imagining how the church can reorient around mission

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PNWM 1Day Event with Dr. Efrem Smith

Sept 14th- 9 am-1:30 pm – Free lunch included – hit the barcode below to register

This event, hosted by the Pacific Northwest Movement (PNWM), is free and open to all Pastors and Christian leaders interested in what church planting would look like in a rapidly changing culture.

missional church planting

Church planting is not an end in itself, but one aspect of the mission of God which churches are privileged to participate

Stuart Murray

Church planting is a dynamic and purposeful endeavor that involves establishing new Christian communities within specific cultural and social contexts. There are three ideas that will prove to be very important as guiding principles for success. read more

who’s discipling you?

As we journey through our Christian faith, it is important to reflect on the influences that have shaped us and how we perceive and interact with the world (read discipling you). Our families, schools, media, and culture have all contributed to making us who we are. Our discipleship is an ongoing process, including how we view and experience church and God.

It is essential to honestly acknowledge that our cultural background can shape our interpretation of the Gospel, or as my friend Lenore Three Stars often says, “There is no culture-free Gospel.”To continue growing and learning, we must also be willing to deconstruct our beliefs and scrutinize what we hold as true. This requires honesty and vulnerability within a Christian community. read more

crown of glory – psalm 8 and romans 8

You should know Dr. Haley Jacob, a notable theologian who was supervised by the renowned N.T. Wright during her Ph.D. studies. We are so fortunate that she is a member of our church community and on our preaching team at Immanuel. Her research on Romans 8 is unique, even groundbreaking, and needs to be heard by every Christian. I am not exaggerating. It will set you free to imagine following Jesus in a new, IMHO, more beautiful way. In fact, I was so moved by her teachings that several times during the presentation, I physically gasped. Trust me; you don’t want to miss out on what she has to explain.

a case for honest compassion

Evil is evil, and it is wrong for me to attempt to soften it for myself or others.

Today, innocent suffer, people are exploited, friends die, and disease ravages. To give meaningless platitudes steals dignity from honest and real grief. read more

take your shoes off

The story of the burning bush in the Bible is not only a contextual story but a metaphor for the universality of everyday sacramentalism.

pastor curator

I do many things as a Pastor. In my mind, on most days, it is the best job in the world.

What other job has a healthy rhythm yet allows for tremendous flexibility within that rhythm. My normal week has some fixed stuff, like the obvious, constructing a liturgy for worship, including preparing a sermon. read more

shalom – stretched out dignity

I love the book which this excerpt comes from. It is by Cole Arthur Riley and is entitled, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation and the Stories That Make Us.

“Perhaps the more superior we believe ourselves to be to creation, the less like God we become. But if we embrace shalom – the idea that everything is suspended in a delicate balance between the atoms that make me and the tree and the bird and the sky – if we embrace the beauty of all creation, we find our own beauty magnified. And what is shalom but dignity stretched out like a blanket over the cosmos?” read more

oscar’s dustup

By now, most people have seen Will Smith slapping Chris Rock live at the Oscars. I am gonna be super slow to throw too many stones this morning. I can honestly say that I relate to Will Smith and Chris Rock.

I have spoken words that I thought were just funny but hurt someone else. I think I even did in a sermon yesterday…all for the sake of turning a joke. Attempting to be funny is, at times, risky business. I don’t think, however, I have ever spoken them about someone else’s wife though. read more

what is next for the church

I read an article this last week in which the author stated with the utmost confidence (read hubris) what will happen to the church “next.” Really?

Here are some clues as to what to focus on regardless of what happens next… read more