Does our Piety Keep us from following Jesus?

I’m reading an article from the Winter 2010 edition of Leadership Journal.. Some of you may have seen this. On page 15, there is an article regarding a pastor who decided to “live like Jesus” for 1 year. I encourage you all to check it out. The last section of the article asks him “Are [...]

Book Review – Finding Organic Church by Frank Viola

The subtitle of this book is “A Comprehensive Guide to Starting and Sustaining Authentic Christian Communities.” I’ll say that is a correct subtitle, if you agree with Viola’s approach to church and church planting. I will start this blog the same way Viola starts his book, and that is disagreeable. He lost me when he [...]

Book Review – Church Unique by Will Mancini

I just finished reading Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement, by Will Mancini. It was on our reading list for ELI for the month of January. Last week, those of us going through the Cultivate program with ELI (and some special guests) were privileged to interact with Will on [...]

Awesome blog from my wife on Tolerance

You need to read this blog from my wife. ‘Nuff said.

Book Review – Crazy Love

I just finished Crazy Love – Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan. You can visit the Crazy Love website here to order the book, view videos, and more. I didn’t purchase it. I got it for Christmas from the in-laws. It’s not the usual type of book I read. I usually read pastoral [...]

Book Review – Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch

I just finished (about 2 minutes ago) Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch, by Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas. This book has been out for a couple of years, so I’m sure there are countless other reviews of it on the net, but I’ll add mine to the pile anyways. This is another great [...]

Book Review – No Perfect People Allowed

John Burke is the founding pastor of Gateway Community Church in Austin, TX and also founded the Emerging Leadership Initiative. ELI is the church planting network that I am partnering with for Renovate Church in Winchester, VA. He also wrote the book I am reviewing: NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED: creating a COME AS YOU ARE [...]

The Unchurched Next Door

The Unchurched Next Door by Thom S. Rainer is a book I bought today. I bought it to increase my personal evangelism skills, but also for my graduate research.. I’ve only read the introduction, and here are some amazing findings…. Most of the unchurched are concerned for their families. Their moral values are not radically [...]

Book Review – Why We’re Not Emergent

I finally finished the book, Why We’re Not Emergent (by two guys who should be), authored by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. First, I’ll give a brief synopsis of each chapter, then give my opinion on the book. ——————– Chapter 1 – Journey: Are Pilgrims Still Making Progress? (Kevin) Kevin is describing the Emergent “Journey”, [...]

They Walked Away from the Church

I’m almost finished reading “Why We’re Not Emergent“, by DeYoung and Kluck. On pages 218-218, the authors are describing a conversation with Dale van Dyke, pastor of Harvest Orthodox Presbyterian Church in suburban Grand Rapids. In speaking about cultural relevance and the Emergent Church, Van Dyke says: “It sort of makes me laugh,” he says. [...]