Recently I heard a local pastor say something along the lines of, “We need to focus more on building on-ramps to the kingdom and less on parking lots for the church.” Many would agree that the church universal spends way too much time focusing on its own needs – building campaigns,...

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.        Howard Thurman Pastor Sammy Williams recently asked his congregation, “What makes you come alive?” After...

This week we launched our north side Dream Team with the following stated purpose: The goal of this group is to discern how God might be calling Embrace Richmond, Northminster Church and each of us individually to be agents of blessing to the north side. We will be using an asset based...

I recently heard a pastor say that the most important question a church can ask itself is, “What would it look like if God’s kingdom were to become fully manifest in our neighborhood, our city, our nation and our world?” I would add that the second most important question a church can...

After publicly outing myself as a pastor in hiding, I have received an outpouring of support as well as concern.  What would it look like for me to take off the Executive Director hat and put on a Pastor hat?  What in my work would change? The truth is absolutely nothing would change in my...

This post is a personal confession.  I have been in hiding.  I know God called me to minister boldly as a part of the church universal but I have been hiding behind my non-profit and under my “Executive Director” title.  I have been hanging out in the margins with people who let me be...

Over the past six months I have traveled to conferences in Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta, Alexandria and southern California.  I have had visitors from Washington State and southern California come to Richmond and share their stories.  What is obvious to me after talking with dozens of these...

It’s “Hatmaker” week.  When I realized that Jen Hatmaker, author of ” “7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess” is the wife of Brandon Hatmaker, founder of Austin New Church and author of “Barefoot Church”, I downloaded Barefoot Church and found I love his thoughts as...

I just finished Scot McKight’s book titled, “Junia is not Alone.”  In the book he provides us with an illustration of how the voice of women who served in levels of leadership throughout biblical history have been silenced, with Junia being just one such woman.  Reference to the...

You never are together [simply] to be together, you’re together because you have something you want to do, work that [needs to be done]. — Stanley Hauerwas In my prior post, I shared Robert Lupton’s challenge to the church to move away from charity that breeds dependency and toward...

As I shared earlier this week, I believe one of the primary roles of a minister is helping people cultivate the practice of listening to the sound of the genuine in themselves. However, ministers cannot do so authentically unless we cultivate the practice of listening to the sound of the...

I love people who are bold enough to tell the truth especially when the truth will mean rocking the boat.  Robert Lupton is a bold truth teller in his book “Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It.”  Below are just a few excerpts from...