In this month’s episode of Bringing An Ancient Faith to a Modern World, I share my thoughts about the “next phase” of church ministry and leadership. In light of the unique circumstances that we’re living in. the thought on everyone’s mind is this: where do we go from here?
Read MorePODCAST: Influencing A Culture of Inclusion
"The Church is a hospital, and not a courtroom, for souls.” St. John Chrysostom
If such is truly the case, then we need to take an honest look at how we (the Church) are doing at welcoming and accepting people from all walks of life and with various “spiritual ailments”.
In this month’s episode of Bringing An Ancient Faith to a Modern World, we discuss how we can influence a culture of inclusion in our churches and help make them the safest places on the planet for people to approach.
Read MoreST & SA: Who Are They? Part 1
Happy new year! We kicked off 2020 with a bang yesterday as we started a two-week series called ST & SA: Who Are They?
The series is about our patron saints at STSA: St. Timothy (ST) and St. Athanasius (SA). In this week’s message, we learn about St. Timothy from his namesake, Fr. Timothy! We learn not just about the life of this great saint, but also a) what we can learn from it and b) why his name was chosen for our church.
Read MoreHAPPY Part 5 - Blessed are the Peacemakers
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
What is peacemaking and why is it so important? Who exactly are we trying to make peace with? And why did Jesus connect “peacemaking” with being a “son of God”?
All that and more in the final installment of our series HAPPY.
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Are You A "Friend of Sinners" Too?
It’s sad but it’s true. The trend is clear. The studies all say the same thing. Despite the clear Biblical mandate to share our faith with others… despite a sincere desire to advance the kingdom of God… despite the deep concern we might have for our friends and family who are far from Christ… despite all those things, the fact is this:
The longer someone attends church, the less likely that person is to have a meaningful spiritual discussion with someone who is far from Christ.
Why is that? How can that be? Shouldn’t it be that getting closer to Christ and attending church more frequently would lead to MORE evangelistic discussions? More times of sharing our faith? More times where we take a risk and invite a co-worker or neighbor to church? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?
My experience tells me that the graph above is right on the money. Here’s how it works:
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LETTER TO DIOGNETUS - Untold Stories, Part 2
One of the most powerful and mysterious writings of the early church is something called THE LETTER TO DIOGNETUS. It is an anonymous letter written in the 2nd century, less than 50 years after the end of the New Testament era.
What makes it so unique is that it is the first letter or “epistle” NOT addressed to fellow Christians, but rather to a pagan. Because of that, it serves as the one of the earliest accounts of how the early church shared their faith with non-believers and presented the good news of Jesus Christ to the world around.
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Dear Mr. Christian
Dear Mr. Christian,
Hi...I'm not like you. I'm no "believer" but I wanted to have a little heart to heart with you since you seem to be interested in wearing your God on your sleeve. I'll be candid so don't be offended. I'll try not to make fun of your Jesus fish or your cool Christian gear. This is just my open letter.
First, can you stop treating Christianity like an STD? I'm not scared of catching it from you. I know that sometimes you're so afraid to offend me that you sort of get paranoid and weird. Relax dude. There are times when I'm even a little curious by things you do (like why you practically live at church or have the weirdest & most fluctuating diet ever) but why do you get so awkward about it?
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Any Divine Appointments Today?
Today's guest post comes from Uwe Bower, a core member of the STSA Church family and a dear friend of mine as well. In today's post, Uwe inspires us to think beyond what our eyes might see and our ears might here. God might be calling you into action in ways you might not notice if you don't pay attention. And you don't want to miss out on that!
Read MoreLost or Found [sermon video]
"When we lose something of value, we focus on what’s LOST to neglect of what’s UNLOST."
As we celebrated Pentecost yesterday - aka "the birthday of the Church" - I wanted to reflect on what it means to be the Church and how that identity translates into my life today.
We looked at three parables of Jesus and saw that being the Body of Christ is all about PEOPLE and making sure you have the right "PEOPLE CATEGORIES."
Check out the message above to see what I mean.
Read MoreGO - Mission: Witness, Part 5
"We are not here on a vacation. We are here on a mission."
That was the takeaway from yesterday's finale in the Mission: Witness series. We looked at the life of the first ever American saint canonized by the Orthodox church and saw how his life could hopefully inspire us GO...
...beyond our comfort zones... out of our little bubbles... away from our self-centered way of thinking.
We were sent in order to GO!
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My "AHA" Moment
A recent sermon by Fr. Anthony talked about evangelism. How do we go around and talk about Jesus, and how do we bring Jesus to the people around us. I am surrounded by friends who are atheists. They are aware of my belief and respect my religion and are aware of my fasting time and have seen the many pictures of St. Mary and Jesus Christ in my room.
Despite that I always feel the need to be cautious when we talk because of fear of being teased and embarrassment, and sometimes because I think I will be offending them.
Read MoreLOVE - Mission: Witness, Part 4
If you think you know what LOVE means, you ain't seen nothing yet!
In this week's message, we take a look at two people - Jim and Elisabeth Elliot - whose genuine love and limitless acceptance was taken to an unfathomable level.
It's a story that everyone needs to hear. It's a reminder about the greatest and most powerful element in the entire universe... that is, LOVE. And where love is, God is as well.
Read MoreSERVE - Mission: Witness, Part 3
Week 3 in our latest series MISSION: WITNESS and this week we're looking at a third manner of preaching the gospel: SERVICE.
And our example for this week is one of my all-time favorite men in Christian history - George Mueller, a 19th century German who provided education and care for thousands of orphaned street children in England at a time when society didn't care about them.
As as much as WHAT he did was truly inspirational, HOW he did it is absolutely incredible! A true man of faith and man of prayer who witnessed to the goodness and kindness of our God.
May his story inspire you just as it did to me.
Read MoreDo the Work of An Evangelist
“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5
Anyone who calls themselves a Christian/follower of Christ is called to do the work of an evangelist. Actually... let me say that more bluntly....if YOU call yourself a Christian/follower of Christ, then YOU are called to do the work of an evangelist. No wiggle room there.
But evangelism doesn’t mean standing on a corner and yelling at people to repent before they go to hell (see video above).
Read MoreCHANGE - Mission: Witness, Part 2
Can fighting for social justice and change in our society be a form of witnessing and evangelism?
In this week's message - part 2 of MISSION: WITNESS - we answer that question by looking at the life of a 20th century German pastor who fought against the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler - Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
And what we discover - as Bonhoeffer once said - is that "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."
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Are You An Audio-Visual Christian?
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Preach the gospel at all times; and if necessary, use words.” It’s become a popular cliché amongst Christians today. We use it with regards to the idea of doing evangelism in our workplaces, schools, communities, etc. The principle behind it is that we should let our actions speak louder than our words.
So don’t tell people to be honest; be honest yourself. Don’t tell people to be kind-hearted; be kind-hearted yourself. Don’t tell people that you are a Christian…show them that you are one! Let people “see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
Very nice…very spiritual-sounding…very true indeed. No one can disagree with the concept.
But the question is this: is that enough? Or do we sometimes need to do more? We all agree that our witness should BEGIN with our actions, but should it END there as well?
Read MoreSPEAK - Mission: Witness, Part 1
We kicked off a new series yesterday called MISSION: WITNESS. In it, we're talking about different ways that we can be witnesses/evangelists in the world today.
Each week in this series, we'll look at one of the "lesser-known" heroes of Christianity - someone who has witnessed to Christ in their own unique way - and we'll see that there's more than one way to be an evangelist.
Our hero for week one? St. Photini, the greatest preacher that you know nothing about.
Read MoreTwo Questions from GOD’S NOT DEAD 2
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the fact that we’re seeing so many movies about faith and Christianity these days. It seems like every month, there’s a new movie that not only entertains but also inspires. And I LOVE IT!!!
The latest Christian movie to hit the big screen is called GOD’S NOT DEAD 2 – which opened up at #4 on weekend box office charts (followed by another Christian movie, Miracles from Heaven, at #5).
On Monday night, the STSA church family rented out a theater and watched the movie together. And it was GREAT! Two thumbs up if you ask me! What I loved about it was that it really made you think – not think to try to figure out the plot line or “whodunit” – but think about much greater issues in life and society.
Today, I want to share two questions that I walked away with and give you a chance to ask any questions you might have as well – either via the comments section below or on my weekly Periscope at 12:30 pm EST
Read MoreLEADING A QUESTIONABLE LIFE - Seasoning Life, Part 1
"Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, SEASONED WITH SALT, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." Colossians 4:5-6
I AM SO PUMPED UP ABOUT THIS SERIES! It's called Seasoning Life and we're talking about 5 habits that we need as Christians to make sure that our lives are "properly seasoned." (you have to listen to the message to understand what I mean)
In today's intro message, we talked about role in the kingdom of God - not as civilians, but as soldiers...troops on the front lines in the mission for God's kingdom. If we're going to live as soldiers, then our objective must be one thing: TO LEAD A QUESTIONABLE LIFE.
What does that mean? Check out the video above and see for yourself. And did I mention that I am PUMPED UP for this series?!
Christianity & America
As many of you know, I recently returned from a two week mission trip to Kenya with my family. That trip made me think a lot about what mission is and how it applies to life back here in America. In this week’s message, I share those thoughts and how I believe the concept of “mission” translates to the United States of America.
How does "mission" work in America? Are we supposed to be knocking on people’s doors with Bibles in our hands? Does the idea of mission even apply to life in America?
How can we – the Christians in America – make an impact on our nation and bring it back to its Christian roots?
That’s the topic in this week’s message. Hope you enjoy. And may God bless America.