Holy Spirit

The Importance of Naming the Spirit Working in Our Lives

We are being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). The Spirit does this with individuals. But he also can do so with congregations.

Name the Spirit at Work in Our Lives

We are being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). The Spirit does this with individuals. But he also can do so with congregations.

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Fresh Behavioral Perspectives on Ministry

Consider fresh perspectives on the challenge of re-tooling our inherited ministries. And the emphasis is indeed on ministries, not just academic theology alone. Theologians like to make distinctions, but if a distinction doesn’t make a difference in ministry, why pursue it?

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Dry Bones, Hear The Word of the Lord

The prophet Ezekiel gave us the image of the Word of the Lord breathing new life into old, dry bones. He assured, “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live” (Ezekiel 37). Traditional churches are in danger of seeing their bones go dry in our times. We need the Spirit to refresh us. The way he […]

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Re-Discovering the Holy Spirit

Every congregation has some. Mature Christians well along in their journey to becoming more like Christ. When asked, others can usually point them out by name. What they convey is fruit the Holy Spirit has produced in them. The Apostle Paul lists some, like love, joy, peace, and patience. Under the influence of the Spirit, these inner qualities often […]

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The Head Rules the Belly Through the Chest

I am intrigued by an insight from C.S. Lewis. Jeff Dryden highlights Lewis’ metaphor that “the head rules the belly through the chest.” The chest is the heart seen as the seat of emotions. The belly is irrational passions. The chest has to be trained to love what the head recognizes as good, otherwise it will not have the […]

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The End To This Series of Blogs

This blog will be the last in what became a weekly series of 128 blogs. I have run out of productive things to say. My emphasis from the beginning was to understand the decline of traditional mainline congregations with our distinguished histories. The underlying question is how to turn this trend around. Answers are to […]

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Choosing a Specific Community of the Word

America has approximately 180 denominations. Each was forged out of controversy at some point in its history. Each called on the Bible to mark out its position in the dispute that set them apart. So, which is the true interpretation? One easy response to this confusion is to refuse to choose. This is happening among […]

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Many Short Prayers Are Better Than A Few Long Ones

Six GROWTH practices: Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Go to God in Prayer and Worship Believers tend to admire those who spend a long time in prayer. They must be especially devout. The rest of us usually feel guilty in comparison. Yet highly admired Christian leaders taught otherwise. Augustine of Hippo (5th century) preferred […]

Why Bother To Grow Spiritually?

Six GROWTH practices: Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Think of spiritual growth as going through stages of development. Martin Luther himself offered a three-stage scheme of faith development. First is learning the external rules of church life. The second is living faithfully but out of guilt with no joy. The third is living with […]

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Six Basics for Spiritual GROWTH

Are you interested in growing spiritually? Most Christians are not. The usual category for this topic is discipleship. Believers should want to become more like Christ. However, in my experience, most don’t because they do not understand the benefits of such growth. This is because they do not understand the work of the Holy Spirit. […]