My name is Nate, and I’m a millennial. That means I must love liturgy, hate big production in church, want to ask really hard questions about faith all the time, go do organized “social justice” every Saturday, am nowhere near shallow enough (or I’m just far too clever) to attend a church with a hashtag […]
2 questions an audience wants to know
One of the coolest parts about my internship at Seacoast is getting to spend some time with Greg Surratt. He’s an incredible leader, and it’s a huge privilege getting to hang around him occasionally. Recently we were discussing worship services and he made an interesting statement. “When people walk into a room they want to […]
Theology and church practice
My systematic theology professor last semester gave us an assignment that forced me to think critically about my theological convictions. The assignment was to take our view on a particular subject in systematic theology, and then analyze how our particular view should inform our ministry practice. For example: If I believe in the inerrancy of […]
Praying like Jeremiah
You will be righteous, Lord, even if I bring a case against You. Yet, I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous live at ease? Jeremiah 12:1 HCSB I love Jeremiah’s prayer here. He’s looking around at all of this terrible mess in Judah, […]
Be expository, regardless of your style
Typically when you hear the label “expository preaching” it’s in reference to someone who teaches verse by verse through the Bible. It describes a preacher’s style. This understanding puts expository preaching in contrast to topical preaching… right before one of them is jokingly bashed by those in a different evangelical camp. This is how I’ve […]
Without sin there’s no grace
One of the most interesting things about Jesus’ ministry is how much time he spent with sinners and tax collectors. Rather than hanging out with the religious elite, he hung out with society’s worst. That’s become one of the most emphasized parts of Jesus’ ministry. We’ve all heard a million sermons about that. “This church […]
Churches partnering with families
Reggie Joiner and the Orange team have changed the conversation for many church leaders. Instead of thinking in terms of “children’s ministry” and “student ministry” people are starting to think in terms of “family ministry”. The reason: Families get exponentially more time with kids than churches do. So, as the thinking goes, in order for […]
Just teach em the good book
recently everybody has caught onto the whole “millennials are leaving the church” thing. A bunch of people are proposing a bunch of different reasons for why, and offering a bunch of different strategies to fix it.
I thought I’d share my opinion.
Nope, we aren’t there yet
Wednesdays are the day this summer I’m going to be writing specifically about what I’m learning at Seacoast Church, though most of my posts this summer are probably influenced in some way by my experiences here. I have the privilege of going to some really important meetings with some really important people. It can be […]
Determining the ideal world
Recently I was having lunch with a good friend. During one of our conversations, I began to explain some dreams I have about what the church could look like someday. Before I got too far, he said, “Yea, the problem is… practically I don’t know how that could ever work.” Now, practicality is a great […]
There’s no ‘I’ in preach
This summer I’m doing an internship at Seacoast Church with Josh Surratt. It’s required for my major at school, and it’s a great privilege to learn from the staff at Seacoast. I’ve decided to spend Wednesdays this summer talking about what I’m learning. So, here’s the first principle: There’s no “I” in preach. (Nobody’s actually […]
Keeping the oxen in ministry
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 14:4 ESV Here, the point is simple: life is easier without the oxen. Why? The manger is clean. In ministry, there’s constantly a temptation to get rid of the oxen. “We could spend the extra […]
Contextulization in the church: getting out of the way
The last few years I’ve experienced a lot of pushback on the “modern American church.” I’ve noticed that people tend to voice their disagreements to me because I speak highly of Andy Stanley, and they look at my dad’s blog and see how much he talks about leadership, which is one of the “new values” […]
Museum church
I’ve seen a lot of interesting things in Europe so far. I’ve spent the first few days in Rome, and on Monday I went to the Vatican. Our group got to see the Sisteen chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, the world’s largest collection of historical artifacts, and a bunch of other really cool stuff. (What an […]
