When God Gives You a Push

“Sometimes God calls you into new things, sometimes God pushes you into new things..” This was my dad’s response to me as I shared with him some of the questions I was asking related to my vocational and occupational life. It became clear that this was one of those instances where God was pushing, and…

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Preaching in Community

I think the following is a fair statement: One of the most individual things done in churches these days is preaching. To be kind, this seems unfortunate. While I do not generally think that sermons should be a free-for-all, I also do not think that sermons should be the result of one person sitting quietly…

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Why We Have Pastors at The Well

Two weeks ago we ordained two new pastors at The Well: Scott Jones and Matthew Warren.  I couldn’t be more proud to serve the church with these two guys. I also am so excited to be part of a pastoral team again. As we began the ordination I wrote up a short intro to “why…

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John Howard Yoder on the Church Discipline Process

Over the years at we have had our fair share of conflict at The Well. I cannot say that we have always handled this conflict perfectly. At the same time I would like to think that we are getting better at it. It is probably safe to say that when churches do conflict and confrontation…

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Planning Sabbaticals

Some context: this past summer I took a three month sabbatical from The Well. It is hard to believe that I have been a pastor there for eleven years as of this past October. In the Spring of 2011 I went to my elder team and asked them for a sabbatical for that summer. But…

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Two Super-Easy Steps to Preaching a Holistic Gospel

We all think we are preaching a holistic gospel. In all my years of interacting with pastors, teachers and leaders I have never met anyone who got into a pulpit on a regular basis and said “I think I am going to preach a one-sided gospel.” In reality, none of us are preaching a fully holistic gospel,…

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10 Suggestions / Thoughts on Bi-Vocational Ministry

I’ve been bi-vocational in some way or another for about 9 years.  Here is some random advice/thoughts to those who are beginning or in the midst of the bi-vocational approach to ministry: Try and find a second job that feeds your gifting  and passions in some way. I actually really enjoy web design. It taps…

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In the Name of Jesus: From Relevance to Prayer

Last week I spend a few days here on the blog working out the leadership culture we are trying to create at The Well. Now, admittedly I am a big leadership book junkie. I love exploring the sociology of leadership and community. But, as much as I love that stuff I realize there is a…

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Bi-Vocational Pastors

As a pastor who has spent the last nine years living a bi-vocational life (sometimes tri-vocational), I appreciated all the discussion on David Fitch’s blog post back in November. I posted the rhythm I have been living for the last nine months back in November also.  Things have changed a tad for me since I…

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