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pan-dem-ic: occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population.   The word itself generates fear, uncertainty, and insecurity. Pandemic … the word feels global. Uncontrollable. Uncontainable. Chaotic. And always present. Turn on the news – there it is. Scroll social media – there it is. Engage in conversation with a friend or family member – there it is. Run by Chick-fil-a to grab some heavenly goodness – There. It. Is. Always lurking. We can’t get away from it.   And it is in these seasons we are tempted … we are tempted to take our gaze from the Creator and to focus on the brokenness of the creation.   Psalm 46 offers a different perspective.   God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.   Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.             Th

Several years ago I sat in a “vision” service of a local church and heard the pastor declare to his listeners that while he was hanging out in the woods recently God “spoke” clearly to him and revealed to him a 2020 vision for the church – in other words what their church would look like by the year 2020. The pastor was clear that his vision was “without a doubt a clear word from God.” Of course, this “God-given” vision included larger attendance and giving numbers, more campuses in surrounding cities and bigger influence locally and globally. I even remember vividly the pastor suggesting God informed him they would reach a certain numerical attendance goal based on some type of misguided “tithing” principle where God would give them 10% of the number of people who lived in the specific cities where they planned to launch campuses.  I was somewhat shocked by the confidence with which the speaker made his declarations based on the premise “God spoke” these promises to him. I aske

For a few years now I have basically put down my pen . Outside of writing weekly messages for City Church and a few other thoughts here or there, I have not had a lot to say publicly. Honestly I still don't. God has been teaching me to listen and absorb more than I speak. And in the process, I think God is helping me find my voice again. I am not sure. But I think . I have been through a lot of life in the last decade. The 2010s included both my lowest moments of life and also many of my most favorite memories. God has generated life from death, beauty from ashes, redemption from brokenness. And that is kind of how life works: the good, the bad, and the ugly tend to manifest themselves for seasons of time ... each season gradually teaching, shaping, and transforming us. Most of my lowest moments in life have been self-induced. That is not always the case. Some valleys are the direct consequence of the brokenness of the world we traverse. No explanation provided. Other times