A Pastor in The Northwest

I've been slowly studying the book of Genesis lately and was struck by something that I have been pondering - namely sacred places. In Genesis 22, Abraham is tested by God in a sort of odd and questionable way involving his special son Isaac. The testing involved a 3-day journey to the 'land of Moriah' and a burnt offering sacrifice of Isaac. Of course, Abraham kept some details to himself as he gathered a few young men, provisions, a donkey, and Isaac...probably a good idea... The story is well-known for sure, but, for me, I found the location very intriguing. We find in 2 Chronicles that this 'land of Moriah' was actually a high place or mountain. That passage speaks of Solomon building the first temple in Jerusalem on that very place. Why is this place so special? Well, you'd need to go to another story that involves Solomon's father David. In 2 Samuel 24, we enter a tragic moment in David's life that happened due to his sin. The consequences of his

Over the last several years I've found some helpful writings from the early church writings of the first few centuries of Christianity. Here is a quote I found interesting today (from www.commonprayer.net): Cyprian of Carthage, a third-century North African bishop, wrote, “The world is going mad in mutual extermination, and murder, considered as a crime when committed individually, becomes a virtue when it is committed by large numbers. It is the multiplication of the frenzy that assures impunity to the assassins.” It made me think of the old idea of peer pressure and going with the flow of culture rather than standing out and even swimming against the downstream flow of secular modernity.  Maybe Cyprian was correct in seeing how evil can become standard if enough people in a society or culture accept it? I guess it seems like the idea of strength in numbers and fitting in, etc. Jesus spoke of this danger during His ministry - specifically in the message on the mount He gave in Mat

I'm writing this on a day that has been set aside in our country to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. He certainly holds a special place in the history of our country and many are taking time today to think about his leadership and his words. I wanted to connect today to his work as a pastor and preacher, so, I looked up a message he preached in November of 1957. In a review of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5, he preached about loving one's enemies, "Certainly these are great words, words lifted to cosmic proportions. And over the centuries, many persons have argued that this is an extremely difficult command. Many would go so far as to say that it just isn’t possible to move out into the actual practice of this glorious command. They would go on to say that this is just additional proof that Jesus was an impractical idealist who never quite came down to earth. So the arguments abound. But far from being an impractical idealist, Jesus has become the pr

Sunday in our worship gatherings we talked about living in overflow - a life of abundance and plenty to share. In essence, in Christ, we have infinitely more than enough which may require us all to change our mindset from scarcity to abundance. It reminds me of a song we used to sing called "Enough" - here's the link for you to listen again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Ig-lnWjzQ     The chorus goes like this: All of You is more than enough for All of me, for every thirst and every need You satisfy me, with your love And all I have in You Is more than enough! In Christ, we're transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light - of God's dear Son and that means we are heirs to all of God's provision and blessing!  "He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14 NET May we be a people who bless others because we

It was 20 years ago that I changed careers from information technology in Nashville, Tennessee, and moved with my family back to the Northwest to start a full-time ministry of starting churches in the Seattle suburbs. Wow. Twenty. Much has changed in 20 years. Just think about all that's happened in the last 2 decades in technology, politics, global awareness, and even the fabric of modern society. There are challenges, no doubt, but, moving forward, I believe God is still working out His perfect will for His church and for the world. What is ahead for me and the church as a whole? Well, in the words of people smarter than me, I believe it involves long obedience in the same direction! As long as God has us here, let us be about His good kingdom work for both now and not yet. Let's take a cue this early in January 2024 from the writer of Hebrews 12:1-2: 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that cli