Perhaps we are so familiar with John 3:16 that we lose the gravity of the serious joy Jesus communicates to us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." That’s shorthand for the Gospel. Before Christ rescued me, I did not even know who John was, what the 3 meant, and especially why there was a colon before 16. When my eyes went open to see the light of the glory of Christ who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4-6 ), this truth became the deep end in which I have swam for twelve years now. The more I...

Some of us do speak of to/about God and people in the exact same way, making our communication with God (or lack thereof) truly profane. That is, we take something sacred and precious and make it common , just like everything else. There is a startling paradox to ponder in James 3:5-12 : "How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature,...

Yesterday I shared a bit of our story — and realize their are so many gaps I left out. Since this really isn’t about us , but rather about Christ and His worth, those gaps will have to be like the cracks in a clay pot that reveals the excellency and worth of the object inside ( 2 Cor. 4 ). Please look past us and see the beauty of God. Here are the top five lessons I (think I) have learned over this past 50 month journey and beyond. All are interconnected: People are more important that what they do. Personalizing it: I am not what I do . That is, my identity is rooted in...

This week I embark on a new adventure as a pastor. It almost seems surreal to me. Really, I get to do full-time what I have felt God calling us to and shaping us for a decade? Is this for real? Kari and I have had glimpses and tremendous opportunities to serve in the Gospel, pastoring others (as a verb, not noun). Now the stakes are heightened. Tomorrow I’ll share 5 lessons learned over these last 50 months . For now, here are five signposts along the journey to being a pastor (stretching back before these last 4+ years). In 1998 I first sensed Christ’s call to enter the ministry....

Today I saw an internet ad while checking my office email. It was from TypePad, a blogging/web platform, put out there in Google AdSense. It read: We aren’t gossiping We’re blogging! Anything juicy you want to share? How ridiculous is that? Here is one of the largest blogging platforms out there essentially clamoring to the stereotype — that blogging is just words about nothing, just like gossip is a total waste of time (and unhelpful, hurtful, etc.). Which led me to ponder as I drove home, Why blog? Kari can extol the virtues of what writing in general, and blogging specifically,...

Yesterday Kari and I had an encouraging meeting. A very, very encouraging meeting. At this meeting with the leaders of a local church we were blessed to make official on paper my new assignment by God to serve as a pastor. Next month I will join their pastoral team as associate pastor and Kari and I are overwhelmed by God and these church leaders for the opportunity. A person with more faith would have looked at our similar meeting two weeks ago and see that as the watershed moment. It really was, and it came as kind of a surprise. That was the day I was offered the role/position of associate...

Has it ever occurred to you that your life is far more fruitful than you are faithful? Oh, what a happy tension. Clearly, my impact for Christ is not limited to my finite ability nor imperfect obedience. “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ” (1 Cor. 3:5-7) SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Faithful = Fruitful?", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/10/01/faithful-fruitful/" });

Or go home without it, for that matter. What am I talked about? Visa, MasterCard, American Express? Nope. You can live a whole life without those. But, you cannot live a second of your life without the Gospel. That is because we need Jesus … always. The more I talk with church leaders and people, the more I think we have largely missed the Gospel. We think of it as the starting point, or the diving board (to use my favorite home-grown analogy). We don’t just start at the Good News of Jesus and then move onto maturity in the Christian life focusing on other things. We never, ever, ever...

Today I noticed Google has changed their favicon. Their new digs look pretty sweet, I think. The old G was distinct, and this g might just be more versatile. I’m a fan of favicons since it is one of the easiest way to give a distinct flavor to a site, to "brand" it. In fact, I use them all over my computer, for icons on shortcuts, and have a secret webpage with all my most-used links on it, each with a 32×32px icon. Here are a few I created and use in various places: Kari’s site deTheos icon. The trias is an ancient symbol of the Trinity : God the Father, God the...

A short article/reflection of mine has been posted at Going to Seminary: “Transitioning One’s Soul to Finish the Day Well” SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Transitioning One’s Soul to Finish the Day Well", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/03/26/transitioning-ones-soul-to-finish-the-day-well/" });