I was raised by wolves. Just kidding. But I was not raised in a context anchored to any tradition. My spiritual formation took place in a non-denominational Bible church. I was raised by a single mom who remarried after my dad died. Even after my mother remarried, I had little to no stability in my…
DetailsSo, this month contains two commemorative dates that cause me to have more introspection than normal. April 1, 2005 – I became a Pastor April 19, 2009 – We held our first service as ReCAST Church (in a basement, in a home on the north side of Mattawan). That means ReCAST will be 16 years…
DetailsMy wife and I made it quite a while without a large animal pet. There were Amelia and Zaccheaus, the zebra finches we had early in our marriage. We had a brief foray into hamsters when our kids were young. We had a freshwater aquarium for a few years. But Linda and I both shared…
DetailsI sit here and write this blog in between conversations. So far this morning I have had three conversations with people who attend ReCAST church. (After I wrote the previous sentence I had a great conversation with a young couple who just came through to grab a coffee and stopped to chat). I am…
DetailsI have recently been made aware of a particular woman with a large following who has made a list of unapproved theologians and pastors and authors. Of course, she is the common thread. Her list includes Daily Grace Co. Her list includes John Piper. Her list includes Tim Keller. Her list includes the Bible Project.…
DetailsI often tell people in my role as a pastor that we need to keep reading the Bible in order to keep exercising our faith. I think many of us have a tendency to think of faith as a static thing. Either I have it, or I don’t. But faith, as evidence of things not…
DetailsWhile I was rereading ‘The Pastor’ by Eugene Peterson last week, I was struck again by the nature of my full time role as a pastor. I have a strange job. I am employed in the service of a people in order to shine as a consistent spotlight on the invisible God. He is there.…
DetailsSeveral years ago, I was more in touch with contemporary culture. I would blog nearly every week on Thursdays and I used my blog as an opportunity to exegete our culture, much like I use my sermons on Sunday to exegete a passage of the Bible. But something shifted, and I am not sure if…
DetailsThis past year I read/listened to the most books I’ve ever recorded in a single year. Being granted an eight week sabbatical AND listening to a lot of fiction while biking helped boost the number of books. I have found it helpful in the past to categorize books according to my level of recommendation. But…
DetailsGod has created a world in which we experience time as past, present, and future. I cannot conceive of any other type of world, but I’m sure God can. For some reason, God seems interested in the progress of His creation. We learn from the past. We live in the present. And we anticipate the…
DetailsI don’t know how long you’ve been kicking around on this planet, but I’ve been here for over half a century. And that doesn’t make me any kind of expert. I could live here for centuries and still find surprises that would challenge my perceptions. But one thing that doesn’t take very long at all…
DetailsReCAST Church has continued to grow. From about 30 people meeting in a basement in 2009 to a store front, to renting school space, to building a building, to going to two services it has been amazing to see the growth. There was once a time when I was the only paid staff member. Things…
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