Update: Surgery #2 Heidi has just gone into her second surgery to repair her hip, pelvis, and clavicle. We also learned that she has a few cracked ribs. This will be a 4-6 hour surgery and might require multiple incisions around her hip (front and back) depending on access through the first incision for the […]
Finding Your Sweet Spot
If you’ve ever played tennis you know what happens when the ball hits the perfect spot on the racket…it simply works and it feels effortless. The same can be true in the workplace or in ministry. It’s not always a bad thing to not be hitting the sweet spot, there’s a learning curve and God will […]
Love Being A Christian or Love the Church?
During a conversation with a pastor friend he made an interesting comment. He said, “I think some people love being a Christian but they don’t love the church.” I’ve been thinking about that observation lately. I’m committed to being a pastor dedicated to disciplemaking and mission. As I’ve been studying and implementing a culture of missional […]
What Is Missional?
This question came up recently when I was meeting with some friends to talk about our ministry vision. It’s worth explaining. However, my understanding of missional is not something that I discovered or began to understand from a simple blog or written definition. With that said, I will try to explain with the help of […]
Why am I becoming a church-planting pastor?
A common stat that I often refer to is this, “only 4% of our Millennial Generation attends a church.” (published by Mike Breen of 3DM). Here are some further numbers that really hit home for me and my family. This is one reason that I’m excited to be a pastor at Mercy Road soon. The […]
Starting A Missional Community?
Here’s a good video that explains how we might start a missional community. Our prayer regarding our move to Appleton later this year is that we will land in a neighborhood that will welcome a Missional Community. We are looking forward to being a family on mission with Mercy Road Church, making new friends and […]
10 Markers of Grace Filled People & Congregations
Thank you to T.J. Addington for allowing me to repost his blog; I really appreciate how he navigates important church issues. The more I study the person of Jesus the more I realize the importance of living in grace. However, it’s much more than a ticket to heaven – this must be done in the […]
Discipling Friendships Work!
My friends from Cadre Ministries call it D3. It’s when the people you are discipling begin to disciple others and kingdom growth takes place. After nearly two years of intentional, relational disciple-making I’m beginning to see this take place. Wow! Our family is part of a Missional Community; an extended family of the local church, […]
What Is A Small Group Leader?
Here’s a good article that I recently shared with Small Group Leaders at Harvest. It’s from Sam O’Neal from small groups.com ~B. This Is Why They Call You a “Leader” And what you’re supposed to do because of it. By Sam O’Neal A great many people seem confused about how small-group leaders should view themselves these […]
Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus
I recently brought this article to the attention of my church members and received some resistance, that’s OK. I know the title is very provocative and the content is not typically what most well-intentioned Christians would find encouraging or even interesting — actually, I had comments from people who said they were offended by the […]