The Essence of Cruciform Discipleship

One of my favorite summary statements of what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus is in 1 John 4:19 . . . "We love because He first loved us." God made the first move to love us by moving toward us in Jesus. That love moves us to vertical love for Him …

The Emmaus Model of Ministry

What can we learn from that “walk to Emmaus” about ministering to the people God has placed in our path? In Luke 24, Jesus gives us a ministry model worth imitating. Four ministries served two hopeless travelers on one road in a single day, yet they show us the history-shaping life and ministry of Jesus …

Not What I Want, But I What I Needed

Shane and Shane (my favorite Christian band) captured perfectly both the attitude of those Palm Sunday Jerusalem crowds and the me-first bent of my own heart in their song “Crucify Him” . . . “I sing Hosanna when I want it all Then I crucify the Son of God ‘Cause He isn’t who I always thought …

Clash of Kingdoms

Like me, the crowds on the first Palm Sunday wanted Christ customized or Christ civilized, but like me, they needed Christ crucified. They wanted a customized Christ. The word “customize” first started being used in the 1930s in America (surprise!). To customize means “to make something to a customer’s specifications." They wanted a Christ and a King who would serve their consumer …