Me and my awesome family are on staycation this week, so I’m reposting some of my favorite past posts. This one, from September 2009, reminded me of some great insight for ministry from the retail world:
image: iboy_daniel @flickr
Archives For Discipleship
My family and I are enjoying some quality time over staycation. During this time, I’m re-posting some of my favorite old posts.
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“Holiness” is a funny word: it can bring to mind strange rules and fiery preachers… and sometimes things are done in the name of ‘holiness’ that make it appear the antithesis of love. So, please don’t let the topic of this post keep you from going any further. I freely admit that some of our definitions of holiness are misguided and potentially hurtful; I also admit we’ve been distracted by conversations related to but not central to holiness. Discussion about the Wesleyan stance on alcohol is best left to another post (or ginormous tome). No, we’re not perfect in how we approach the outward look of holiness… neither am I perfect in how I live, believe, or do life.
There’s an old recipe for rabbit stew that begins, “First, catch the rabbit…” Though it may seem a bit obvious, at least the writer of the recipe understood the importance of keeping first things first; and when it comes to exercising faith, it’s important to make sure first things really are first in our own hearts.
Continue Reading...
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In the last post, I shared how we so easily label individuals or groups as ‘them’–those for whom hope and renewal seem impossible…at least in our estimation. But “even to them, God has given…life.” As mentioned in that post there’s a catch, though, and here it is in a nutshell:
So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view…We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:16a, 20a)
Not only can God reach, but he desires to reach the ‘them;’ more than this, he has designed you and me as the simple vessels to take the majestic message of hope to them. Continue Reading…
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There’s a fascinating interaction that happens in the middle of the book of Acts: the message of hope and life in Jesus is quickly (and, eventually, more readily) spreading outside the Jewish people. The Jewish believers didn’t know what to think–after all, it would seem, God had cursed the gentiles by making them, well, gentiles. Could a non-Jew even follow the Messiah?
In chapter 11 of Acts, Peter–the sort of ‘Senior Pastor’ in Jerusalem–is called to task for developing significant relationship with non-Jewish people (“you went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them,” emphasis mine) who God had supernaturally orchestrated conversation with and ended up entering into relationship with Jesus. The way all of it happened is astounding–you can read the story here–but what strikes me is the response of those who hear Peter’s side of things:
