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What We Could Never Build

Genesis 4 reminds us that we can build an impressive life apart from God, but we cannot build our way out of what is broken inside us. Jesus offers what success never can: Himself.

What’s Crouching at Your Door?

Soul care

Most of us don’t wake up one morning and decide to blow up our lives. We don’t suddenly decide to destroy a friendship, become bitter toward our spouse, compromise our integrity, or walk away from God.

Usually, it happens slowly. Someone from work doesn’t something to hurt us. We replay the events in our head over and over. Then, we interpret motives and characterize the person based on those interpretations.

Eventually, hurt becomes resentment. Resentment begins to feel justified. And before long, we find ourselves saying or doing things we never imagined we would do. This patterns is consistent throughout all of humanity.

Everything We Really Want is Also Really Hard

Scripture

Most people want meaningful relationships, but relationships take work. Many of us want children, but parenting can bring some of the deepest joy and deepest pain of our lives. We want meaningful work, but work can exhaust us. We want community, but then we discover community involves people…and people are messy! Why is that?

Why We Keep Finding a Better Way to Follow Jesus

Soul care

Instead of receiving something new as an addition, we use it as an indictment of what came before. Then something interesting happens. We compare the best version of our new discovery with the worst version of our previous tradition. Of course, the new thing wins. Until we stay around long enough to discover its problems too. Then the cycle begins again.

Every Approach to Spiritual Formation Has a Shadow Side

Soul care

But keep walking down any of those roads and eventually something changes. Eventually every serious approach to spiritual formation interferes with the life we would naturally choose for ourselves. The problem isn’t ultimately finding the perfect spiritual formation system. The question is much simpler. Am I actually getting to know Jesus? And, am helping someone else follow Jesus?

Why Sunday Morning Worship Doesn’t Feel Like A Comedy Show

Culture

If you haven’t heard, I dabble in stand-up comedy in Austin, TX as a pastor. It’s been fairly common when other comics see me do well in a comedy set and win over a room they naturally assume I would bring that same style into Sunday morning. In fact, many of them have said, “If you did that on Sunday morning you would see a lot more people attending your church.” Maybe?

But my goal as a pastor isn’t trying to get a lot of people to attend on Sunday morning. My goal as a pastor is to invite people to be known relationally, so that together we can grow closer to Jesus and eventually help someone else do the same.