imagining how the church can reorient around mission

Just what’s on my mind this morning.

I have been trying to get my head around the question: what are the qualifiers American Christians are willing to employ regarding the universal commandment to love your neighbor. read more

A while back, I was privileged to listen to Scott Arbeiter, the President of World Relief, speak at a community leaders’ breakfast. He was quite inspiring and captivating. Nevertheless, something he said opened a door in my mind that led into one of those tangential moments. He shouldn’t feel bad about my daydreaming, because as someone with ADD, it happens in almost every situation of my life. I think it even happens when I give talks. 🙂

He made mention to the idea that he had hoped that what they were doing at World Relief, helping refugees and immigrants, would become viral (this was several months ago, so the current example of how a virus can travel was not on the radar yet) read more

You don’t have to say everything you know 

Jesus was emphatic when he stated that the prime objective for every one of His followers was to love someone else. read more

I awoke this morning
to two very different bits of news.

The first was on CNN
about another senseless and seemingly random murder…this time in my own city. We’ve finally made the top story on CNN. Unfortunately, it was for
reprehensible reasons. Two teens beat a World War II vet to death yesterday
not far from my home. An 88-year-old man! This is immediately on the heels of
the similar senseless shooting of an Australian youth living and going to
school in Oklahoma by 3 other teens, apparently because they were “bored.” Although,
there does seem to be some race motive behind that act. Many in Australian at
this point are measuring whether coming to the U.S. is a reasonable venture
because of fear of this type of violence. There is even gestures of a “Boycott”
of the U.S. read more

“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I
will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I looked up my hands. I
will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my
mouth will praise you.” Psalm 63:3 

Yesterday,
I wrote about the amazing gesture of adoration the woman in John 12 gave to
Jesus by pouring a bottle of pure nard, an entire years wages worth, onto His
feet. The follow-up question that must be broached is what would bring about
such an extravagant gesture? What drove her to such an act? read more

"We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God. You've probably heard the expression 'I believe in God, just not organized religion'. I don't think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are called to live." — Francis Chan, Crazy Love