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Sunday was a night of chaos. The storms that blew in to Ypsilanti were crazy. Trees, power lines, and port-a-johns were all fair game for the 70 mph winds. Right now we have people who drive in from all over the area for our gathering. Our gatherings are sweet and full of life for all of us. Sharing in communion with these folks is beautiful and real. But, Sunday night we canceled. We called it off. Sometimes when you care deeply about people the best thing to do is to not meet with them. Every once in a while not meeting is the most powerfulRead More →

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Growing up I was pretty chubby. Actually, I’m still pretty chubby. Middle School and the beginning of high school was pretty brutal for a chubby kid. I got teased. Today we would call it “bullying” but, it really was kids being kids. I was overweight, didn’t have many friends, and so I was teased. It’s life. You get over it. You learn how to handle the words and when you find someone who speaks words of life, you embrace them. One of the phrases that people would offer as a means to help was, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will neverRead More →

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Kairos, that moment when time is broken into by God, calls us to respond. Too often we rush past it and ignore the moment. We have too much going on and we don’t experience it in its fullness. When we do this we miss out on responding. At the end of Luke 1 we see Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah responding to the moment. Mary sings. Elizabeth is steadfast.  Zechariah speaks prophecy. All three respond to the moment because they entered into their kairos moment and didn’t let it slip by. Mary sings a song constructed from the Psalms in response to her moment. She was aRead More →

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We are all defined by something or someone. Maybe we define ourselves by our job or maybe by our family name. However we define ourselves, this definition often determines much of our lives. Therefore, one of the most important questions anyone can ask us is “Who are you?” One of the beautiful things about the Christian faith is that we are not just called out of something but into something. The old is not just gone but the new has come. Check out how Paul of Tarsus puts this in 2 Corinthians 5: From now on, therefore,  we regard no one according to the flesh.Read More →

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In 2 Corinthians 5:11 says, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.” This verse is interesting because it points us to a couple of significant truths that we must grapple with. First, we have this phrase, “fear of the Lord”.  The word here translated as “fear” carries with it the connotation of respect, reverence, awe. It is not an irrational fear, the kind of fear that I have for needles for instance. Fear of the Lord is something that is the result of whatRead More →

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There may be no more important question that someone can ask you. “Who are you?” How do you answer it? One man answered it this way: If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. — Saul of Tarsus Paul was the man. He was as good as it gets. He knew he was. He could answer this question without hesitation or doubt. Then he met Jesus andRead More →

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Jackie Robinson has become a family hero of ours. We were able to get to know his daughter, Sharon, a bit when our son won an essay contest in Jackie’s honor. The highlight for me was watching Sharon talk with the children of Ethan’s school answering all kinds of questions. She did so with grace and understanding. I was amazed by the stories. Leading up to Sharon coming we watched the Ken Burns episode on Baseball regarding the breaking of the color barrier. The stories are heartbreaking, encouraging, and you’re left jaw slacked. Today 42 opens. It tells Jackie’s story of courage, courage not to fightRead More →

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I have recently had a few people tell me, “Pastors keep failing. I think that God is raising up athletes to be his spokesmen to reach this generation.” Then the names of certain prominent Christian athletes are brought up. Pastors fail all the time. So do athletes. The ones we know about are also celebrities. Christian celebrity is a new phenomenon. It really began with the First Great Awakening. Prior to that most pastors labored locally. Some traveled (the Methodists are the best example) but most settled in for a long faithful pastorate caring for and preaching the gospel to a particular people. In theRead More →

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Sometimes, the smallest words can reveal the Creator’s love for us. Recently, a dear friend spoke some, apparently, very needed words into my life. Those few words, as small and seemingly insignificant as they may have been, struck me still. My friend had spoken words that came, not just from his heart, but from God Himself. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. – Acts 2 As a community, my brother was teaching, being taughtRead More →