What Christians believe can be viewed as quaint. Eugene Peterson refers to this in his book, The Contemplative Pastor, and he doesn’t like it. When some business person shakes his hand after church and says, “This was wonderful, Pastor, but now we have to get back to the real world,” Peterson bristles. He isn’t taking […]
Category: church
What we live without
We went sailing with three friends. Four times we motored out to where the wind seemed to be but wasn’t. No matter. It was delightful on the water, and we enjoyed dinner while drifting on the tide. When dusk fell we motored back to our slip and drove home. Would we do it again? Probably. Would we do it every week, […]
Courage in the pulpit, renewal in the heart
One Sunday my wife and I witnessed an act of courage. Our pastor, a man who loves his flock, trespassed with his text (Galatians 6:7-9). That is, he brought it inescapably to our attention. “Here, this is about you.” We walked home thoughtful. While I may have caught his point otherwise, I could not escape it thanks to […]
The role of a Christian publisher
Erik Peterson, a wise man and good friend, handed me this quote from Of God and Men, by A. W. Tozer. Although Tozer was writing about pastors, Erik adapted this excerpt to describe Christian publishers . . . The Church is God’s witness to each generation, and her publishers are her voice. Through them she becomes vocal. By […]
Seven Things I’ve Learned About Sermons
(1) Interest and time are inversely proportional. The greater my interest, the shorter the sermon. (2) Interest and investment are directly proportional. The more you put in, the more I take out. (3) If it’s where I live, my attention is yours to lose. (4) The more you care about me, the more I’ll hear. […]
