Photo: Unsplash By Rob Hogendoorn Lead Pastor Forest City Church London Ontario One of my favorite leadership moments from the Old Testament is the obscure and often overlooked story of David found in 2 Samuel 5:4-8. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he … Read More
Jesus’ Look of Determination
Photo: Unsplash By Allen Likkel Luke 9:51 “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Isaiah 50: “Therefore I have set my face like a flint.” This descriptive expression about Jesus as he journeyed to Jerusalem and his crucifixion is one that I frequently reflect on in my Lenten … Read More
How to Handle Pastoral Burnout in a Covid-Plus World
Photo Unsplash by Larry Doornbos, Director Vibrant Congregations This morning, a friend emailed me a message that he’s repeated often in the past two years: “Again and again, we see that the COVID experience has revealed underlying fault lines, dysfunctions, and broader challenges.” A pandemic is just a piece of the iceberg that pastors and local congregations are dealing with, … Read More
Stooping to Serve
Photo Unsplash By Jul Medenblik, President Calvin Theological Seminary John 13:1-17 –https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2013%3A1-17&version=NIV Stooping to Serve “You may not remember what I said today, but I hope you will remember what I now do.” I spoke those words on October 15, 2011, which was the date of my inauguration as President of Calvin Theological Seminary. I was affirmed to this position … Read More
Baptized for Mission
Photo Unsplash Kevin Adams, Senior Pastor at Granite Springs Church, Lincoln, CA Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this … Read More
Gollum Has Some Part to Play in It
Photo Unsplash Kris Vos Pastor Sunlight Community Church & The Center for Church Renewal Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 The epic … Read More
Always Winter: Where is Aslan Part 2
Photo Unsplash Lucy’s brothers and sisters don’t believe her story about Mr. Tumnus and the land of Narnia. They accuse her of making it all up until one day when they are chased into the Wardrobe. They try to hide there but instead end up in Narnia. “I’m sitting against a tree,” said Susan, “and look! It’s getting light—over there.” … Read More
Always Winter – Where is Aslan? Part 1
Photo Unsplash Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy burst onto the scene 1000 Narnian years after the creation of Narnia. One hundred years earlier, the tree that kept Jadis (the White Witch) at bay died, and she usurped power. Many creatures joined her in sustaining her painful rule. She declares she is “her imperial majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of … Read More
Always Winter – But the King is Coming
Photo: Unsplash Peter, Susan, and Lucy are with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver (Edmund is gone to find the White Witch). Mr. Beaver announces that Aslan is on the move, prompting the children to beg to hear about Aslan, “For once again, that strange feeling—like the first signs of spring, like good news, had come over them.” Mr. and Mrs. Beaver … Read More
Always Winter—Preaching to Ourselves
Photo Unsplash Lucy believes she has hidden away in a wardrobe. She has actually stepped through a door into the wonder-filled land of Narnia. Wandering in the winter, she encounters Mr. Tumnus, the fawn. They have tea together, talk together, and then he escorts her away from danger and away from the threat of the White Witch looking out for … Read More
