Church) Will Grow This Year
When God wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 32), God won Jacob to Himself by making Himself weak. In His love for Jacob, He withheld His power as even a slight touch to Jacob’s hip dislocated it. God has won us to Himself through weakness too. He emptied Himself, took on human flesh, and submitted Himself to…
“Christmas Makes me Sad/Glad” and 3 Reminders for Us Preachers
Christmas season tends to bring out emotions in all of us – some emotions of sadness and some of gladness. A recent Google search of “Christmas makes me sad” turned up 347 million results with lots of articles telling us why Christmas makes us sad. Psychologist Ken Duckworth commented “Holidays are a great example of…