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The Power of God’s Testimony

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Reflections from Week Two of Our Evangelism Class

“Who does that sound like to you?” my friend Blaine asked after reading a passage from Scripture. My Buddhist friend paused, then quietly said, “Uh… Jesus.” Blaine smiled. “You know what? I think you’re right. That sounds like Jesus to me too. Does it mean anything to you that this was written 700 years before Jesus was born?”

I watched the color drain from my friend’s face. For the first time in our many conversations about faith, he had no wise-crack response, no smarmy comeback. He just sat there, speechless.

That moment, years ago, taught me something powerful about the difference between sharing my personal experience with Jesus and sharing God’s own testimony about His Son. Both have their place, but one carries a weight and authority that the other simply cannot match. Continue reading →

The Missing Piece: What Following Jesus Really Costs

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This post is adapted from Sunday’s sermon on John 15:18-27.
Click here to listen to the full message.

Have you ever tried to assemble something with an important piece missing or without all the instructions? Or attempted to understand a conversation when you’ve missed the crucial context?

That’s exactly how many of us approach Christianity—we’re missing a vital piece of information that would make everything else click into place.

Continue reading →

Church Membership: Beyond Names on a List

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Church Membership: Gather

The church is not a building, but a body of believers united in Christ.

Changing—Not Lowering—Our Expectations

As a church leader for over a decade and a half, I’ve had many conversations with people explaining why they’re leaving their church. During one particularly memorable discussion, someone listed several complaints: the services were too long, the environment was too noisy with crying babies, and it was difficult to hear the sermon.

While listening, I suggested they might need to “change their expectations.” They misunderstood, thinking I meant they should lower their standards and accept mediocrity. That wasn’t my point at all.

I wasn’t asking them to lower their expectations—I was inviting them to transform them entirely. If we have the wrong expectations, even something good might seem disappointing. It’s like expecting a brownie and biting into a steak—you’d be surprised and likely disappointed, but if you were expecting steak from the beginning, it could be delicious.

In fact, many of us need to raise our expectations of what church is truly about. Continue reading →