Underground Hip Hop
Thoughts and musings on hip hop culture.Vineyarding in England: Jesus, the Kingdom, and the Church
For the past two weeks I've been in the U.K. with my good friend Steve Nicholson. When I first announced to some friends that I'd be heading to England this year, they asked me why. My answer was simple: Steve is a pneumatological Jedi Knight. One would have to be, as...
Be a Farmer Who Trusts in God’s Work: Follow Me (Part 14)
Thus far, our series, "Follow Me," has been exploring the Gospel of Mark and exploring many of the issues related to discipleship. Last week, Brad Blocksom looked at Mark 4:21-25, "A veiled message destined to be revealed." This week we're diving right into the next...
An Exciting New Book on the Trinity: “Reordering the Trinity”
This past Sunday I asked the congregation what are some of the central beliefs of the Church... the non-negotiables, so to speak. I was absolutely delighted to hear one of my friends say, "the Trinity!" Yes! Yes, yes, and yes! As a committed advocate of trinitarian...
Spirituality without On-going Repentance is *Not* Christian Spirituality
“Christians don't need to repent,” said the young man. “Jesus died for our sins… past, present, and future,” he continued, “so you don't need to spend all of your time asking him for forgiveness. He has already forgiven you!” According to this young man, all the...
Inviting Millennials to the Spirit, Church, and Mission
Boomers. Generation X. And now the Millennials. Sociologists can be very helpful for church leaders who are interested in understanding large demographic groups. As with all generalizations, these sociological observations are not perfect, but they are often quite...
The Church’s Mission According to Barth and Pinnock
The following are some goldmine quotes related to the Mission of the Church, which is tied to the Mission of God. One is from Karl Barth (Church Dogmatics) and the others are from Clark Pinnock (Flame of Love). Peep game: "The Christian community is not sent into the...
Uniting Kingdom to Atonement: Vineyardizing the Relationship of Cross and Crown
The Vineyard movement is widely known for embracing kingdom theology as it's theological center. We look to King and Kingdom as foundational to our beliefs and practices. Jesus announced the inbreaking of his kingdom and then spent his public ministry focused...
A Review of “Understanding Prophecy”
While there are some significant differences between the various eschatological views that are found within the Church, I'm convinced that there are some general hermeneutical guidelines that would serve students of Scripture when approaching apocalyptic literature....
Upwards in a Trinitarian Infused Gospel
Michael Bird writes: "The God we are confronted with in the gospel is the Triune God. The gospel and the Trinity are internally configured toward each other because the saving acts of God point to a God who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The salvation that...
Ecclesiology is Radically Personal
I love my church. I know, I know... it's not really my church. I serve Jesus' church and I'm well aware of the fact that pastor's would be wise to remember that they do not own the church's they serve, nor do the church's we serve need us in order to "make it." Yet...
