culture

I once heard a church planter tell pastors, “Your culture will eat your philosophy of ministry for lunch.” What did he mean? On paper, your church may have a clear vision, carefully crafted mission, and sweet doctrinal statement. But in practice, it may reek. Church culture is the smell that lingers

“You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of your soul and will sabotage your spiritual life.” That was what a Christian leader on the verge of burn-out heard from his mentor. It saved his life. That sage advice stands true today

Farmers in Oklahoma during the late 1930’s faced an excruciating choice: would they hold onto their last seeds for self-preservation, or plant them for a larger harvest that would feed many? The ground was over-farmed and overgrazed. A long drought set in, the top soil eroded, and winds began to s

It’s 1935. Germany is under the tyranny of Hitler and he is forming a powerful army trained to inflict cruelty and death. His tactics include fear, brainwashing, and domination. At the same time, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

What do you do when your life becomes a dumpster fire, burning out of control? It’s scorching others, destroying relationships, pushing you closer to the edge, and you suddenly realize you struck the match? When you look in the mirror and see not an innocent victim but the guilty fool whose selfish

In Dynamics of Spiritual Life, church historian Richard Lovelace writes: “Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure people

About 15 years ago my wife and I vacationed in Hawaii. Upon landing, we were asked multiple times by the airport authorities if we were carrying any plants, fruits, vegetables, birds, mammals, or reptiles. We were repeatedly warned, especially about smuggling in a snake

Culture is the “unspoken rules about the way we do things around here.

Our church culture should match our church doctrine. The latter shapes and informs the former. Since our primary doctrine is the Gospel, then our culture should align. Do we have a gospel culture? Francis Shaeffer said two things that help us think about church culture more deeply as an evangelist