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Recently there have been many posts around the internet talking about beer and faith. They’ve talked about how churches are using the tavern to bring the gospel to people far from God. It’s been interesting to see the push back from folks in the church world over some of these things. I was first introduced to the idea by a good friend Bryan Berghoef. Bryan is a pastor in Washington DC, but at the time he was in Traverse City, MI and was doing something called Pub Theology. It was a group of people gathering in a pub and discussing the things that mattered most.Read More →

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As we read through Luke together on Sunday nights I am more convinced than ever that Jesus is one of coolest cats ever. He’s one of these guys that leave you thinking, “Really!?” We read this narrative Sunday night, After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” And he did—walked away from everything and went with him. Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciplesRead More →

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This past Sunday night was a different one for the Antioch Movement. We gathered for a meal (that’s normal) and we gathered around the Lord’s table (that’s normal) but in between we did something that was odd. We took out our calendars and put a couple of dates down. Typically in between dinner and communion we spend time worshipping through the Scriptures. But this week we worshipped through action. We did something. Phil Volk from the Christian Care Network visited our community to present us an opportunity to live the gospel in the life of a young woman. We asked questions and received answers. ThenRead More →

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When I logged in to Facebook today there was one topic on everyone’s mind: the impending shut down of the government. The responses ranged from cynicism, to concern, to fear. Then I read this: Post by Todd Waller. I think Todd’s on to something. The overwhelming negative responses to the government shut down come from our natural desire for security and safety. We rely on our federal government to provide these things for us. In our postmodern context the government is perceived to be solid ground. Not that we think they are always doing a good job or that we agree with the politics. But,Read More →

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Growing up I was pretty chubby. Actually, I’m still pretty chubby. Middle School and the beginning of high school was pretty brutal for a chubby kid. I got teased. Today we would call it “bullying” but, it really was kids being kids. I was overweight, didn’t have many friends, and so I was teased. It’s life. You get over it. You learn how to handle the words and when you find someone who speaks words of life, you embrace them. One of the phrases that people would offer as a means to help was, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will neverRead More →

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For forty days Jesus was tempted in the desert. We typically don’t think about the reality that he was tempted for forty days. We usually just read the narrative and consider the three specific temptations that are listed there: And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him,“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up andRead More →

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Have you ever thought about what a missionary is? When Amy and I were on staff with Cru, we used to joke about how if we were “real” missionaries it would have been easier to raise support. We felt this way because there was a sense among many Christians that a “real” missionary is someone who goes overseas to suffer and to take the gospel to the “heathen”. We were serving on the college campus and definitely not suffering. I used to think of a missionary as anyone who was in full time ministry and not a pastor. Missionaries, in my mind, were a specialRead More →

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Yep, we all have our own little pictures of Jesus in our minds. Ricky Bobby sure loves sweet baby Jesus. Don’t we all? There is something beautiful about candlelight services and humming softly “Silent Night”. We love the images of the manger and Mary. “Sweet baby Jesus” if we are honest is probably our favorite version of Jesus too. But, all this is missing the point. Why do we have a birth narrative anyway? What is the point of the story? The point, I think, is that Jesus brings with him relationship and authority. Covenant and Kingdom. Luke 2 begins by telling us that JesusRead More →

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Kairos, that moment when time is broken into by God, calls us to respond. Too often we rush past it and ignore the moment. We have too much going on and we don’t experience it in its fullness. When we do this we miss out on responding. At the end of Luke 1 we see Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah responding to the moment. Mary sings. Elizabeth is steadfast.  Zechariah speaks prophecy. All three respond to the moment because they entered into their kairos moment and didn’t let it slip by. Mary sings a song constructed from the Psalms in response to her moment. She was aRead More →