Innovation implies change, and we’re the denomination who’s characterized by faithfulness. For instance, the PCUSA (out of which the PCA formed in 1972-73) changed from our long-held commitments to the Bible. That is a kind of change that is bad....
Likely you’ve seen the recent reports of snow in Los Angeles. There was even a measurable snowfall in Tampa in January of 1977… But a snowy winter is not the climate in L.A. or Tampa. Catch the vital distinction between an event and a climate — the difference between an exception and a norm. I want to ask you to assess your norms, exceptions, climate, and events. With your words, attitudes, interactions, and attention, what is your norm? And what is your exception?...
What do you think is really happening at church? What do you believe goes on, not just visibly, but invisibly because of God’s Almighty power and working? Trusting Jesus for His work of redemption in my own heart and in the hearts of others, what would it look like to raise our gaze to look for God to work? Even at church?...
What would you do if your favorite teenager grew reluctant to bathe? Can you imagine the dialogue? “I’m fine. I feel fine....
“Culture eats strategy for lunch” — Peter Drucker (1909-2005). As a pioneering management consultant, educator, and author, Drucker was convinced that no matter how great your strategy is, a plan will fail without a company (or organizational) culture that encourages people to implement it....
This may seem odd or needless, but I want to invite you to church this Sunday. I believe it’s needful because the practice of attending an in-person worship service is dramatically in decline. After the COVID pandemic, national percentages of church attendance have plunged. ...
I do not know when you’ve seen it, but somewhere you likely have. A line of dominoes stacked on end start to tumble, and one domino hits another, and there’s no going back …...
What does it mean to be called? If your mom or dad called you to dinner when you were a kid, a person called out your name. And (hopefully) you responded. Or with your most recent phone call — likely you have caller ID, and again a person hoped to make contact with you for some reason....
First, why does the Church have a surpassing Value? The Church of Jesus is not a thing. The Church is a single term of all of the people Jesus has redeemed, past, present and future, and its value (their value?) is marked by His willingness to shed His blood to rescue each and every one of us. ...
Training to become a pilot (in what seems like another lifetime ago) I was quickly taught that you cannot control what is outside the cockpit. You can only prepare on how you could respond. Metaphorically it has proven to be an outstanding life lesson if you substitute “your heart” for “cockpit.”...
Many years ago, an older pastor, Dick Kaufmann, spent time with me, helping me grasp Grace. Counterintuitive does not even begin to capture my experience. Many of our natural instincts are put totally out of sorts by the LORD’s ways, especially our motivations for performance and earning. ...
Keep Reading What is the earliest motivation you can recall in your life? When can you remember being really motivated (or deeply frustrated if you had failed) toward a goal or an outcome?...
Keep Reading In our first year as a church plant, we went for training at a sister church plant that was several years ahead of us in its ministry....
Keep Reading After being assigned to teach the book of Romans to illiterate monks in his monastery, Martin discovered the Gospel of Grace by faith alone. What reverberated from this work of God in his heart has literally transformed all of Western history and much of the known world....
Keep Reading In what seems like another lifetime, I trained to be a private pilot. I loved every chance to be in a cockpit....
Keep Reading Whether it is an unpleasant anniversary of a Capital riot, or a virus that just won’t go away, or profound uncertainty overall, how is your new year starting?...
Keep Reading In school, I was never a fan of having to do book reports. The reading I never minded, but the effort to summarize what I read was always an enormous struggle. Now I’ve grown appreciative of a helpful summary – which is all I want to do for you today....
Keep Reading If you’re anything like me, then all too often, I need to be reminded that God is in the business of answering our prayers....
Keep Reading Almost everyone is now aware of the recent surge in COVID infections, courtesy of the Delta variant. As Trinity’s demographic is younger than many churches, last year we saw very few COVID infections relative to other Lakeland congregations....
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