I suppose that, like Martin Luther five hundred years ago, most of us in ministry have strong feelings about what we'd like to change about the church. These are some of the convictions I've developed over the past decade of ministry. These are somewhat untried and untested ideas, but I really believe these things.
1. No one one church is or should act like it's the whole body of Christ. 2. The value of denominations is in what the uniquely offer to the Body of Christ not what separates them from the rest of the Body. 3. "When God looks at a city, He doesn't see many churches; He sees one church in many congregations." - Ed Silvoso 4. For the good of the kingdom and for the wise use of God's resources small churches need to join forces, pool resources, even merge together! (heresy, I know.) 5. God has blessed large churches to be a blessing to the rest of the body of Christ. 6. "The purpose of unity is not 'unity for the sake of unity' but to demonstrate that God's truth is true." - Mike King 7. A divided Body of Christ is a defeated Body of Christ. 8. Youth pastors and young pastors are the best candidates for forging unity (new wine and new wineskins and all that). 9. A church united is extremely difficult requiring, and thus demonstrating, the supernatural love of God. 9.5. This kind of love is what the world is waiting to see. Those are my thoughts about building a better church. I'd love to hear yours.
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WHO I AM
I'm a follower of Jesus, husband to my lovely wife Judy, father of Evangelina, Micah, Josiah, and Jeremiah, missionary to the northeast United States and advocate for all things youth ministry. WHAT I DO
I am the northeast regional coordinator for the National Network of Youth Ministries. I've worked for the last 24 years as the co-executive director of Teens For Christ, a ministry that equips teenagers to share their faith in their schools. I also served on staff at Cherry Tree Alliance Church for 15 years as youth pastor and family life pastor. My Websites
Youth Ministry Consultations Youth Ministry Networking 9 Month Mission Trip Speaking at camps, retreats, youth groups, etc. Archives
March 2022
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