August 2012
1 post
Augustine on Preaching and Teaching
The following quotes come Augustine’s, On Christian Doctrine.
“But in their utterances they should first of all seek to speak so that they may be understood, speaking insofar as they are able with such clarity that either he who does not understand is very slow or that the difficulty and subtlety lie not in the manner of speaking but in the things which we wish to explain and show,...
July 2012
2 posts
“For [good pastors] are precious pearls from God’s treasuries, and the...”
– A note from John Calvin to the church on how they should treat their pastors from his commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians.
“Your calling ought to be regarded by you in such a way, that you shall turn away...”
– A note to pastors from John Calvin’s commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians
January 2012
1 post
Whose Kingdom is it Anyway?
If following a leader is hard, and it often can be, leading in any capacity is infinitely harder. Its one thing to take responsibility for following someone, but the responsibility that a leader must bear for all those whom he leads is the heavier burden. Its understandable then, how serious leaders must take their charge. Its also understandable how constant the work of shepherding must be,...
October 2011
1 post
Love Beyond Degree
“I just love that outfit.” “I love this recipe.” The examples are legion. We use the word love in so many different ways and contexts, that it seems as if we have forgotten exactly what it means, or even what it implies. Even when it comes to the love of God, we tend to speak of it the way we do most anything else: tritely and overwhelmingly shallow. While we may acknowledge God’s love as...
June 2011
1 post
Watchjameslesliemiller:
Word.
May 2011
1 post
Crumbling Foundations in Christian Community: The...
Community has become such a buzz word in the larger conversation of humanity—both broadly and the church more specifically—that we are somewhat numb to it. The definitions of community that exist are legion because community has largely become whatever the speaker, writer, or “expert” says it is. Contrary to popular opinion, community is not a fluid idea that changes. How its applied...
April 2011
4 posts
A Word for the Weary
I am often mindful of the sufferings of others. I have been been uniquely positioned by God’s sovereign will to walk through the valleys of shadow with those who experience hardship and pain. One of the biggest obstacles that I must overcome is to genuinely identify with the person in their grief and not trivialize their pain with truth that is disconnected from the gravity of the situation. In...
Crumbling Foundations in Christian Community:...
Community is not built on the backs of dynamic personalities. It does however seem that way by much of what is practiced. It is the basic assumption of much of Christendom that if we find the right person, people will come in droves to hear him. Certainly having a recognizable name will draw a crowd, but that is not how community is built. The whole “name game” fosters too much competition and...
Crumbling Foundations in Christian Community: The...
It is no longer uncommon to hear of pastors who have faithfully labored among local congregations, to be asked to step aside. Sometimes those men have labored for more than twenty or thirty years, and yet, their faithfulness, loyalty, and devotion are rewarded with a rather unceremonious encouragement to resign or retire. There are always two sides to a story, and we can never assume that just...
Only 10 days to go! Wanna Help? →
hannahmiller:
10 days to go, if you havent pledged and gotten your download of the new single, its gettin to be that time! Watch the awesome new music video, then make a pledge, every $1 helps, and all transactions are safe and secure through Amazon.com! Click the title, it will take you there.
March 2011
2 posts
Caution, Narrow Ahead
A sure conversation stopper, an ace in the hole, something that will give one an advantage over another in conversation is to play the narrowness card. When the narrowness card is played, it spells almost certain defeat in debate for the opponent. I have always found that critique a bit unsettling. What is it that actually makes a person narrow in his or her views? Who gets to decide what is...
Rearview Beauty
Most have heard the old cliche, hindsight is 20/20. There is no great mystery as to what that means. Simply stated, when we have the advantage of experience and the ability to look back over what has been done, we can see clearly how things should have transpired. That is one of the richest gifts of recorded history. History gives humanity that gift and affords us the opportunity of concentrated...
February 2011
2 posts
Ordinary is Great
It is inevitable. When you begin discussing sports, music, or a litany of other things, the question that is often posed and answered is, who is the greatest? Of course, the answer to that question is somewhat subjective, because we tend to measure greatness by different criteria depending on the person. The greatness that is attributed to these people however is usually indicative of the measured...
A Neglected Treasure
One of the more neglected exercises in Christendom is, ironically, one of the most needed—prayer. I confess, I rarely pray as I ought because often there is no immediate result, the fruit of my prayers is seemingly not the fruit I desired, or I am so enslaved to the tyranny of the urgent that I assume that I simply don’t have time to stop and fellowship with the Lord. Honestly, when I read...
January 2011
2 posts
The Striking Simplicity of Social Justice pt. 2
It is an inescapable Biblical reality that God is deeply concerned with how we treat one another. In many different places in the New Testament, Jesus equates ill treatment of His people as ill treatment of Him and likewise good treatment. No where is that more clear than when Saul is prostrated on the road to Damascus and Jesus asks him the piercing question, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting...
The Striking Simplicity of Social Justice
It is somewhat intriguing to me to see ideas take shape in the public forum and then catch fire and become the new, driving purpose for whomever wants to be on the correct side of the issue de jour. We really are sheep, and we latch on to whatever those whom we perceive to be leaders tell us is important. Certainly, leadership is a God ordained principle and it is wise to follow leaders as long...
December 2010
2 posts
The Tyranny of the Habitual
Urgency. We know it all to well because it presses us from day to day. We are driven by it. Our lives are essentially mastered by the whip of urgency. We have been fostered on the milk of busyness. Kids are over scheduled and under rested. Parents are busy balancing work, home, and all the other extracurricular activities that come with being a family. I have often observed the frantic pace...
Maturity Redefined
There are certain “milestones” that all parents experience with their children. What parent doesn’t remember the first steps each of their children took, their first bike ride, and for some, their first day off to school? These occasions in our lives often mark growth and maturity in our children. These periods are transitional periods. Our children transition from total and absolute...
October 2010
1 post
Hope Beyond Healing
A cliche that I am sure we have all heard is, time heals all wounds. I wonder however if people who utter that statement have ever truly been wounded. If indeed that were the case, many of the “wounds” that continue to plague society and individuals would be gone. Time was never intended to heal all wounds. In fact, I would argue that time itself only heightens our realization that our wounds...
September 2010
7 posts
“Come boldly to the throne of grace,
Ye wretched sinners come;
And lay your...”
– D. Herbert (from Gadsby’s Hymns)
Iron That Sharpens and Iron That Dulls
One can’t read the Bible without appreciating how deeply practical it is. Granted, there are places that mystify the brightest minds, and some doctrines found in the Bible are beyond human expression. The reality is however, one of the overarching purposes of the Bible (one of its greatest strengths) is that it was written to be read and understood. Practical application is in every book of the...
The Problem of Problem Solving
One clear memory I have of high school is the mind numbing lectures I had to sit through in drivers ed. Like the rest of the class, I already knew how to drive. But the state required us to take it, so there we were. We were forced to watch grotesque accident videos with one simple objective: scare the stupidity out of us. As we all learn, fear based instruction is rarely effective and often...
“The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which...”
– T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding, IV
1 tag
Discontent With Abundance: Truth and Irony
If you have lived in America long enough, you have heard that nebulous phrase, the American dream. Implicitly and explicitly, we are taught from our youth to labor with the intention of living the American dream. I think the original intent of that phrase was to live happy and free from tyranny. Somewhere along the way however it got highjacked and now seems to imply wealth and the accumulation...
1 tag
Discontent With Abundance: I'll Have What He's...
Putting one’s finger on the root of this particular issue is not hard. I have to laugh at myself from time to time when I look at my kids and wonder from where this discontentment they have comes. They come by it honestly, which is not to relieve them of guilt, but I can identify with their struggle because of my own struggle with contentment. What is it about what the other guy has that is so...
1 tag
Discontent With Abundance...(Lessons from Joanna)
A typical scene in my home at supper time is one of organized chaos. My wife feverishly works to get supper on the table and the apparent goal of the children is to thwart her plan. Hungry kids running around the table, arguing over who is sitting where and who is going to play with what toy can undo a person. When portions are served and the kids sit down at the table, it can often times feel...
August 2010
1 post
Obedience is NOT Legalism
One of the inevitable changes that takes place as societies and cultures progress, is the meaning of words and terms. If you do a casual study of words and their meanings, you learn very quickly that some words in modern society are only related to their former usage in spelling. In other words, they carry an entirely different meaning than they once did. Take the word conversation for...
July 2010
5 posts
To Whom Shall We Go?
While very few would admit this, I think many men who are in seminary look at small churches in small towns as the necessary first step that we all must make in our calling as pastors. Many of the men who accept those calls have a very simple plan: spend 3 to 5 years gaining experience, building a resume, and then move on to something bigger. Now, I don’t want to discount the call of God on a...
Nakedness: A Paradoxical Reality
Nakedness. It is such an odd thing to consider. The very fibers of our DNA tell us to avoid nakedness, and yet culture encourages us to reveal our bodies in the most sensual ways possible. The paradox is, most agree that absolute nakedness is wrong, but partial or even mostly naked bodies are not only accepted, they are encouraged (at least in women). My guess is, we want enough nakedness to...
“A word of admonition is in order with regard to the relation of the church to...”
– Herman Hoeksema-In his commentary on the book of Revelation, he makes this comment concerning men who presume to pastor and the church.
The Surprise of Serving
One of the clearest teachings of the New Testament asserts that those who put faith in Christ are called to be His servants. A quick glance at a concordance proves the point. There is a transition that takes place in the heart of a disciple of Christ that demands that we cease to live for and serve self and that we live for and serve Christ. Personally, I don’t know many who would argue against...
June 2010
2 posts
Cheap Sentiment When the Need is Now
It would be ludicrous to deny that one of the central messages of hope for the believer in Christ is the glory that awaits us. I mean, we labor and toil upon this earth, passing our pilgrim days knowing that the earth as it currently stands is not our home. Were we ever robbed of this hope, it might make life completely unbearable. This future view of eternal hope while awesome and true, can...
Literary Lessons on Commitment
As I have gotten older, I have had the privilege of learning about the great literature available to us. When I hear that people either don’t like to read, or are disinterested in the wealth of the literature that has been left behind for our benefit and growth, it saddens me. I am not near the student of literature that I would like to be, but I have read some really great things and have plans...
May 2010
6 posts
Image is Everything...(Lessons from Joanna)
Being a father of 4 presents me with many challenges in life, but when 3 of the 4 are girls, that takes the challenge to a whole new level. Girls are so much more complex than boys, and they require different approaches and much more patience. My third born child, has a funny way of doing or saying things that stick out in my mind as little lessons. Joanna loves clothes and she is very...
“If you will here stop and ask yourself why you are not as pious as the primitive...”
– William Law—(Such is the accuracy and power of this statement that nothing else needs to be added to it.)
Perfection: The Road Less Traveled
I think that most Christians will agree that some of the most daunting words in the New Testament, indeed in the whole Bible, come in the very last verse of Matthew 5. After spending the chapter raising the bar for His followers, Jesus sums up the chapter in a very clear and poignant (and very sobering) verse, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” It is not enough...
1 tag
Mirages We Love to Believe: If it Works for You,...
One of the most intoxicating things for people is success. I think one would be hard pressed to find a culture where that was not true. Success does something for the spirit of a person. Success validates some inward notion that we are good at something. It feeds the ego of a person and gives them a boost of confidence. Success tells a person, “In the midst of much that is wrong, you are...
The Mythology of Strength
I cannot decide if the mythology of strength is a thoroughly American idea, or an idea that is innate in humanity in general. We could probably trace it all the way back to ancient civilizations (Greeks, Persians, and the Romans, to list a few) that put physical strength and mental prowess on a pedestal to be worshipped. To those ancient peoples, strength, intellect, and beauty were the triune...
1 tag
Mirages We Love to Believe: Road Blocks and...
One of the more complex questions that I deal with as a pastor is, can God’s purpose ever be thwarted by men? The easy thing to do is to be dismissive of people who ask that question because typically they are seeking a loophole to avoid believing in the God of the Bible. While that may be the general case, I don’t think we can be dismissive of the question itself. The New Testament does say in...
April 2010
11 posts
An Ironic Necessity
When we are around friends, sometimes it is easy to miss the things they can teach us. We become so used to and familiar with them, it is easy to let what they say roll off our backs. At my former church, a friend of mine taught a very poignant lesson. Jeff (my friend), while working up at the church one day, was meeting with another person and they were interrupted by a man who was there...
1 tag
Mirages We Love to Believe: The Fact About...
Sensuality and feeling are some of the most prominent factors in our culture. Of course, it is probably more proper to identify those traits as a reality for humanity in general. The overarching description of most things is not necessarily the truth of the matter, but rather how it makes people feel. The most obvious example is love. Love has largely become the way someone feels about...
1 tag
Watch#T4G2010 If you are like me and you are an ordinary pastor, this is a must watch. If you are an “ordinary” Christian and you need to be reminded of the joy and grace of being faithful in the mundane, you will find great encouragement here.
1 tag
WatchAre we learning how to suffer, leaning on the sufficiency of Christ?
1 tag
WatchOne of the most moving sermons I have ever listened to. May it move you as it did me.
1 tag
A Broken Wholeness
I have thought about it for a while now and honestly can’t remember the last time I felt this broken. Frankly, I have never been this joy filled in the midst of immense brokenness. I have just been a part of a conference for pastors (T4G 2010), and I am convinced that I will look back at this and remember that it was this time that my life changed and would never be the same again. I am...
1 tag
WatchOne of the most life changing hours of my life!
1 tag
Mirages We Love to Believe: The Numbers Game
One of the questions I am asked, probably more than anything is, what my vocation is. When asked what I do, I say I am a pastor. The next question is typically (though not always), oh really, where? After I answer where, the next question is always, how big is your church? Sometimes I will be asked how big the church is before I am asked where. But typically, within the first 3 questions, I...
