More Than Words...

The events of Acts 2, though seemingly insignificant to the average Roman citizen at the time, marked the launch of the beginnings of God’s promised Kingdom. On that day of Pentecost, the risen King, Jesus Christ, sent His Spirit to empower His disciples and set in motion His grand strategy for bringing blessing to all the families of the earth just as he promised to Abraham. When the Spirit came, the Spirit empowered the disciples not only to speak in many languages but also to forge a new family—a community bound together in love and devotion to Jesus and one another. Acts 2:42-47 describes this family’s radical practices: Devotion to the Apostles' Teaching:  Believers wholeheartedly committed themselves to learning and living out the good news of Jesus and his kingdom, reordering their lives to align with all Jesus’ commands that were now made clear by the Spirit.   The Spirit filled them with a love for God and his ways. Devotion to Fellowship:  Far more tha...

  A couple of weeks ago, I witnessed a scene in the mall that has stayed with me. After grabbing a hot coffee and finding a seat in the food court, I opened my laptop to catch up on some emails. Suddenly, I heard an excited lady exclaim in a loud voice, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Pastor!" I looked up to see a middle-aged woman completely overjoyed as a young pastor unloaded a small grocery cart filled with potatoes, tomatoes, bread, and fresh fruit into her arms. "Thank you! You remembered me," she said. After handing over the groceries, he offered a short prayer, gave her a big hug, and then continued on his way. It was an overcast Monday morning when I had not seen a single smile, only many tired and weary commuters with heads down and shoulders hunched. That scene felt like a bright light piercing through the darkness, and her joy was contagious. A few moments later, a young mom and her child took a seat at the table in front of her. The two connected with...

Most followers of Jesus genuinely long to see the church grow and the kingdom of God advance in the world. That’s a good and right desire—we should care deeply about seeing more people come to faith and experience transformation through Christ. But when we look at how “growth” is often measured in today’s church culture, it’s easy to assume that the key to advancing God’s kingdom lies in our ability to communicate skillfully, plan engaging events, market strategically, and draw large crowds to hear a gifted speaker. Jesus, however, gives us a very different picture of how His kingdom grows. God's Kingdom Grows Through Faithful Sowing In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a story about a farmer scattering seed. The seed represents God’s Word, and the different types of soil symbolize the condition of people’s hearts as they hear it. The point is simple yet profound: when the Word of God’s kingdom takes root in receptive hearts, lasting transformation happens. Kingdom growth doesn’t come from c...

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’ ministry is often described as being centered around meals. As Robert Karris famously put it, "In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal." This simple observation uncovers a profound truth: Jesus chose the table as a primary context for kingdom ministry. His mission strategy wasn’t built around events, buildings, or platforms. It was built around meals. Jesus spent a lot of his time eating and drinking with people. His evangelism and discipleship were built around long conversations over grilled fish, loaves of bread, and wine. The rhythm of his ministry was deeply relational, immersive, and hospitable.  It was a strategy of presence, not performance. Consider the stories in Luke alone: Luke 5: Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners at the home of Levi. Luke 7: Jesus is anointed at the home of Simon the Pharisee during a meal. Luke 9: Jesus feeds the five thousand. Luke 10: Jesus eats in the home of M...

Jesus knew that the kingdom He was establishing would be so different from what people were accustomed to that He spent much of His ministry teaching about the Kingdom of God.  At times, He directly contrasted His kingdom with the ways of earthly kingdoms, as He does in Matthew 20:25-28. In this passage, Jesus explains to His disciples that the way authority is exercised in God’s kingdom is very different from the ways of earthly kingdoms.  Leadership in His kingdom is not about power and control but humility and service. The kingdoms of this world rely on power, force, wealth, and hierarchy. Success and greatness in leadership are seen as climbing up the ladder to a position of status where one can give executive orders from the top and enforce change on those below to control outcomes and make things happen. But Jesus tells His followers, “Not so with you.” God’s kingdom operates differently, and He points to Himself as the example.   So, how does Jesus exerci...

The Bible tells a unified story of God’s plan to overcome evil and restore all of creation through Jesus, who died and rose again to build His redeemed family—the church and bring God’s good kingdom rule.  However, God’s kingdom is not coming all at once; we live in an overlap of time where God is rescuing people from the world’s kingdoms into His kingdom, which has already begun but will not be fully realized until Jesus returns.  As His kingdom people, we are called to live by the values and ways of his kingdom, yet we often adopt the world’s ways of thinking about success, life, and the church.  Paul warns us in Colossians 2:8 not to be taken captive by worldly philosophies. Yet, if we don’t put some effort into realigning our thinking with God’s kingdom, we risk embracing a version of Christianity that fits into cultural expectations but lacks the power to transform lives. The first section of Acts tells the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the very beg...

I am grateful for the insights and gift of words God has blessed Charlotte with and the blessing she is to our family.   This short piece from her Instagram feed is a helpful reminder of the kind of 'countercultural' movement that characterized the early churches and turned the Roman Empire upside down.  There is s a great need for believers and churches to return to the way of Christ and his Apostles.       Something that has always struck me about the personhood of Jesus is how countercultural He is. Love your enemies. Forgive those who hurt you. Submit to governing authorities. Align yourself with the poor and oppressed. These are only a few of the controversial, yet beautiful teachings of Jesus. As followers of Christ, these are principles that we are called to mimic in our own lives. Yet, I find more and more that the focus of modern Western Christianity is to simply make being a Christian “look cool.” Not only does this come across a...

Not so many months ago we were happy to pay millions of dollars to see someone slam dunk a basketball but we gave little thought about how well we paid nurses or personal support workers. All that has changed now. The global response to COVID-19 is revealing how important certain types of work are; work that we’ve often taken for granted and undervalued. One of the things this pandemic has shined a spotlight on is the important work of mothers. Mothers have been thrust into managing their homes and serving their families at a whole new level during this lock-down. Mom, you are now home 24/7 with children, feeding them, caring for them, and educating them now that school has gone online. Some Moms are doing all this and are also expected to work another job from home. I can’t even imagine the burden of being a single mom with a toddler right now. To make things even worse modern-day philosophies and values marginalize the hard work associated with raising children and managing homes ...

For a number of years now I have been shining a spotlight on what Roland Allen called ‘The Way of Christ and His Apostles”.   In other words, the ministry model that emerges from a fresh study of the New Testament church.  By a fresh study, I mean doing your best to set aside the ministry models and traditions we’ve come from and limit your sight to the scriptures themselves and knowledge of the historical context in which the NT was written.  The ministry model that emerges from a fresh study of Acts and the Epistles differs on many points from the typical ministry models of today which are heavily influenced by Western institutionalism and culture.   The contrast is strong enough that sometimes people give me confused or concerned looks when I point them out! However, the model that emerges in the pages of Acts and reinforced by the New Testament letters contains timeless principles that are relevant in any era.   As I consider the challe...