In Part 1 and Part 2 of this brief blog series, we’ve been examining one of our collects (a prayer that gathers our thoughts and intentions) and breaking down its very relevant components. We’ve discussed how this prayer focuses on the mission of the church and asks God to keep (protect) us in his steadfast…

How can we be in the season of Advent already? I imagine this thought has crossed your mind, just as it has mine. In this season, people love to talk about how busy they are. Our schedules overflow with shopping, decorating and baking along with all the traditional church activities. As believers, we have the…

Probably one of the most painful things that can happen to almost anybody, particularly on our present culture, is to be different. To not look like everybody else. To not fit in. To know that somehow the crowd is there, and I’m here, and I don’t know that I belong in that crowd at all.…

As I shared in my last post, when I enter a church, with all the beauty, the songs, the liturgy, it’s as though something within me says, “Ahhh, this is who I really am.” Being at church reminds me of my identity as a follower of Jesus Christ.   A Destination and a Reality And…

I don’t know about you, but when I walk into church, it’s with some relief. Relief because being in a church building, gathered with a group of people who I know love Jesus and are committed to following him, I feel at home. This is what home feels like for those who belong to Jesus…

Countercultural. What comes to mind when you hear that word? A student protest in some far-off country? A new trend that, in one way or several, deviates from the norm? Today more than ever, as Christians, we’re having to think about the fact that the things we affirm, say and believer are, in fact, counter…

“Thank God I don’t have to go to church anymore.” It might surprise you, but that’s what I told myself when I went away to college. Yet through the rather sly intervention of a dear woman who (although I didn’t know it at the time) had been praying fervently for me, I went off on…

If there is any word that in fact describes the active, present-day living priesthood of Jesus, the One who “always lives to make intercession” for us (Heb. 7:25), the one who stands before the throne of the Godhead praying on our behalf, it is the word “shepherd.” This word describes one who, by the very…

Last week, I wrote about how the phrase “I am Second” speaks to those entering the ministry—and actually, to all of us who follow Christ—about submitting to Jesus, serving Jesus and being strong in Jesus. The strength, as I wrote, comes from the secret place of time spent in the presence of the Lord. And…

Not long ago, God gave me a wonderful reminder about ministry through a woman named Deacon Pat. She is the youth minister at St. John the Baptist in Orlando, and she has served as a deacon for many years. I wouldn’t put anybody beside her in terms of passion, talent and genuine heartfelt love for…