Have you ever thought about what it would look like to geographically integrate the major spheres of your life (work, home, church)? I didn’t give it much thought until our family moved downtown roughly three years ago.
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If you do not follow Jesus and want to begin to explore the life and claims of this man (and you should) start with his resurrection. If the resurrection did not happen, there is no point in moving on to anything else. Even the Apostle Paul said, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." (1 Cor 15:17). So, start with Jesus' resurrection. A common question I frequently get is, "How many intelligent, self-respecting people could actually believe an obscure Jewish preacher in a rural province of the Roman empire 2,000 years ago was God who raised from the dead?" That's a good question. Answer: Quite a few actually.
Read MoreOur church is currently working its way through First Timothy. One of the major topics the Apostle Paul addresses is leadership, particularly qualifications (1 Tim 3:1-13). One of the questions I get from time to time is, "If I feel called to local church leadership, but know that I am not ready, what should I do in the meantime?" Over time I have put the following thoughts together. While I have potential pastors and deacons in view, as that is what the text addresses, clearly these could apply to any form of leadership at home and/or at the office. Wherever you may land, I have the following eight suggestions...
Read MoreAnger is complicated. Even if we spend little time considering the anatomy of our anger, we all intuitively recognize its dangerous power (which, of course, is why we leverage it as we do). I deeply appreciate how the Bible carefully nuances this important issue.
Read MoreI once heard a pastor say that he’s never had to memorize scripture in his life because he has a photographic memory. That’s not very helpful for all of us non-photographic-memory-types. What about the rest of us who forget our mobile phone number or forget where we put our keys, let alone remember how Psalm 23 ends?
Read MoreCities are places of transition. Seattle is no different. Many people move to Seattle for school, work or new opportunities. Moving to a new community is difficult. But, finding a church that loves Jesus, believes the Bible and preaches the gospel is even more so. Since launching in 2011 we’ve met many new-to-the-city Jesus-following transplants in search of a church to call home. That search is not as easy as it might sound, particularly in Seattle. What follows are questions I encourage others to consider when in search of a new church family. There's no such thing as a perfect church or a church that will fulfill everything you wish a church would be, but there are a number of things that should be non-negotiable as you consider partnering with a local body of Jesus followers...
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