I pledge allegiance to the Son, the King of God’s kingdom, And to the Father and the Holy Spirit, with whom He is one, One Lord, one faith, one baptism, With unity, mercy, and justice for all. Amen ..read more

I’ve been on a missional reading journey for a number of years now, and I thought it was time that I share some of my favorites with you all. The Forgotten Ways By Alan Hirsch It all started for me here, and this book changed my life forever! After 25 years of serving in what Hirsch calls the “attractional evangelism church growth” model, I began to question nearly everything I thought I had learned about what church “should” be. Hirsch starts with two examples from church history: the explosive growth of both the early church, and the Chinese underground church movement. And all this without ..read more

Prayer for women like us: Prayer Book & Journal For Exotic Dancers Wait, what? You can do that?!? If you’re ex-stripper, Pastor, and author Monica Gary Sr. – yes you can! Full Disclosure: Monica is a friend and a missional ministry partner. But I can tell you that she is the real deal. She has been through the ringer, found Jesus, climbed out of a dark pit, and lived to tell about it. But she will also tell you that she is still a work in progress as well. Prayer For Women Like Us is just what it claims to be. A series of 22 short, one-page devotionals, with scripture references, follo ..read more

That’s right. It as was October-December of 2016 when I made the transition from Institutional Church (IC) to Missional-Organic Church. Thought it might be nice to post some thoughts on the journey thus far. 1.) ITS HARD – Yep! I don’t know what else to say. Its just hard. And lonely. Many of your friends will look at you like you’re crazy. “Why would you not want to have professional religious guy leading you in your spiritual life?” “Organic church – what the heck is that?!?” “Oh, you mean, like a house church?” – “Well, not exactly…” “But what about your kids? How will they grow spiritually ..read more

Mark (p. 1776) They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Books*) “and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39, ESV) Who is Jesus? The disciples don’t know at this point. They are clueless – even they don’t understand His parables (p. 1775). But the clues are coming in: His family thinks He’s crazy. The religious leaders from Jerusalem think he’s possessed (p.1774). But what He does, He does by the power of God. He is filled with the Holy Spirit (p. 1775)! Demons in gentile regions recognize His authority and obey Him!?! (p. 1776) But do we? Or ..read more

Mark 16:9-20 The Church finishes John Mark’s “incomplete” ending Last time we looked at John Mark’s original ending of his gospel (Mark 16:1-8), with his account of the empty tomb. But now, herein lies the rub! The modern/post-modern scholarly consensus is nearly unanimous in it’s assertion that verses 9-20 did not come from Mark’s pen – they are a later insertion. Most current translations even include an explanatory textual note to that effect. The NIV puts it this way: “[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]” The Holy Bible, New International V ..read more

Mark 16:1-8 Jesus is Risen Last time Jesus body was laid in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea, the stone was rolled against the entrance, and the two Marys “saw where he was laid” (Mark 15:46-47). It is now Sunday morning. The sabbath is over and the three women (cf. Mark 15:40) can now go to the tomb and anoint the body (Mark 16:1-2). It is very early! The sun has just risen, not yet full daylight (Cole, TNTC). The fact that these women are presented as the first eyewitnesses to the resurrection only attests to the veracity of the narrative. For the church would never have manufactured a story ..read more

Mark 15:42-47 The Burial of Jesus Jesus died on the day before the Sabbath at about 3pm, and evening is approaching (v. 42). If He is going to be buried, and not hang on the cross (bringing desecration to the land, and during the Passover at that) then it needs to happen quickly. For Sabbath begins at sunset! And the Romans could care less. They would leave a corpse on the cross for days to rot or even be eaten by birds or animals (Lane, NICNT). As a convicted capital criminal, Jesus was not entitled to the right of burial. Upon this scene, Joseph of Arimathea appears as something of a hero fr ..read more

Mark 15:33-41 The Death of Jesus The previous passage takes place between 9 AM and 12 noon. It is now high noon (v. 33) and it’s dark for three solid hours (until the moment of Jesus’ death) – a symbol of God’s judgment (Amos 8:9) and eschatological fulfillment (cf. Amos 5:18). At 3 PM the silence is broken (as the darkness is lifted) with a loud cry from Jesus quoting Psalm 22:1 in his mother tongue of Aramaic (v. 34). Mark’s translation (into Greek) clues us in as to how the crowd might confuse “Eloi” for a reference to Elijah (v. 35). These are Jesus’ final words in Mark’s gospel: M ..read more

“And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem…” God is so unexpected, and God shows up in the unexpected. And these times are so unexpected. In the midst of this pandemic, I’ve had the chance and the space to connect with God more than I have in a long time, and I’m still trying to figure out what God is doing. God definitely didn’t cause this crisis, and this pandemic is not God’s judgment upon the earth. I don’t want anyone to think that. But in these times, God is absolutely present in the midst of COVID-19. This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and I of course am thi ..read more