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Category Archives: Community
I Just Wanna be a Sheep (Baaaa)—A Sermon on Receiving Shepherding
A couple of years ago a movie was released that I suppose a few have seen, although I have not and hopefully presume that not many of you have either. Indeed, it is astonishing that there was a market at … Continue reading
Posted in Church, Community, leadership, Ministry, Preaching, Sermon Manuscript
Tagged elders, pastoral care, shepherding
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Elders Part 2: Making Decisions about Making Decisions
Most of the time, when men become elders, they have very little idea of what things are going to be like. What should they expect in meetings? What’s expected from them outside of the meeting room? What kinds of questions are … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Ecclesiology, leadership, Practical Theology
Tagged church, ecclesiology, elders, elderships, leadership, meetings, shepherds
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Elders Part 1: The Value of Growing, Caring Shepherds
(Note: My faith tradition, the Churches of Christ, are organized into autonomous churches governed by multiple elders. In this series, I’m going to write some of my observations about how those elderships work, or don’t. If your faith tradition has … Continue reading
Posted in Church, Community, Discipleship, leadership
Tagged compassion, discipleship, elders, elderships, growth, leadership, pastoral care, shepherds
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Developing Church Mentalities
Our church, like many others, is working to broaden its self-understanding, particularly in terms of how we engage the particular community we live in. We want to move from an internally-focused, isolated church to one that is at work transforming … Continue reading
Posted in Church, Community, Community Engagement, Ecclesiology, leadership
Tagged church leadership, Community Engagement, leadership, mentalities, outreach, strategy
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Be Like Me
One of the gutsier things that pops up repeatedly in Paul’s letters is his unapologetic claim that the churches he ministers should imitate him. I think a case could be made that this element carried more importance in Paul’s understanding … Continue reading
Posted in Bible Study, Community, New Testament, Philippians
Tagged boldness, integrity, Paul, Phil 3:7
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A Thousand Single Chances
Seth Godin’s blog is one of my favorites. He does a great job of teasing out the marketing principles articulated in his books, and usually in a balanced and pithy style. Everybody has an off day though. Last week I … Continue reading
People Who Made Me Look Good
There’s a bit of convergence in two things going on for me today. First, I’m in this process where I’m cleaning out my office, so I’ve got a lot of memories rolling through my head today. That’s intensified by all … Continue reading
Missing People
Missing people is one of the best things about life as a human being. Okay, that might be an overstatement. This isn’t: Missing people is a byproduct of some of the best things in our lives as human beings. It … Continue reading
To Pleasant Valley
To my Family at the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ, As many of you know, Kelly and I have been searching for a place where I might partner with a church and contribute more substantially through preaching. We believe that … Continue reading
The 4 Best Games You’ve Never Played
A lot of times people are surprised when I tell them I really love to play board games. You need to understand, though – I’m not talking about Monopoly, Clue, or Scrabble. I think those are fine, but what I … Continue reading