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January 10, 2013
Making Disciples: What’s a Church to do?
As the Spiritual Formation Pastor at River Valley Church I spend my time thinking, planning, praying, and shepherding towards the goal of Christlikeness in our congregation. It’s my ‘job’ but it’s more than that; I’m thoroughly convinced that if we don’t succeed in making disciples who make disciples in the local church we don’t really [...]
December 10, 2012
Covenant Triangle Questions
Below is the Covenant Triangle. (If you’re unfamiliar with the Covenant Triangle, see this by Mike Breen). Every story, every teaching, every book of scripture is written through the lens of relationship (Covenant) and responsibility (Kingdom). Below is a teaching tool that summarizes the reality of Covenant from scripture: Some questions I use personally to align myself [...]
December 4, 2012
Difference Between Prayerful and Neurotic Reflection: Working the Learning Circle with Jesus
I’ve been using a discipleship vehicle at River Valley Church for about 18 months called a huddle. The foundational tool for this discipleship process is the Learning Circle. The time has come, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the good news. A fundamental assumption is that “today is the day of salvation” – [...]
June 26, 2012
Jesus Revealed Video Series
I remember when I first saw a Nooma video: I was a youth pastor at my first church looking for a way to provoke the imaginations and hearts of my kids. I was tired of ‘speeching ‘ at them and asking them questions and getting “Jesus/God/The Bible” sort of answers. Nooma was the [...]
March 9, 2012
“Christianity is a performance, not a text” with Stanley Hauerwas
“This is a deep misunderstanding about how Christianity works. Of course we believe that God is God and we are not and that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit but that this is not a set of propositions — but is rather embedded in a community of practices that make those beliefs themselves work [...]
February 29, 2012
Reading Scripture in order to Love
I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. Jn 15.17 What do you use Jesus’ teaching for? The temptation exists in our Christian world today to read scripture – specifically, the words, teachings and prophetic actions of Jesus – for lesser ends: To alleviate my anxiety – Feeling [...]
February 27, 2012
Prayer of Dedication and Submission
O God of such truth as sweeps away all lies, of such grace as shrivels all excuses, come now to find us for we have lost our selvess in a shuffle of disguises and the rattle of empty words. Let your Spirit move mercifully to recreate us from the chaos of our lives. We have [...]
February 24, 2012
Describing Spiritual Transformation
The Submissional Life is a blog exploring the intersection between Christian spirituality, formation, and mission in a posture of humility, meekness, and submission. I’m currently reading Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton. She offers this description of spiritual transformation: “Spiritual transformation is the process by which Christ is formed in [...]
February 22, 2012
3 Religious Temptations in the Christian Life
One of my favorite theologians, Michael Gorman, has a new post here about a sermon he preached on the book of Revelation. In it he mentions two temptations facing the churches in Revelation (and specifically Smyrna – Rev 2.8-11). They are: 1. Moralistic Therapeutic Deism There is a god who created the world, looks down on us from [...]
January 18, 2012
Submission to a Person, not a Principle or Proposition: Resisting the Temptation to De-Flesh the Word-Made-Flesh
“What if God hasn’t given us a watertight argument, but rather a watertight person?” – Dick Lucas (from Tim Keller, The Reason for God) “Obedience is indispensable. Not to a static code, however helpful it may be at times. But obedience to God, who is present with us in every situation and is speaking to [...]
