The beginning of a 7 part series that is my vision statement for my church and the future of the church.

An invasion force without a mission becomes an occupying army. And occupying armies eventually become the thing they replaced. They accumulate power, they protect their own interests, and they forget why they came. The church has done this more than once. More than we would like to admit. So Paul; writing from a prison cell to a church in Corinth that was doing exactly this, tells them something that reframes how we interpret the Kingdom. You are not an occupying army. You ar

The throne was taken. But the throne room did not simply fill with the enthroned Christ and close its doors. It deployed. Fifty days after the resurrection. Ten days after the ascension. A hundred and twenty people in an upper room in Jerusalem. Waiting for something Jesus promised but had not described in detail. And then... the sound of a mighty rushing wind filling the entire house. Tongues of fire distributed and resting on each one. All of them filled with the Holy Spiri

There is a courtroom in heaven that most Christians have never visited. Not because it is hidden. Rather we have been reading our Bibles through a two-tier lens. The one that has God up there, us down here, and occasionally the two intersect through miracles or answered prayer. However, that is not the biblical grid. The biblical grid has a third tier. A divine council with heavenly court of supernatural beings who participate in the governance of creation. And the God of Isr

I went to see my favorite band over the weekend. Kings Kaleidoscope. They are so fun. They are multiple genres woven into one. Exciting, creative, and this beautiful meshing of theology and creativity that have drawn me to them since I came to Christ 14 years ago. They are the epitome of the theology of Christ that I have tried to embody in my own life and practice. What I didn’t expect was the rush of memories as I was listening and watching them perform. Their music has bee

My kids are disasters when given access to soil. Absolute feral cave dwellers. And I mean this as a compliment. When you put children near dirt and give them permission (or simply fail to prohibit it quickly enough) something happens that is nothing short of primal. They drop to their knees without hesitation. They push their hands in. They smear it on their faces like war paint, looking like toddler versions of William Wallace in Braveheart yelling FREEDOM! They build things