Nitpicking the #NashvilleStatement (while not being “liberal” or “progressive”)
The hot button discussion in American Evangelicalism this week is the recently released "Nashville Statement". This is an attempt by some Reformed Evangelicals to clarify their views on sexuality; the statement has raised a fair amount of agreement and a fair amount...
“Traditioning” in the Vineyard: A Pastoral Value for Sacramentality.
Below is a copy of the paper I presented at the 2017 Society of Vineyard Scholars' annual gathering (PDF can be found here). I essentially argue that sacramentality is essential for Vineyard theology and praxis, especially the regular celebration of Communion....
Jesus Didn’t Seem to Preach Many Expository Sermons!
I have a huge interest in homiletics, the art of preparing and delivering sermons. I've read dozens of books on the subject, written a lot on it, and trained a lot of preachers in the past decade, not to mention having taken a number of courses in my undergrad and...
Discipleship: The Process of Becoming like Jesus.
I've long been intrigued by the elusive subject of Christian discipleship. As a "child of the church," having spent the entirety of my life in and around churchianity, I'm well versed in numerous definitions of what it means to be a disciple and yet, as I've read...
Kingdom Ministry: Life, Questions, and Beer & Cigarettes
Over the years I've been approached by a few people who wanted to either use the gifts they believed they had or be trained and equipped to minister through speaking (e.g., preaching, teaching, training, etc.). In simple terms, they wanted opportunities to speak from...
Happy Women’s Day: Giving Women the Same Interpretive “Freedom” As Slaves
As I have continued studying issues related to women in ministry, gender, and hermeneutics (biblical interpretation), I have come to the conclusion that the Bible requires that Church does all that she can to both encourage and empower women to actively pursue...
Preaching 101: Provoking Hearts & Minds Toward Jesus & the Kingdom
Preaching is the art of provoking hearts and minds toward Jesus and his kingdom. I believe it's an art because I'm convinced it's similar to painting or composing music. You can take a class on painting and learn the basic mechanics of brush strokes, but that's way...
Does Our Order of the “Now” and “Not Yet” Prioritize?
One of my favorite worship albums is Jeremy Riddle's "The Now and Not Yet." This "now and not yet" theology was made somewhat "famous" amongst Evangelicals by the scholarly work of George Eldon Ladd, especially in his The Presence of the Future and The Gospel of the...
Hiding Behind the “Ministry Guise”: Avoiding the tough questions
Reading through the Gospels and taking Jesus' words seriously, not to mention reading through both the Old and New Testaments, leads me to the conclusion that it's perfectly "normal" for followers of Jesus to face persecution and to suffer. I mean, Jesus said that...
Backing Up, Building Slow, & Shaping Culture
I am going to be celebrating my six month anniversary as a pastor at the Red Bluff Vineyard in about a week. Wow, time has flown by and I am still absolutely loving the city, the church, and the trout fishing all that surrounds us. That being said, the last six months...
Politics in the Kingdom: On November 9th, Jesus will still be Lord!
According to Captain Snark, our very own Kenny Burchard, the following facts need to be accounted for: "Hi Facebook. Just a gentle reminder that there is only one way for a true Christian to vote. And that way, as expressed and clarified daily right here on Facebook...
Sustainable Revival? Must we kill ourselves in our quest for God’s presence?
What is revival? How do you define this religious experience? The esteemed J. I. Packer suggested that revival is "God's quickening visitation of his people, touching their hearts and deepening his work of grace in their lives." Robert Baird described revival as an...
The “Signs & Wonders” Point to Jesus: “More, Lord!”
This morning I was flipping through one of John Wimber's books and I read the following: I have a prayer, and a vision: The Vineyard — and the Church at large, whatever Christian stream, tribe or family you happen to belong to — breaking through the walls of the...
A “How To” Guide to Celebrating Communion (part 3)
While countless gallons of ink have been spilt on the biblical-theological issues related to the Eucharist, I've found that less work has been done on the "how to" aspect of celebrating Communion. So I started a series laying out a variety of models and issues...
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...
A “How To” Guide to Celebrating Communion (part 2)
As I interact a lot with pastors and church planters and often am asked how to "do" certain ecclesial activities (things done among the Church), I've noticed over the past few years that many questions I've been asked are how the Lord's Supper should be celebrated in...
A “How To” Guide to Celebrating Communion (part 1)
As anyone who has been in the Vineyard for a bit of time can tell you, there's no such as the Vineyard way of doing a lot of things. Our movement is diverse enough that you'll find a lot of great ways to do things, from a lot of great women and men spread across the...
Everyone Gets to Mother: A Vineyardized Challenge for the Church to be a Community that Nurtures
I grew up with an amazing mom, so celebrating Mother's Day is really easy for me. It's probably easy for many people. But if we’re going to be honest, and I believe that the Church should be a place where speaking truth in love is safe and encouraged… if we’re honest,...
*ALERT!* Mother’s Day Resource: Making Sense of Motherhood: Biblical and Theological Perspectives (a review)
This coming Sunday is Mother's Day and if you are going to be preaching this week, you've probably been looking for some resources that would help you with your sermon. Thus, it only seems fitting to review Making Sense of Motherhood: Biblical and Theological...
Stephen Motyer’s Biblical Theology on Maranatha
Growing up in a church environment that made use of "end times charts," I've not always found books on the second coming of Jesus all that helpful. Far too many authors have too little understanding of the biblical authors' worldview and spend most of their time...
Reading Scripture with the Blessed Trinity
Throughout my theological training, I've always loved studying hermeneutics, the "art and science of biblical interpretation." One reason I've really enjoyed this topic is because as I've taken numerous graduate level courses, both in seminary and in a graduate...