The plain, difficult sense of scripture
Calvin argued for the self-evident clarity of the Bible—the same Bible he wrote thousands of pages about.
A community that faces fear
When I preach, I am absorbed in faces. I'm captured by the sustained opportunity preaching creates to gaze into the faces of those I am seeking to serve as a pastor. In worship, it seems more obvious that others are seeing me. In fact, I am truly seeing them. I see and absorb all kinds of things about people during these moments of proclamation. The most profound observation is also the most obvious: they are a gift.
Sunday, November 13, 2011: Matthew 25:14-30
Being a pastor for 30 years has given me the chance to see both the gifts and the weaknesses of people up close....
Freedom and accountability
Every pastor needs to address the issue of freedom and accountability. It's part of the pastor's role in nurturing a church community: neither a laissez-faire atmosphere nor a judicial one helps people grow as disciples.