Category: Connecting to Culture
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This week – a look at how we ‘do’ church
I’m taking a one-week intensive with Alan Hirsch here at Fuller. I thought a class meeting from 8:30 – 4:30 would be overwhelming and tiring, but I’m loving it! My biggest challenge is thinking critically enough to push back and engage well in conversation, because I honestly agree with most, if not all of what […]
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It starts off edgy and ends with the majority
Seth Godin talked about farmers markets yesterday. I think there’s a church tie-in here somewhere: The market in my town is now twice as big as it was just last year. New vendors sell muffins, cookies, muffins, cheese, muffins, and yes, frozen risotto cakes in their own disposable plastic tray. Somewhere along the way, the […]
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Discipleship – for unbelievers
Check out what Erwin McManus has to say about discipleship in this video. Here are a few of his points: “Christians love to be discipled, get more and more information so I can know more and more about God without actually having to do anything about it. And when you look at the scriptures, what […]
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Thursday quotage: church as business, life as practice, and missional theologians
A few quotes I’ve been thinking about… “Maybe if we stopped talking about and treating church like it’s a business, non-Christians would stop acting like we are trying to sell them a bag of goods.” – Shaula Overholt “I want to study less and live more, so my teaching is less theoretical and more experiential.” […]
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A glocal church in Christianity Today
NorthWood Church was featured in Christianity Today. Check out the article here.
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Yes. Yes. And Yes.
One of the things I’m learning is how to live with the tension of opposites. I like to narrow things down and simplify them. What’s the best way? How can we improve this? What’s the one thing we need to focus on? But sometimes things don’t work that way. Take, for instance, church. Being in […]
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Communal dining is catching on
A fascinating article from the San Francisco Chronicle: From trendy neighborhood restaurants in San Francisco to casual breakfast spots in the East Bay, communal tables are cropping up everywhere. Designers are putting the big family-style tables into places such as Salt House in San Francisco, West County Grill in Sebastopol and A Cote in Oakland. […]
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What really matters in church
There’s a lot of talk in the church world about doing everything with excellence. That’s important. Many leaders have focused on it because for many years it was totally neglected in the church (still is in some places). It just didn’t matter. While culture improved how it communicated, the church stayed stuck in the same […]
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Seminary and relational “in-between-ness” (spending time on what really matters)
Seminary can be an amazing time. You’re preparing for ministry. And for one of the only times in life, you’re surrounded by people who believe something similar and are pursuing a similar calling. They may have different backgrounds. They may be diverse. But they have a similar passion. They’re preparing for a similar thing. That’s […]
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Sharing God’s love when it isn’t easy
It’s so easy to be spoiled and satisfied, isn’t it? I just received an update from some wonderful men and women who are serving God in a very tough country. It’s slow going. It’s not easy work, and it’s not safe. But through their work serving the people (working to build schools, open medical clinics, […]
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More on “cool”
After writing yesterday about the lure of “cool,” I received an article in my in-box from Catalyst that talks about the same thing. (I, of course, added the bold words for the ADD folks) But here’s a secret I’ve discovered: life is bigger and sweeter than whatever cool has to offer. I once thought cynicism […]
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A message within a context
There’s a lot of (legitimate and needed) conversation about how church should be “native” to its culture. We have many different types of cultures even within America, and one of the pastor/church planter/leadership team’s jobs should be to seek and pray about how the Kingdom of God can be expressed within that culture. But a […]
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They like Jesus – but not Christians
Scott Hodge just wrote about his recent sermon. I love the video they put together. It’s eye-opening, especially for folks who don’t hear the “uncensored” feelings of many non-Christians… Scott also did a great job illustrating how Christians and Christian subculture gets in the way of Jesus’ message. Read his post and the discussion here.
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Just say yes
When Bob Roberts asked Loren Cunningham what he thought it would be like to stand before God after all of the impact he’s had on the world, here’s what happened: It became real quiet for a few minutes while Loren answered in typical humble Loren fashion, “Oh, I don’t know, I just said yes. All […]
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Don’t chase other people’s calls
Sometimes, when I look at the “Christian” world, I get stressed. Not from the bad things but from the good. You see, I love God. I deeply believe that God sent Jesus to teach us, lead us, and die to rescue us from a death we brought on ourselves because of sin. I also love […]
Jon Sampson 