Mark asked me to post a blog entry before the end of the month that has something to do with God, church, and world. Thanks for the direction, Mark—that makes it a pretty open field.

I’m going to try to be provocative. So…here it goes. The question I’d like to open up today is this: ‘What difference does the world make for the church?’ I’d like to offer two somewhat interrelated observations about this question and then close with some questions to consider.

(1) We often phrase the question th… Continue

That seems like a simple enough question, doesn't it? Who can do theology? Who is allowed to think critically about "God stuff"? Who is qualified to discern the many ways in which God's story is intersecting with ours? I know the Sunday School answer (besides Jesus, always the best bet in Sunday School): everyone can do theology. Everyone can think critically about "God stuff." Everyone is qualified to discern how God's story intersects with their own. But to quote my good friend and college foo… Continue

The week before I left my wife, children, and the pacific northwest to fly to Rochester Hills, Michigan for our first one week intensive course as a part of Rochester College's first Missional Leadership cohort I began to get nervous. What kind of people will I be in community with during this learning experience? What kind of learning will we be engaged in? What have I gotten myself into?! And what a generous blessing it was to be welcomed into our first classroom experience by… Continue

Having been together for the retreat and then our first week of classes as a cohort has been a huge blessing in getting to know each other. But I believe this blog gives us a lasting blessing being able to discuss some of the things we heard in class while others listen in and comment as well. I really look forward to your input on this!

Sitting in Dr. Patrick Keifert’s class last week there were several statements I heard with which I wholeheartedly agree, and found myself thinking, “Wish I’d… Continue

Last week we welcomed the Alpha cohort for the MRE in Missional Leadership here at Rochester College. They are church planters, advocates for the homeless, preachers, youth ministers, and lay leaders (and even one ex-Soviet fighter pilot). A wonderful mix. While they were together, they established a common rule of life, started work on their eportfolio, sat at the feet of Randy Harris, Rubel Shelly, Sara Barton, Pat Keifert and Greg Stevenson. They made new friends, formed a new facebook group,… Continue