There is no job security in the Kingdom. Jesus promised we'd have both trouble and blessings. He said that we could ask and receive. He told us not to be fearful or anxious. In fact, Jesus had a great many things to say to his followers–but not once did he guarantee tenure to those who were doing Kingdom work.

If we truly want our efforts to have a spiritual impact, the where, ...

Christians are not distinguished from others by our faith. Faith can be found throughout a variety of religious sects. Rather, God intended for us to stand out to this struggling world by our love.

The deep and powerful commandment of the Lord to "love one another" has often been interpreted in one of two ways: either it's the "love is patient, love is kind" crowd who believe ...

Vulnerability. Transparency. Authenticity. Words so trail-blazing a scant decade ago are now on the verge of becoming little more than the latest ingredients in a cookie-cutter formula for producing modern-day Christian leaders.

Why would I make such an audacious claim? Because these terms are so ingrained in the day-to-day language of current church development that we're ...

Recently, I was a guest at a beautiful Nashville farm property belonging to a popular Christian recording artist. When the other guests were talking about life on the road as a well-coiffed Southern Gospel musician or a gospel-announcing evangelist or a tattooed Christian rock star, I could only smile and nod, very aware that I was, technically, not counted as one of their ...

It wasn't until I began attending my new church that I realized much of my ministry life has been directed by my own ideas and capabilities and not by total reliance on God. I have always endeavored to "do good" or to "lift a helping hand." While my motivations were inspired by my love for God and people, I often signed up for ministries and assignments based on my desire ...

I recently heard a sermon about a man who possessed incredible faith: Jairus. And his daughter was about to die.

Just as one would expect from a sermon, Jairus sought out Jesus, found him, secured a few one-on-one moments with him, and asked him for help.

Jesus said yes, followed Jairus home, said a few choice words, and ta-da! Daughter was healed. ACTUALLY daughter was brought ...

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Tell us about your role at Dallas Theological Seminary.

I've been there full time about 10 years now. That's been a wild and crazy journey, something I never, ever expected. When I got my doctorate, I didn't ever think I would do this.

I teach, but I am a practitioner. I teach how-to courses: how to create ministries that are transformational, how to teach the Bible ...

We are an impatient culture. Our hyper-fast technology has wired us to expect everything instantly–even transformation. While it's understandable to demand hyper-speed from our electronic devices, it's utterly unreasonable–and ungracious–when we have those expectations of ourselves or of the people we lead.

Though we all wish that it wasn't the case, profound and lasting change ...

Walking beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus called to four fishermen, "Follow me." Simon and Andrew "left their nets at once and followed him." James and John "followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind." All four responded to Jesus immediately (Matthew 4:18-22).

As they physically walked behind Jesus from place to place, they found that following him means so much ...