Do you ooze ministry? I've heard my Sr. Pastor say ministry happens when one person overflows into the next person. That’s a significant illustration, perhaps evening surprising. We often think of ministry as being poured out or being spent, and certainly sacrifice plays a crucial role in ministering to others. But the motivation, the attitude and desire must … [Read more...] about Ministry of Presence
Articles
Tim Keller Talks Missional Ministry
"Missional Ministry" is a hot topic right now amongst churches. There's been a great deal of discussion and confusion circling this concept, but recently, I came across an article written by Tim Keller (in June 2001 no less!) that I found extremely helpful and very relevant. Check out the article The Missional Church. One of my favorite quotes is: The missional … [Read more...] about Tim Keller Talks Missional Ministry
True Repentance
Of what does true repentance consist? We tend to focus on actions — sacrifice this, pray that, promise to read the bible every day for a month — and so we jump through our self-prescribed hoops trying to act out repentance. In some ways, action-oriented repentance is easier. We have something tangible to do. We can see our progress; we can check off a box and pat ourselves … [Read more...] about True Repentance
Imputation
"In the same way in which Adam's sins were imputed to us, so God imputed our sins to Christ; that is, he thought of them as belonging to Christ, and, since God is the ultimate judge and definer of what really is in the universe, when God thought of our sins as belonging to Christ then in fact they actually did belong to Christ." (Grudem, 1995, p. 574) That is why Good … [Read more...] about Imputation
Wave Upon Wave
I sit in a borrowed car watching wave upon wave crush the rocky shore of Magnolia Beach. It's raining. The waves surge in and out of time with the windshield wipers. The rolling swells are endless, tireless, massive. The thought occurs to me: "No wonder shores are sandy." How could rocks ever resist such an onslaught over minutes and years? No one wave … [Read more...] about Wave Upon Wave