BLOG

Uncategorized

The art of self-deception (or, how to ruin a relationship)

As a pastor, I’ve become interested in the dynamics of conflict. I notice that many of us don’t know how to think maturely through to the other side of difficult

The courage to shift care

I had the pleasure some time back of being with about 1300 college students for two sessions on healing. Their morning chapel service was a requirement so I didn’t expect

Do it afraid.

I want to ask you to put your hand at the back of your head, where your head meets your neck. That place is the fear center of your brain.

Building Lives, Breaking Cycles

Today, our Mosaic community commits to a new season of ministry together. We want to gift our larger community with a Christ-centered resource that offers healing and wholeness to hurting people,

Five Things You Should Know About the WCA

Since August of last year, some 1,200 clergy and laypersons have become invested in a renewal organization within the United Methodist Church called the Wesleyan Covenant Association. The WCA garnered

The Jesus Prayer and the Cure for Arrogance

Malcolm Gladwell has written a book called Blink, about the thousand decisions we make every day in the smallest slices of time — choices we make in split-seconds during a

Karma, Abundance, and the Prosperity Gospel

“God is able to bless you abundantly so that …” – 2 Corinthians 9:8 Let’s start with a Kingdom definition of abundance. Paul tells the Corinthians that God is able

The difference between faith and foolishness

If all eternity hangs in the balance, why faith? Let’s be real here. Faith doesn’t seem like the most efficient way to get a human race on board. Why doesn’t God

One story of how a missional church got its start

Most posts on this site are dedicated to practical theology, and this one is no different — though it is certainly more personal. For the last thirteen years I’ve been

The gift of justifying grace (or, why I still hum Tony Orlando tunes)

Back in the 1970s, there was a hit song by Tony Orlando (yeah, I know … “who?” or maybe, “Wow, you’re older than I thought.”) about a guy who spent

Pastors, people, and social media

We’ve been on social media a long time now. We’ve watched it go through that “terrible twos” stage when people thought it reasonable to post personal disagreements with family members

Wanna get rich?

Paul Piff is a psychologist who explores the affect of money on human nature. His team conducted an experiment using a rigged Monopoly game and two college students to whom