To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Ephesians 4:7)

The marvelous mosaic of people that makes up the body of Christ was never meant to be a colorless uniformity. God’s desire has never been to run the nations through his salvation factory and reproduce identical little Christian replicates. Yes, the body is marked by a Spirit-enabled unity (v. 4), but within that unity is a remarkable diversity, one that is based on more than merely different cultures, experiences, and personalities – it is based on the various gifts Christ has distributed for the enrichment of our common life together in him. But all our various gifts come from Christ’s one, true Gift: the Holy Spirit who enables both our unity and diversity. Continue reading The Gift-Giving Gift →

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. (Matthew 28:19a)

The Great Commission, the parting command of the resurrected Christ to all who would follow him, has been the impetus behind all evangelism, missions, and discipleship for the two millennia of the church’s existence. These words were not a suggestion, not a platitude, not some mere truism. Rather, these words define the outward thrust of the church’s joint life as Christ’s body. He didn’t say, “Make your buildings comfortable, your programs relevant, your hospitality warm so that they will come to you.” Those things are all good, but his command was to go out. Into all the world, in fact. Not discriminating by color, race, or culture. His command is to go and let the light of the gospel penetrate into every corner of the world…through us. It’s an amazing command. Continue reading A Heart Like His →

“Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.” (Mark 10:43-44)

What is the highest and most lofty thing you can aspire to as a person? Different people have different senses of what their ceiling is. For some, the sky’s the limit. For others, they don’t think they can reach quite so high. The truth is, whether your highest goal is something like becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or to something less ambitious, we must always allow the words of Jesus to keep us grounded in reality. For him, the highest of aspirations wasn’t to be great, as in some worldly sense of greatness. Rather, real greatness is when the goodness of God – that which is pure, and holy, and selfless – permeates all we are and takes root deep in our hearts. Continue reading To Be Good or To Be Great →

He spent the whole night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)

Have you ever taken the time to perform a relationship audit of your life, thinking deeply about the many different kinds of associations you have? If you have, you probably noticed that you can generally divide all the people you know into different categories. There are those closest to you, such as a spouse, sibling, or your very best friend/s. Then there’s your larger group of friends, people you enjoy being around and spending time with every now and then. Beyond that are acquaintances, people you know and might be friendly with, but you’re not exactly friends in any sort of meaningful way. I think you get my point: there are different layers to the relationships we have in life. This is true for pretty much every person alive. Continue reading The Defining Relationship →

Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men. (Mark 1:17)

There is a striking honesty about Jesus’ call. When he calls us to come follow him, it’s never to come do something he isn’t already doing, nor is it to come be something he isn’t already himself. His call to all who would follow him is a calling to himself ‒ to come and be what he is, to come and do what he does. If Jesus had been a general, he would have called these first followers to become soldiers. If he had been a scholar, he would have recruited them to his school. But Jesus’ interest in people is not military or academic; he wants people’s hearts. He wants to cast a net into the world and draw as many people to himself as he can, and he invites his followers to come join him in this endeavor. Continue reading Jesus the Master Fisher of Men →