“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.‘” John 20:21 This past weekend, we moved our daughter into her new dorm at the University of Florida. The weekend before that, we drove another daughter up to Long Island University for her final year as a musical …
If Jesus’ disciples were to fulfill the Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations” and be His witnesses “in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,” they needed to be equipped to minister cross-culturally. How would this differ from the equipping they would receive in the Jewish towns throughout the Galilee …
Jesus-style equipping was purposeful, practical, and portable. Immediately after He challenged the disciples to become “fishers of people,” He took them on people-fishing expeditions. They were learning in the laboratory of real life how to bring the good news to both the religious and irreligious, to people with varying backgrounds with a multitude of needs …
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…” Ephesians 4:11-12 Our primary role as ministry leaders is to equip people for works of service. What does it mean to equip people …
I spent the last four days in Daytona Beach equipping students to be, and make, disciples of Jesus. While we had to improvise because of COVID-19 restrictions, the students were still fully engaged and excited about how their faith was being challenged. We used Sonlife’s Reverb training to energize and equip the students to live …
Back in 2016 I decided to take a deep dive into Jesus, studying a different harmony of the Gospels every month throughout the year. In 2018, I did the same thing again, revisiting a few of my favorite harmonies from 2016 while studying through several new ones. In 2021, I plan on taking another deep …
Fully God, fully man. Jesus lived His earthly life in dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Jesus fulfilled His earthly Messianic calling through the power of the Holy Spirit. Stepping into the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus picked up the scroll from Isaiah and boldly declared: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, …
Jesus was a Jew. He was raised by a Jewish mother and a Jewish stepfather in a small Jewish town, Nazareth. He was born in a small hamlet on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, a member of the tribe of Judah, in the line of David. Jesus was given a Jewish name, Yeshua, and ate …
Last week I was in Denver for meetings with our ministry partner, Dare 2 Share, when the words of a respected Christian leader blew up social media. As we all have seen in the past month and even recent years, the words of leaders have an effect on the people they serve and ultimately reflect …
Fifteen years ago, I partnered with my dear friend, Pastor Wiljean Compere, to start Open Door Haiti, a U.S. based non-profit that supports Pastor Wiljean’s ministry efforts in the poorest country in the western hemisphere. During that time, we’ve raised several million dollars to support church planting efforts, build a Disciple-Making Training Center and Bible …