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I remember the day. It was a spring day and the sun was shining. I walked to the end of my driveway and opened the mailbox. In it was a yellow envelope that contained a book I didn’t order. The book you ask? Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I sat outside a small coffee shop near Illinois State University and read the book in about six hours. Over the next few days I read it again and again. Inside that book I discovered grace in a way I never had before. Blue Like Jazz, was for me, Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians or Packer’sRead More →

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Recently I started working out again. It is something that is not always what I would consider fun. Our gym gives you two free sessions with a trainer and it gives you a taste of what it would be like to have one regularly. Trainers don’t care about your comfort. They care about helping you achieve your goals. They intentionally make you uncomfortable. Each time you meet with them you are put into different situations and your body is pushed in a different direction. They are able to help you do things that you aren’t willing to do on your own. In our journeys ofRead More →

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In our world Christmas dominates. It’s a 1 seed. For some reason we are deeply attracted to the story of Christmas. It’s heartwarming. It has a baby and sheep. Maybe that’s why most of us agree with Ricky Bobby, Easter on the other hand includes the crucifixion. It’s ugly and painful and it reminds us that we are broken and sinful people. We come face to face with the judgment, righteousness, and holiness of God. Easter also calls us out of ourselves into newness of life. Paul says this, For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be unitedRead More →

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My wife and I have been in full time ministry since 1998. We have been on all kinds of teams and in all kinds of ministry environments. I have friends who work for the para-church, the mega-church, and the little-church. I know church planters, church fixers, and church builders. All of us are very busy. The one thing that I have learned in my time in full-time ministry is that prayer is not doing the work of ministry. Everyone will tell you it is. But, our calendars and to-do lists show that we don’t believe this. If a pastor or missionary says, this week I willRead More →

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We do things really weird at The Antioch Movement. It’s true. Really weird. For starters we include our children in everything we do. We place a high value on inclusion. The reason is simple, we believe that discipleship is the proper model of the spiritual growth of our children, and all people. If we think that discipleship is the means by which to best reach others, then we must be committed to it in the context of our own families. We believe that the primary discipler is the parent, Mom and Dad. In most of the West when Mom and Dad arrive at church theyRead More →

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This week I was in a meeting with church leaders and civic leaders in our city. There are some amazing people and things happening in our town. There are people who have huge hearts and care deeply for the people of our city. I was impressed and thankful to be among them. There was a brief side conversation that took place about a church purchasing a significant piece of property in town. As a result of the church buying the property it came off the tax roles. While many see this as a huge benefit, I struggle with this reality. Many smaller cities like oursRead More →

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Today I had lunch with +Todd Waller and we talked about a range of things relating to the +The Antioch Movement and the +Evangelical Presbyterian Church. As I have reflected on our conversation I am struck by the beauty of community. Near the end of our conversation Todd shared a story with me about an interaction he had with my son, Ethan Rose, and he was complementing him on his discernment. It was this brief bit of our conversation and an article that was posted in BreakPoint recently about “youth ministry” and the failed experiment that has been the last couple of decades that has me left in awe of biblical community. As weRead More →

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After I finished reading the State of the Union, what I found most interesting is that the key word in every one that I can remember is “bipartisan”. Last year was the year of “Lincoln” for me. I really enjoyed Team of Rivals and a few other things I read on him. What struck me about his leadership was that he viewed himself “first among equals” and as a result did not do what most Presidents do. He did not surround himself with “yes men”. Lincoln shared power with his rivals. I think that the Church has the opportunity to truly help the world by showing the worldRead More →

But By Grace

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Every time I talk with someone about +The Antioch Movement these are the questions that inevitably get asked in the first three minutes: Do you have a building? How many people are coming? These are really good questions because they show that the person cares deeply about me and wants me to be successful. I am grateful that I have so many people in my life that care for and love me. The hard part is that these are two gauges of success that we are not using. They create a pressure to become something, that in my opinion, is not biblical. What do I mean? I mean thatRead More →

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It’s true. Showing up is really hard to do. That’s why most of us don’t. We typically do not show up because it is really hard to get up enough momentum to actually get there. There are always excuses that we can make and do make. But really those excuses are nothing more than the sad reality that we are objects at rest and they tend to stay at rest. In his ninth chapter, Luke records this interaction: On the road someone asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said. Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’reRead More →