Chapter 5 — The Message and the Way I met Benny Hinn once. You know, the flamboyant charismatic healer and televangelist from the 80’s that waved his white coat, sending people flying under the power of the Spirit. The one who also flew around in a Gulfstream private jet and…

Chapter 4 — The Message and the Way — base unit (noun): one of a set of fundamental units in a system of measurement that is based on a natural phenomenon or established standard and from which other units may be derived (Merriam-Webster) What is church? At first, that seems like a question that does not merit much reflection…

Chapter 3 — The Message and the Way — Vizzini: INCONCEIVABLE! Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word, I don’t think you know what it means. (The Princess Bride, 20th Century Fox, 1987) It’s hard to accept that The Princess Bride is now a “classic”. There are also words we use in church that have become classics; their meaning…

Chapter 2 — The Message and the Way — Haggai is one of those books in the Old Testament that is easy to pass by. It’s short — two chapters — and doesn’t seem to pack the prophetic punch of an Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or even Malachi. But Haggai contains a message that speaks directly and powerfully to a…

The Message and the Way — Introduction — A Movement of Ordinary Christians Finding lost balls and waking sleeping giants to contend for renewal and awaken a movement of ordinary Christians. Chapter 1 — The Empire Has No Clothes How do you follow Jesus in a culture where lies are celebrated as truth and the powers at…

Chapter 1 — The Message and the Way — “But he hasn’t got anything on!” You’ve probably heard the famous folktale by Hans Christian Andersen, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” In the story, two swindlers deceive the emperor into believing that they can weave material that is invisible to anyone who was unfit for their office or not very bright. The vain and insecure emperor decides…

Introduction — The Message and the Way — Remember what it was like when you first got excited about Jesus? God showed you the beauty of the Gospel. You experienced freedom and even felt his presence. You got so amped up! The Bible came alive. You prayed, and God listened! Then, you found other people who also seemed…

Following Jesus, loving God, and loving others — One Sunday, Jesus visited the Community Church of Anywhere for their worship service. He sat in the back and when it was over, the crowd began to file out of the sanctuary. Some people began pointing and whispering. Who was the dirty Jewish-looking guy with sandals? Finally, a little girl…

It’s time for the Church’s sleeping giants to wake up — Finding Lost Golf Balls On the day of my ordination, an elder from my church shared a vision he saw about me. In the vision I was playing golf. This isn’t unusual as I have been playing since age fourteen. However, in this vision, I was standing on a teebox with my wife Amber…