It is not easy to pastor a church. Eugene Peterson describes the church as mysterious and messy. The mystery of the church is often overshadowed by the messiness of the church that we encounter on a regular basis. So Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s statement in Life Together always shocks me and humbles me: Pastors should not complain about [...]

A major part of my just completed PhD dissertation (Fuller Seminary, 2009) deals with the ways traditional denominations need to resist institutionalization in order to remain missionally engaged in culture. The Evangelical Covenant Church is one of a handful of denominations which is taking intentional steps to avoid an unintended, but often predictable, drift towards [...]

Professional clergy are in constant danger of being so consumed by their congregational duties that ministry in their local neighborhood is minimized or neglected altogether. The demands of the institution press upon the pastor with a vengeance. This often leaves the pastor, as well as the congregation, un-engaged and isolated from their wider community. This [...]

Hi all! I have been away for sometime. Sorry about that!  I just finished my dissertation and sent it off to the Research Librarian at Fuller Theological Seminary for a final look over. I will be earning my PhD in Intercultural Studies from Fuller in June.  My dissertation concerns a missional imagining for denominational structures that [...]

I am thinking about heretics again. Seth Godin in his latest book Tribes (a book that should be read, marked up, practiced and shared!) offers a delightful parable of a unicorn in a balloon factory. Balloon factory workers are very timid and fearful. They are afraid of needles, pins, and porcupines, anything sharp. Balloon factories [...]