The Church
Towards a Discipleship Framework
I’ve been working on the following thoughts for the last year or so and I am honestly apprehensive to even publish this because it has morphed and changed so much over the last year. It’s far from perfect but I’d love to hear your thoughts to improve it and tighten it up a bit. Discipleship…
Read MoreThe Primary Task of the Church?
“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” Colossians 1:28 The church, in the context of its missional calling, must work with all its energy to present…
Read MoreWhat is the Form and Function of the Church?
A community that is guided by the scriptures. Without the scriptures, we’d have no direction or compass. Its our family history. It’s gives us a trajectory for our future. When we read the scriptures we read them in community with a missional bent. A community that is dependent on the Spirit. Without the dependence on…
Read MoreSubmission in Leadership
One of the major early themes in The Imitation of Christ is that of humility. I will be honest. I am not a big fan of humility. Humility is one of those things that constantly seems desperately out of grasp. Just when I feel like I am getting close to understanding it and getting it,…
Read MoreDiversity, Unity and Submission
I can’t believe it’s been almost nine years since I met Laurence Tom. LT, as we call him, in a Chinese-American pastor in Chinatown Center City. I met him while we were in seminary. I should actually say I met him while he was in seminary as I am still in the process finishing my…
Read MoreIt's Official: I'm Going Back to Starbucks
It’s hard to believe but I have been a pastor at The Well for about nine years now. In those years, I’ve served at The Well on a part-time-paid basis. This has been an intentional model for us as it allows our church to have a more diverse staff and leadership. This has served us…
Read MoreMental Illness & The Church
For the last five years I have had a friend named Michael who has been part of my life. We’ve lost touch recently touch due to some circumstances but his friendship has been one of the more challenging experiences of my life. See, Michael is a paranoid schizophrenic. He hears voices. He called my phone…
Read MoreThe Church: Shaped by Prayer?
This month (Nov. 16th) we are meeting as a community at The Well for our quarterly discussion on issues that are important to our mission together. We call these meetings Midrash meetings. This month we’ll be addressing the issue of prayer in our community life. Our mission statement reads “…a community shaped my scripture and…
Read MoreChildren, Families and Worship
This week at The Well we had a child / parent dedication. We do dedications in a pretty cool way and I’ll write about that this week, but I wanted to share something I wrote that outlines our overall approach to children, worship and community. Children & Families at The Well There is no question…
Read MoreWhat are Some Practical Examples of What it Means to be Missional?
In the comments of the last post, Jim asked this question: “I’m just beginning to try to help my established congregation turn itself into a missional focus. I really like the notes and presentation, but where I struggle is where your presentation leaves off…what does this look like practically…what are the practices your community is…
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