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What does ‘success’ look like in following Jesus?
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we define success in the Christian life in general and specifically in ministry. I confess that part of me shies away from defining success and I don’t think I’m alone in this regard. I think I avoid defining success partly because...
Blog Archive
How to take on a Bible-reading habit in the new year
As the new year begins, many people use the opportunity to begin a Bible-reading plan. We asked Associate Pastor Billy Craig about his experiences with his Bible-reading plan and to offer some advice for anyone looking to jump in this year. He has been using the same...
Praying … that we grow in prayer
Recently, I wrote about why the Church needs to be “Reformed and always reforming according to the Word of God and the call of the Spirit.” Prayer is one of those places we need to be growing. Every week, leading off the prayer part of our Friday email, we include the...
We’ve been blessed, and we want to bless others
Jim Stiefvater was recently part of a team that helped with repairs to the sanctuary at a Kentucky church damaged by a mudslide. He reflects on what it means to give back and wants to invite you into the project. The door was old. Probably opened and closed for...
Hurricane Ida did its damage. Now, we’re partnering to rebuild.
Being part of a connected church means helping when others are in need. We did that recently when we sent a team to help Shepard Memorial Church in Stopover, Kentucky, one of the churches in our regional body that suffered major damage from a mudslide in the rains...
It’s harvest season. What are you doing?
Fall, or “harvest season,” is my favorite time of year, so I’ve been thinking a lot about the harvest these days. Jesus thought about the harvest, too. In John 4:35, Jesus tells us the “fields are ripe for harvest.” Similarly, in Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus tells us “the...
How you can serve your community right now
One way we proclaim Jesus is by serving our community, and we have three ways you can do that now and in the coming months. Our Soup Kitchen organizers need teams for the Soup Kitchen schedule. The organizers have five of the needed eight teams. They are specifically...
4 gospel elements that help us grow in Christ
I’ve been thinking about how we grow in Christ and I think the answer will involve a unique mixture of four gospel elements. First, we have to have “gospel content.” We need the scriptures and the true narrative about who God is and who we are. We need good teaching...
How my garden taught me to slow down and get back to the essential
Less is more. We hear that phrase a lot, but the truth of it came home to me this year through my vegetable garden when I noticed my more productive plantings were the ones that were less crowded. I have this bad tendency to try to cram too many plants into too small...
Want to deepen your walk with Jesus? Look at him, over and over.
It’s a question I wrestle with often. How can I change? How can I become more loving and sacrificial? How can I put aside the things that aren’t good for me? How can I spend more time reading the Bible? How can I better obey the things Jesus calls me to? How can I...
To be transformed, conform
Romans 8:29 tells us that “those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” We tend to get stuck on foreknowledge and predestination, but what I’ve been thinking about is being conformed to the image of Jesus. Ultimately it is God who...