Imagine with me a neighborhood where 3 out of 4 families live near or below the poverty line. Half of the homes are single-parent homes. Only 24% of students are reading on their grade level or above. Crime and violence are an everyday reality. Imagine driving each day past the boys and girls lined up quietly READ MORE
Communication
Posts exploring issues relating to communication style, technique and substance
A Primer for Those Who Listen
This Sunday has me stepping onto the platform at New Hope Church in the Minneapolis area for the first time as the church’s new senior pastor. To say I am excited is a profound understatement! And though the word “honored” may seem cliché, it is exactly how I feel. But I am also a bit READ MORE
Dear New Hope Friends . . . .
Dear New Hope Church Friends: My dear Christa and I could not be more excited about joining with you in these days ahead! We have been determined to finish well with our beloved Bethel Church family, but that has not in any way muted our enthusiasm for what lies ahead. As we step through these READ MORE
Can You Lose Your Salvation?
Nearly every day through social media I get questions from people regarding all kinds of real life issues–things burning in their hearts and minds relating to our deepest spiritual hungers and fears and so forth. One of the latest questions was put forward very humbly and simply by a precious friend living far away: Can READ MORE
Moore on Religious Liberty
Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, offers a compelling argument for the kind of man or woman Christians should vote for in the upcoming presidential election. “Echoing [Thomas] Jefferson on religious liberty will have more appeal than proving you know all the hymns,” he writes. How READ MORE
Thom Rainer on the Sentence Pastors Hate
Thom Rainer just put out a compelling piece that strikes a deep sounding chord with every single pastor I know. It gets to the dirty underworld of pastoral ministry, touching on one of the most challenging, painful, and discouraging aspects of the entire calling. His article speaks to when someone comes up—elders, laypeople, other staff, READ MORE