By:
In: Motion
With: 0 Comments

In Ypsilanti there is a gathering of pastors called Ypsi Love. Every year we gather for Thanksgiving and Valentines Day services. It is one of the most beautiful things that I have been a part of in my life. Sunday night we were The Church. The racial barrier was broken and we worshiped together as The Body. I was honored and humbled to preach the gospel at this gathering. Here is my manuscript from Sunday night (it is similar to what I said, but I don’t preach from notes so it’s not exact, but you will get a sense of the thing), I was preachingRead More →

Ypsilanti Church Hope

By:
In: Motion
With: 0 Comments

Sunday was a night of chaos. The storms that blew in to Ypsilanti were crazy. Trees, power lines, and port-a-johns were all fair game for the 70 mph winds. Right now we have people who drive in from all over the area for our gathering. Our gatherings are sweet and full of life for all of us. Sharing in communion with these folks is beautiful and real. But, Sunday night we canceled. We called it off. Sometimes when you care deeply about people the best thing to do is to not meet with them. Every once in a while not meeting is the most powerfulRead More →

By:
In: Motion
With: 0 Comments

Recently there have been many posts around the internet talking about beer and faith. They’ve talked about how churches are using the tavern to bring the gospel to people far from God. It’s been interesting to see the push back from folks in the church world over some of these things. I was first introduced to the idea by a good friend Bryan Berghoef. Bryan is a pastor in Washington DC, but at the time he was in Traverse City, MI and was doing something called Pub Theology. It was a group of people gathering in a pub and discussing the things that mattered most.Read More →

By:
In: Motion, Strategy, Vision
With: 0 Comments

As we read through Luke together on Sunday nights I am more convinced than ever that Jesus is one of coolest cats ever. He’s one of these guys that leave you thinking, “Really!?” We read this narrative Sunday night, After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” And he did—walked away from everything and went with him. Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciplesRead More →

By:
In: Motion
With: 0 Comments

This past Sunday night was a different one for the Antioch Movement. We gathered for a meal (that’s normal) and we gathered around the Lord’s table (that’s normal) but in between we did something that was odd. We took out our calendars and put a couple of dates down. Typically in between dinner and communion we spend time worshipping through the Scriptures. But this week we worshipped through action. We did something. Phil Volk from the Christian Care Network visited our community to present us an opportunity to live the gospel in the life of a young woman. We asked questions and received answers. ThenRead More →

By:
In: Motion
With: 0 Comments

When I logged in to Facebook today there was one topic on everyone’s mind: the impending shut down of the government. The responses ranged from cynicism, to concern, to fear. Then I read this: Post by Todd Waller. I think Todd’s on to something. The overwhelming negative responses to the government shut down come from our natural desire for security and safety. We rely on our federal government to provide these things for us. In our postmodern context the government is perceived to be solid ground. Not that we think they are always doing a good job or that we agree with the politics. But,Read More →

By:
In: Motion
With: 0 Comments

Growing up I was pretty chubby. Actually, I’m still pretty chubby. Middle School and the beginning of high school was pretty brutal for a chubby kid. I got teased. Today we would call it “bullying” but, it really was kids being kids. I was overweight, didn’t have many friends, and so I was teased. It’s life. You get over it. You learn how to handle the words and when you find someone who speaks words of life, you embrace them. One of the phrases that people would offer as a means to help was, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will neverRead More →

By:
In: Motion
With: 0 Comments

For forty days Jesus was tempted in the desert. We typically don’t think about the reality that he was tempted for forty days. We usually just read the narrative and consider the three specific temptations that are listed there: And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him,“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up andRead More →

By:
In: Motion, Strategy
With: 0 Comments

Have you ever thought about what a missionary is? When Amy and I were on staff with Cru, we used to joke about how if we were “real” missionaries it would have been easier to raise support. We felt this way because there was a sense among many Christians that a “real” missionary is someone who goes overseas to suffer and to take the gospel to the “heathen”. We were serving on the college campus and definitely not suffering. I used to think of a missionary as anyone who was in full time ministry and not a pastor. Missionaries, in my mind, were a specialRead More →