Articles page 9
On accountability, serving, church life, and following Jesus in the real world. Got a question you'd like me to write about? Ask it anonymously.
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December 18, 2024 · Second Fiddle
Counting the Cost: Five Things Bi-Vocational Ministry Will Ask of You
The cost of bi-vocational ministry is real: time, career, family, body, and heart. Name all five honestly before you say yes, then say yes fully.
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December 10, 2024 · Turn the Key
Modality and Sodality: Why Your Sunday Service Needs Your Outreach
Modality and sodality are two structures God has used throughout church history. Here's why your Sunday service and your outreach ministry need each other.
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December 2, 2024 · Full Service
"Hilarious" Giving: What 2 Corinthians 9:7 Means for Service
What does "God loves a cheerful giver" mean? The Greek word is hilaros, and it has more to say about your volunteer hours than your offering envelope.
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November 24, 2024 · Under the Hood
Honesty Is an Act of Love: Lessons From a Good Mechanic
A mechanic who says your brakes are fine when they aren't isn't kind. Why honesty is an act of love, and how to tell the truth without being harsh.
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November 19, 2024 · Living the Lord's Prayer
The Gospel Explained with a Trip to the Mechanic
The gospel explained simply, in three stops you already know from any repair shop: the diagnostic, the bill, and the receipt.
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November 12, 2024 · Second Fiddle
Three Tests to Know If You're Called to Bi-Vocational Ministry
Is bi-vocational ministry a calling or just a good idea? Three plain tests (desire, affirmation, capacity) to discern it before you say yes.
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November 4, 2024 · Turn the Key
Outreach Isn't a Program. It's the Point.
Small churches often plan to start outreach once everything else runs well. The Great Commission says a small church starts from outreach, not toward it.
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October 28, 2024 · Full Service
Why Do You Really Volunteer?
Why people volunteer matters more than whether they do. Most reasons fade when serving stops feeling good. Here is the one that lasts, and how to check yours.
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October 21, 2024 · Under the Hood
Why No Perfect Car Has Ever Rolled Into Our Garage
What does the Bible say about human nature? A pastor who runs a free car repair ministry explains: a good design, a real problem, and real hope.
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October 14, 2024 · Living the Lord's Prayer
What Does "Our Father" Mean If Your Dad Hurt You?
If "father" is a painful word for you, the first line of the Lord's Prayer can feel like a wall. Here is how God as Father speaks to a father wound.