Category: Christian Living

Kickstarting Our Discipleship Gears in Tacloban

We just did our first Making Disciples Training here in Victory Tacloban yesterday. Fifteen leaders and upcoming leaders came and we had a great time talking about the very thing that is so important in the heart of Jesus: discipleship. Why do we think this is important?

Well, for starters, when Jesus was about to go to heaven, the last words he uttered were his commission for his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. It sometimes sounds trite to our modern ears because we hear that all the time but when you really think of it, the parting words of a person are usually the most important. Jesus told us to make disciples because it matters to him; and if it matters to him, it should matter to us too.

Continue reading Kickstarting Our Discipleship Gears in Tacloban

Why I Serve in Tacloban City

tacThis is the concluding part of the email I sent to Pastor Gilbert about the ministry in Tacloban City:

Thank you for the opportunity to serve here. It’s difficult but I also see the beauty of doing ministry with only the bare essentials: no fanfare, no floodlights, no modern contraptions, no hype, just the gospel and the people. When I saw the people’s reaction yesterday after the preaching of the Word, I saw the surpassing beauty of the gospel placed side by side with human suffering. It was a glorious ruin, it was beauty rising out of the ashes, it was powerful. Pastor Kix preached “Who Do You Say I Am?” and concluded with these words: Continue reading Why I Serve in Tacloban City

Is Christ Enough?

Jared C. Wilson:

One of the problems I have with all the “chase your dreams!” cheerleading from Christian leaders is not because I begrudge anyone wanting to achieve their dreams, but because I don’t think we readily see how easy it is to conflate our dream-chasing with God’s will in Christ.

You know, it’s possible that God’s plan for us is littleness. His plan for us may be personal failure. It’s possible that when another door closes, it’s not because he plans to open a window but because he plans to have the building fall down on you. The question we must ask ourselves is this: Will Christ be enough?

Boring Testimonies

Wise words from Stephen Altrogge about people who don’t have very dramatic conversion testimonies:

Don’t be disappointed that you don’t have a gripping, over-the-top testimony. Don’t feel like you somehow missed out. Will you get to tell your story in front of large audiences? Probably not. But that’s a good thing. Be grateful that God spared you from the heart-breaking, soul-wrenching consequences of some sins. Be grateful that God saved you before you could wreck your life. Be grateful that you’re not carrying years of baggage around with you.

Losing the Center

This is a very interesting point in chapter 4 of Pastor Steve Murrell‘s book 100 Years From Now. He was writing about Joseph and Mary’s trip to to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast and losing Jesus on their way back home to Nazareth. The story begs the question: Is it really possible to do all things religious and still miss the point of it all?

The answer is apparently yes. Church history is littered with stories of people, churches and movements that have gone a little bit sidetracked with something else other than Jesus. Not that they drove Jesus completely out of their churches but that, for some reasons, Jesus is no longer front and center of the life of their congregations. Continue reading Losing the Center