living the Gospel in an everyday world
John is the lead pastor at Village Church in Portland, OR and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Western Seminary. He also has a strong commitment to building the church worldwide, partnering and teaching ministries in Lebanon and India.
One of my habits is to regularly write a post for this blog site. I am, after all, a mass of habits. I would like to think that my daily choices are the products of well-considered decision making, but as Charles Duhigg notes in his book, The Power of Habit, they are not. They are…
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Dave Kraft shares the fruit of forty-three years of ministry in his newest book, Mistakes Leaders Make. In his forward, Mark Driscoll advises the reader to process the book—take it slow. There is a lot of pastoral wisdom here. It is worth reading and rereading. When I was a pastor in The Netherlands, I worked…
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After hearing of yet another horrific shooting in Connecticut—and witnessing another mindless act of evil much closer to home at Clackamas Town Center, the news will have its usual stories, interviews with eye-witnesses, and ultimately search for some explanation. We will hear words of grief and shock. People will say that Jacob Roberts was a…
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Coming to the end of Fall term, I get to reverse roles and learn from the students. It is always (well, almost always) quite stimulating. My students in leadership class come back to report on a leader they have studied and assessed. Students in a course in worship return with field reports, sharing what they…
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Tomorrow I will lecture on the glorious and inglorious sides of ministry. There’s great glory in watching over souls, of tending to the deepest aspects of a person’s life; glory in ministry’s hiddenness (e.g. the unseen work of prayer); glory in the challenge (what else tests your will, emotions, intellect, tact, patience, imagination, etc. like…
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I am in the great town of Milwaukee tonight, home of century old breweries and Polish steeples and site of this year’s Evangelical Theological Society Meetings. I am here to present a paper, as well as listen to a number of scintillating, brilliant, and fascinating papers by colleagues in fields from philosophy to theology to…
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I just had breakfast with one of my leaders at Village, whose sour mood probably reflects a number of people in my congregation today. The morning after the election, the results are somewhat disturbing. The immediate take-away for me is how much our nation is moving further and further away from the biblical values we…
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For as long as I can remember, I have had a certain fascination with politics. A fair number in my church might assume I have a certain aversion, even a disinterest, as I often avoid the subject in my preaching. Some get downright angry with me for cautioning against placing too much hope in politicians…
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In these days, dominated by candidates and network news and poll numbers and sound bites, I find it helpful to escape it all and get my thoughts re-centered. The other night provided such an opportunity. I was part of a unique gathering, including a few area pastors, Murdock Trust people, a couple of leaders from…
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This past week, Alistair Begg, a noted preacher from Parkside Church,spoke to nearly 300 pastors at Western. I had the privilege of having lunch with him on Tuesday. Given that I was speaking with one of the great contemporary preachers, I couldn’t help but ask if he had ever preached Jeremiah. His answer was immediate…
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