Small groups have actually been around for decades but were called other things such as "Women's circles", "Sunday Studies" or just "Bible Studies". Small Groups are any small group of people (not over 12) gathered around in prayer and the Bible. However, one of the problems with most of these early groups was small groups were still a place were one could "hide". Members would be surprised of one of their members got a divorce or child was arrested because they never shared struggles or joys. Their lives were still separated from faith and each other. At a church I worked at for a while I visited a small group of men who had been meeting for 15 years, one of member's daughters were getting married. I asked if any of them were going to the wedding to which I got the reply "why would we?" Experincing community or being a family to each other was not the point. Below are some of the stories I have heard or been apart of where this idea of community in a small group has taken place.

Throughout his letters, Paul writes to the believers in all of the churches about strengthen their faith. His letter to the Ephesians' church states, "that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." To the church in Thessalonica, Paul sends Timothy to strength and establish them in the faith. Peter follows this trend as well as he writes to Christians about establishment in 1 Peter. So, what does this mean to be "strong in faith"? Why is strengthening the faith so important? These are the questions that I talk about here.

Last time I in Minnesota, the question was asked of me, "Why don't you move back to Minnesota to be closer to your friends and family? " The answer that came out of my mouth surprised even me, "I would love to be closer to my immediate family and close friends, however, I want to know Jesus more and I want him more then to live closer to my love ones." The joy of knowing God is greater then the joy of my friends and family. This month, I have been with my family and friends and loved being with them. It isn't that these things don't bring joy, but that the joy is in God who gave us family and not on family itself. This is what is expressed in Philippians 3:8, and these are my pondering on this verse.

The New York Times published the article, "Taking a Break From the Lord's Work"- and this got me thinking about pastor burn-out. This is something always my mind because as I have stated "I want to last 25 years in ministry" and one thing that could take away from this is burning out. In this blog, I talk about how I have witness paid staff and unpaid leaders in the church face burn-out and my thoughts why this happens so often in the church.

The last two days I have been attending the Willow Creek Leadership Summit Simulcast at Lutheran Church of Hope. The whole point of this event is for leaders (including parents, pastors, church workers, CEOs, and so on) to get together and invest in their gift of leadership. During this summit, Pastor Christine Caine, from Hill Song Church in Australia, spoke about leading believers outside the walls of the church into some of the darkest areas of the world. Here, I will share about the insights from this talk, and my ponderings on what she said.

There is a contemporary hymn called the "Heart of Worship". This song has a great story behind it as comes out of a church that got too wrapped up in the performance of the worship service, and lost the meaning and purpose behind the act of worship. In this church, there was amazing pastors, famous Christian musicians, lights, a fog machine, and so on. Worship had become more of a rock concert (and how great the congregation was) then about Jesus and being with him. So, the senior pastor decided to stop it- stop the lights, the music, and so on. The congregation sang the only song "the Heart of Worship" with an acoustic guitar for weeks until the senior pastor was sure that they knew what was at the objective of what they worship (which was not themselves). This concept of worship is also explored as I was on a youth mission trip last week.

This week my plans have been interrupted as God called me to go on a Youth Mission Trip to Pine Ridge South Dakota.With two weeks notice, I will be taking twelve of our youth and Bob Porter to minister to provide concrete needs for those on this reservation through a company called, "Youth Works". This trip will be a blast and I look forward to what God will do on the trip and impact this community with the Gospel Message. However, I had other plans. This was to be my vacation week, and I was to go camping with my friends in Minnesota. I also was to finish up some work on my Master's (which is long overdue), and go to some friend's weddings. These were good godly plans. These were plans which I was eagerly looking forward to fulfilling this week. However, God call me very specifically to go on this trip and I had no choice (really) but to follow him. Below are my thoughts on how God interrupts our plans, even when they are good god-honoring noble plans.

I thought for fun I would review a list of my favorite or most common questions I have been asked by friends, relatives, and church members about Jesus Christ in the last twenty-eight years of my life. It may encourage you to think about your faith and how you would answer these questions.

Ministry is backbreaking hard work filled with long hours and little rewards. This is true no matter the ministry. You could be leading a church of ten thousand, being a light for Jesus Christ in the midst of non-Christian co-workers or a spouse, raising a child in the Christian faith, or anything else where your primary mission is to spread the message of Jesus Christ. So, what makes "following God" worth following? Why is ministry worth the pain?

We, at LCC, have been studying the life and book of Daniel, and I, in my personal devotions, have been studying the life and book of Jeremiah. Both Jeremiah and Daniel are about when Babylon captivity. Daniel 1:1-2 states that God was the one that brought this "pagan" nation to destroy His people. This is an interesting because the Babylon's destroying and capturing was one of the most devastating and painful things that happened in the history of Israel. Unlike Daniel, Jeremiah is not a historical narrative, but is the words of the Lord given to Jeremiah to speak to Israel intertwined with Jeremiah's life and call as a prophet to God. Jeremiah tells the reader why God would lead them into captivity, what Israel should do in this place, and how Israel would someday return and rebuild. This is my journey through the book of Jeremiah, and how the word of God is "mastering me" and what God is teaching me through His word.