Category: Practical Theology
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Why did Jesus use Alcohol for Communion?
Read more: Why did Jesus use Alcohol for Communion?Until I recently moved to Scotland, I spent most of my Christian life in American Evangelical churches. In these churches, they have unanimously done communion with grape juice, without the option to use wine if one so desired. As much as I regularly experienced this, I never really understood why churches decide to use grape juice instead…
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Life is not a Competition
Read more: Life is not a CompetitionIt has been said that we must perform at a certain velocity to achieve worth, success, and security. Many things have been promised to our generation, but it seems that only a select few have achieved them. We hold these success stories up as a championing call to work harder, be better, and to not…
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How Doctrine Makes Service Minded Saints
Read more: How Doctrine Makes Service Minded SaintsAs I’ve shared on The Two Cities before I have been incredibly impacted by passages like Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man [who’s]… delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night… In all that he does he prospers.” This passage has incredibly impacted how I do…
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Starting A New Chapter
Read more: Starting A New ChapterWorking on a college campus, I can feel the anticipation of the new semester in the air, as classes just started last week. There are more students around exploring the campus and trying to register for classes. You can tell who are the new freshmen with the quizzical looks as they try to figure out…
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Living in the “not yet”
Read more: Living in the “not yet”Nothing gets me excited like talking about the Kingdom of God- Porsches come pretty close, but not quite. Growing up I always thought the Kingdom of God was some far away thing that I would never see in this life. The Kingdom of God seemed like such a far distant thing that was promised for…
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Concerns for a Vision-Driven Church
Read more: Concerns for a Vision-Driven ChurchMy folks have been consistently involved in a small local church in Orange County for decades. Last year, the pastor gave notice of his retirement and so the elder board, associate pastor, and a few others came together to begin forming a “Search Committee.” As a small group they would assess the needs of the…
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The Freedom in Being Meaningless
Read more: The Freedom in Being MeaninglessI have been meditating on the book of Ecclesiastes lately. Tonight as I was driving home late I stopped on the coast to listen to the waves and look at the stars. I murmured to myself: I am free to not make an impact. I am free to not have a legacy. I am free to…
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My Experience at Mars Hill
Read more: My Experience at Mars HillMark Driscoll is trending again. This past week I read an interview transcript by John Piper on the subject of Mars Hill and Driscoll. I also read that Driscoll is beginning a new bible study series on Ecclesiastes that will be hosted on his website. I have often wanted to share my own experience at Mars Hill,…
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Obedience and Trust in Times of Transition
Read more: Obedience and Trust in Times of TransitionOver the last few weeks I’ve had some time to reflect over the year. Its incredible how much everything has changed. Within the span of 365 days I’ve experienced moments of joy and celebration as well as grief and disappointment. Some transitions have been emotionally disruptive while others have been methodical and tedious. Some have…
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Why Theological Convictions Complicate Your Ministry But Not Your Mission
Read more: Why Theological Convictions Complicate Your Ministry But Not Your MissionIt’s 12 am and you are preparing a sermon for tomorrow. It’s 4pm and you are preparing for community group that will take place in your living room in a few hours. You have reached an impasse. You could take the easy route and give that nicely packaged sermon or group discussion that you have…