We should be about the big business of faith, and not about the little business of fretting over forgetfulness and fines and library books. But what if the big business of faith does involve the little things? [Click title to read more.]
Tag: ministry
Do Not Let Easter Be A Culmination
It strikes me sometimes that we Christians are great at events. We know how to do Easter. We know how to do Christmas. We can make killer dinners and plays and cookouts. But an event is not a ministry. [Click title to read more.]
The Old Ways of Serving Still Matter
I am a believer, and have been for many years. I am, as I mentioned above, used to "the food thing" churches do. But it was strange to see it with new eyes - to be the stranger in need, one of the people served by a church that knew me not at all. [Click title to read more.]
Mind The Small Hurts
The answer isn't to compare pain or place it on a relative scale of suffering, but rather to address pain as pain, in context, regardless of the source. Yes, we absolutely must kick into gear the moment we hear a word like "cancer" or "death." But I hope we can also mobilize ourselves to respond with similar compassion to words like "frustration" and "fear" and "chest cold." [Click title to read more.]
Superficiality Is The Great Obstacle
Most of us live in a small-talk world. I suspect that's why a lot of people struggle with evangelism. [Click title to read more.]
Ministry to the Childfree And Those With Nontraditional Families
As I grow older, I become more and more aware that I'm part of an odd, niche demographic: the childfree family. And we (along with other non-traditional families) don't often seem like candidates for targeted ministry. But we need our churches desperately. [Click title to read more.]
It’s Important For Believers To Engage With The World
As our churches grow more insular and our lives become centered more and more within the church, we must not lose sight of the fact that the bulk of our work lies outside it. [Click title to read more.]
Taking The Time To See People
We live in a society where, increasingly, we're told our main concern is ourselves. That we have no obligation to others and no duty to see them. That it's madness to take five minutes of your day that could go to so many other things - like family! or ministry! or work! - and spend it on casual interaction with a person that you've never met before and may never meet again.[Click title to read more.]
The Convenient Vagueness of Being A “Sinner”
It's easy to call yourself a sinner as a shorthand to mean "hey, I'm not perfect." But it's far harder to confess to the actual sin. To talk about who you are when you aren't Christlike. To admit what imperfection looks like when it crops up in your own life. [Click title to read more.]
What Sacrificial Giving Looks Like
The most extravagant giving often comes from places of lack, and the gift receives value not from what it is but from the spirit in which it was given. [Click title to read more.]
Samaritan's Song 