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Tag Archives: Holy Post

Resuscitation vs. Resurrection – Skye Jethani

21 Aug

Dear God, I was spending time with a pastor friend of mine recently, and he told me he recently asked his congregation for sermon topics, and one that came back was, “Do we have to be born again?” Interesting question. Some pastors might respond, “Of course! John 3. Jesus and Nicodemus!” Others would say, “That term has some baggage that we now need to get away from. Let’s talk about it in a different way.” I have a feeling the person who sent in the question is likely in the latter camp. They might see people preaching “born again” as fire and brimstone preachers trying to scare people into heaven by selling them fire insurance.

I thought it was probably a topic that was going to fester with me, but then I heard this extraordinary talk by Skye Jethani of the Holy Post (behind a pay wall, but you can get a one-time free listen). He talked about the difference between “Jesus, save me” and “Jesus, transform me.” He told the story of how the writer of the hymn “Amazing Grace” was saved from a storm at sea early in his life after he shouted into the wind, “God, have mercy on us,” or something like that, but that wasn’t transformation. It was just resuscitation. His life was just prolonged. That boat was a slave trading boat, and he went on capturing humans and selling them to others. It wasn’t until later in his life that he considered himself to have been transformed by you. Skye made the point that Newton’s life only got better after the saving on the boat. He eventually became a captain. But after the transformation and he repented of slave trading and started working to abolish it, his life actually got harder. But that’s when he wrote the words, “I was blind, but now I see.” It wasn’t after being saved in the storm. It was after he was resurrected and born again, a la 1 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is born in Christ he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.”

The first question is, “Am I born again?” Not, “Am I resuscitated?” Am I changed and am I continuing to be changed in Jesus? I think I am, but there is a lot of chane that still needs to happen.

The next question is, “While I am on my journey, am I selling change to my friends and those I know? Am I selling born again, or am I just selling resuscitation?”

The person asking the original question was probably relating it to getting into heaven. They were probably similar to the rich young ruler who was asking Jesus, “What must I do to be saved?”

Father, I love you. Thank you for giving me not just a prolonged life, but a new life. I am different now than before I started growing in you. I am grateful. I love you. Help me to keep growing. To press on (Philippians 3:14).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 21, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“Which translation do you use?”

19 Aug

Dear God, I was listening to the Holy Post podcast this morning, and one of the things they mentioned is a common question they get is around people asking them which biblical commentary is the one they can trust. Or they’ll get asked, “Which translation do you use?” Their take was that people are looking for someone they can trust to just tell them the truth. They want certainty in their beliefs.

It reminds me of the pastor in 2020 who, after having just barely survived Covid, said in an interview that he decided through the experience that we’ve made an idol out of certainty. You are the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but we will try to put our certainty in our spouse, children, health, economy, bank account, government, etc. I would add our theology to that as well. We want to be right about everything. That’s why we leave churches when someone disagrees with us. That’s why we try to shame others for their sin while we ignore our own. We have a need to be right.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked a friend that if we were to stand before you after we die and we asked you what percentage of our theology was correct while we were here on earth, what percentage do we think you’d come back with. Frankly, my answer was that I’d be really pleased if you told me I had 20% of it correct, meaning I would not understand, be partially wrong, or completely wrong about 80% of it. The problem is, I just don’t know which 80% is wrong and which 20% is right (assuming I’m as high as 20%).

Father, at the end of the day, I know you are there. I am all in on the Jesus virgin birth, life, death, resurrection, and assumption narrative. I’m all in on his being part of you–begotten, not made. I’m all in on the Holy Spirit. Basically, I’m all in on the Nicene Creed. Everything else is a little squishy for me. Even the specific lines that will help me be “saved.” So my choice is to live today. I am going to worship you. I am going to love others. I’m going to work hard. And I’m going to share my life vulnerably so that others might feel a touch of you through me, and so I might feel a touch of you through them. To you be the glory.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 19, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“…anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and addiction.”

09 Mar

Speaking of the Asbury “Revival” two years ago, university president Dr. Kevin Brown recalled what someone said about the Gen Z young adults coming for prayer:

“Just a very quick story along those lines. Again this is anecdotal, but there was a constant prayer ministry [during the “revival”]. Again, we have a beautiful altar at the front of our chapel, and there were always people praying. And there were some amazing men and women who created a really structured prayer ministry. There were always people at the altar praying with people there. And a guy who was a part of that during that time that if Gen Z comes, he said they’re really only praying one of four things: anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and addiction. And predominantly with addiction, pornography. And that college day of prayer final evening, I remember being in the balcony and someone gave what felt like a prophetic word over 1,500 students, where he just said, ‘You will not be the generation defined by anxiety, depression, suicide, and addiction.’ And I just remember this like, this swell. This kind of cry arise from all of these students. And that’s where that Wesley expression came out. Chains falling off. Like running to God. Running to something beyond themselves.

Dr. Kevin Brown from interview with Skye Jethani on the Holy Post “SkyePod” podcast – Looking back on the Asbury “Revival”

Dear God, how heartbreaking. I wonder how much of our youth and college ministers in churches are seeing this or willing to address this among their youth and young adults. I think probably what’s not talked about enough is how these concerns have crept into the older generations too. We might now have had them when we were in our teens and twenties 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years ago, but I think it’s safe to say it’s happening now. Is it all to be blamed on our phones? Is is all to be blamed on social media? Is it all to be blamed on Internet news? More likely, it’s a factor of all three combined to various degrees in a person’s life. But while some might get more of their access to negative content through social media, Internet news, or readily available pornography, I do think the common denominator is the handheld computer we’ve been able to carry around in our pockets for the last 20-25 years.

And I’m not immune to it. Even typing the quote this morning, I had my Bluetooth earbuds in while I quoted it from a podcast on my phone. And my phone is currently lying less than six inches from my left hand on the table where I’m typing this. It has certainly become a ubiquitous part of my life. Almost as prevalent on my person as clothing. It’s just so convenient. And entertaining. And stimulating. And relaxing. And while I would put myself in a healthier category for the types of content I access through it, I still dabble in news and some social media (I’m grateful to be free of pornography). But I know people who are trapped by news and social media, and I see it wearing on them. I see the anxiety. I see the depression.

Father, as I’ve taken today off, help me to see my phone for what it really is in my life. Show me how you see it. Convict me. Guide me. Help me to have eyes to see it and myself. Help me to have ears to hear exactly what the Holy Spirit wants to teach me. And then help me to sound the alarm for others–especially youth. I know all of these things are prevalent in our teens and young adults today. The irony of the people who have been so upset over the last few years over the “pornography in the libraries” is that they didn’t seemingly see it in the handheld computers nearly every teen and young adult carries in their pockets. These young adults at Asbury weren’t checking out pornographic books from this Methodist school’s library. They were accessing it on their phones. I guess I will close with the “prophetic word” Dr. Brown said was spoken over the prayer service: You will not be the generation defined by anxiety, depression, suicide, and addiction. Let that be true of all of us.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“The Reason for the Church” Brad Edwards

14 Aug

Dear God, I was listening to this week’s Holy Post podcast yesterday and I came across this quote from the man the were interviewing at the end of the show, Brad Edwards. He was talking about his book The Reason for the Church. Here’s the quote that caught my ear: “Our neighbors, and even Christians in a lot of ways, but especially our neighbors are open to the idea that God exists and even that they might need Jesus, but they are closed to the idea that the church is beautiful or good for anyone.”

I think this caught my ear for a few reasons. First, I have a friend who is dedicated in his love for you, but his wife is having to force him to find a church. He is absolutely not interested.

For my part, I tell people all of the time that I don’t like going to church. I never have. Not since I was a kid. But that also goes along with the idea that I often get tired of sitting in any kind of theater, presentation-style setting. Whether it is a movie, live theater, or church, my wife notes that its a special and incredibly engaging show that will keep me from checking my watch. I do go to church, but it’s more out of a sense of self-discipline in knowing that it is good for me to be in community of other believers, and my presence there might, just might, be good for them as well.

I know a lot of people who profess love for you who are not in church. Their reasons vary. I guess my point is that I know plenty of Christians who do not want to go to church. Any Christian who finds themselves not wanting to go to church is in good company.

Forgetting about non-Christians for a moment, why is it that Christians choose not to go?

  • Effort: It’s inconvenient to go.
  • Boredom: It can be boring.
  • Judgment: People can be afraid to be known and then judged for not being the right kind of Christian or for having sinned.

There are other reasons, but those three are a good start. And the modern church has tried to address them. And here, when I say, “they” I mean some have done different things. They‘ve made virtual services available for those who don’t want to leave home. They‘ve added instruments to the band, lights, and dynamic preaching to help entertain the audience. And they‘ve emphasized come as you are and a judgment-free zone. And some of these changes have been good. I’m not criticizing. I’m just noting.

But it makes me wonder why going to church is important. Why do we, as Christians, need church? Why is this a sacrament you have ordained? What’s in it for us? What’s our why?

  • Community: At a basic level, we need community. We need each other. Whether we are parents needing community with other parents while we try to raise our children, businesses who need to be with others to learn from them and be better at what we do and not feel all alone, concerned citizens who need to come alongside others to get problems solved, etc. Being around other people makes us better. Iron sharpens iron. Problems solved by teams almost always come out with a better solution than the problem solved by an individual.
  • Worship: We need to gather with other Christians to worship you. It strengthens us to worship with others. It helps us focus. The odds are slim that I will sit for an hour in my home and sing to you, pray to you, and listen to good teaching about you. I need the 1.) accountability of community and 2.) the sharpening of being around others. I need other Christians to point out my bad theology and correct me. I need to be known by others. I’m drifting back into my first point. I guess for this one I’m saying that I will die a slow spiritual death if I try to just live out my faith on my own. I heard the analogy of coals on a fire one time. When you start a fire you pile the coals together. Their combined effort burns hotter and helps the fire last longer. But coals that are spread and left to burn by themselves do not produce as much heat and die out faster. I need to worship you with others to keep my private worship alive.
  • Structure: If we are going to gather with other Christians, there are ways to do it. We could just get some other Christians to come to our houses, and that can be good for a Bible study, but in some ways it’s the blind leading the blind. We need the educated, principled leader to guide us. You need some amount of infrastructure and bureaucracy to make it work. Even with a small men’s group I’m in right now, we are collecting money and someone needs to track it. We need someone responsible for our teaching. We need accountability. The leadership needs accountability.

Father, my point is that I do think being involved in a church is important, and as I grew up Baptist but have worshipped with Catholics the last 14 years, I can say that the style of worship really doesn’t matter. I think Eugene Peterson once said that if you are looking for a church start by going outside your home and walking to the first one you see. That might be a little simplistic and one has to be care, to some extent about the church’s orthodoxy and theology, but for the most part we should be able to worship with just about any other believers. It’s more about what I am willing to put into it than what I will take from it. My growth comes through my participation. Help me to be a contributing member to your church so that my life might be an offering to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 14, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Matthew 17:24-18:1

02 Oct

24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house.

But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”

26 “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

18 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Dear God, this is another one of those stories that has a context that can be lost because of artificial chapter and verse breaks. Matthew didn’t put the break at chapter 18 there. He intended the stories about the Temple tax and the “greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” question to be read together. The phrase that links them is at the beginning of chapter 18: “About that time…”

So Jesus is making a point in chapter 17 that the Temple leaders of the day are not treating Jesus like the son of God–your son–that he is. They are treating Jesus like an outsider. Just like anyone else. And it’s a fight Jesus isn’t interested in having with them at that moment. Really quick, there’s also a slight intimation in 17:25 that Peter lied to the collectors about Jesus paying his tax. Or at least spoke confidently about something of which he wasn’t sure. Either way, the whole situation sparked a thought in their minds: Jesus will be the top of the food chain in the Kingdom of Heaven. What will the hierarchy look like after that? And How will I fit into it?

I was listening to a story this morning on this week’s Holy Post podcast about gorillas getting too much screen time at zoos around the country. Apparently zoo guests are showing the gorillas videos of themselves and the gorillas are enjoying it a lot and not acting as much like gorillas anymore. They want to see the videos of themselves. One of the Holy Post hosts mentioned that we were spreading our human narcissism to them. They likened it to when the crowd cam goes around a stadium at a sporting event and puts people on the big screen and the people go nuts when they see themselves. We have this deep-seated need in our hearts to know we matter. And I think a lot of us get preoccupied with the future, and especially the end of times future, because we are primarily concerned with how we fit into it. If I get wrapped up in trying to figure out Revelation and the end times, it is probably a lot closer to the root of the disciples question here than I might be comfortable with.

Father, help me to get over myself. Help me to love. Help me to guide people into your presence. Help me to be full of you so that you might overflow into the lives of those around me. Use me however you will. I expect nothing in return. I am yours. You are my God. If you give me scraps from the table (Matthew 15:27), it is still more than I deserve.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 2, 2024 in Matthew

 

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The Discomfort and Beauty of Community

20 May

Dear God, I was listening to the Holy Post podcast this week, and they were talking about technology making it easier and more convenient for people in the church to break from community and choose to take in Christian content in isolation. Even podcasts like theirs are a threat for some people to decide to make the Holy Post hosts as their pastors without ever having to engage with them. They were discouraging this, of course, and encouraging people to encage in church community, and maybe even consider a smaller church as opposed to a larger one so that relationships, both the comfortable and the uncomfortable, might be formed.

All of this made me think about a quote I had heard someone say Eugene Peterson said once. It was something to the effect of, ” The best way to find a church is to go out your front door and walk to the closest one.” I went looking for that quote this morning, and I found this from a City Church in Baltimore, Maryland:

For years, I’ve enjoyed reading Eugene Peterson. Peterson is best known for his books and for The Message, a unique translation of the Bible into modern speech. What has fascinated me most about him is the fact that he was a pastor for one local church for 27 years. A 27-year tenure for a pastor in one church is a rare commitment in today’s culture.

Just the other day, I listened to a podcast called “On Being.” This particular episode featured a conversation between Krista Tippett and Eugene Peterson, “Entering What Is There”. By now, Peterson is in his late 80’s and attends a small, 80-member church in a rural town of Montana. He now has had ample time to look back on his pastoral career. Towards the end of the podcast he offers advice to those looking to pick a church.

PETERSON: Go to the closest church where you live and the smallest. After six months, if it isn’t working, go find the next smallest church.

TIPPET: What is it about small rather than big?

PETERSON: Because you have to deal with people as they are. You’ve got to learn how to love them when they are not loveable.

I’ve worked in three different size churches; small, medium, and large. Each has had its strengths and weaknesses, its beauty and its flaws.

I now pastor the smallest church I’ve ever been in. Certainly, we hope to grow in our number, influence, and depth. But there is something beautifully communal about small church. For better or worse, we know each other’s names, strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies.  We know well and are known well.

Our culture is one of isolation, independence, and anonymity. We deeply desire community, but are afraid to let people in. We play this tug-of-war with community in our hearts.

Maybe, a little small church is just what we need.

When my wife and I started attending the local Catholic church, one of my criticisms was that we could get in and out of mass without talking with anyone. There is no adult Sunday school so we couldn’t build community that way. Thankfully, within a couple of years, they started couples groups, and we joined one of the two inaugural groups. There are six other couples, and the age spread is just about perfect. When we started 11 years ago, the spread was from about 30 to 65. My wife and I were 43 at the time and right in the middle. I am grateful that 11 years later we are still a group with all of the original couples. We have seen each other through different difficult times. We’ve also celebrated great things like the births of children and grandchildren. We’ve annoyed each other. Hurt each other. Forgiven each other. Blessed each other. In some cases, we’ve even worked together for community projects to impact our neighbors. I think it’s been an imperative part of our church experience over this time. I don’t know where I would be getting this kind of community without it. In fact, it’s given me my best friend.

I substitute taught at a different church’s Sunday school class a week ago. That church is going through a difficult time over the ordination of LGBTQ+ people. The denomination approved it, and the local church’s members were in disagreement. When I walked into the class, which I have taught a few times before, I noticed that there were noticeably fewer people in the room. Maybe as much as 40% fewer. It was Mother’s Day and there were also college graduations happening which might have taken a few people out, but I couldn’t help but wonder how many had decided to go with the new church that one of the former associate pastors of the church started as a result. It made me sad. As I talked to them about Peter baptizing Cornelius in Acts 10 and then having to answer for it to the angry Jewish believers in Jerusalem in Acts 11, I found myself wishing that we could be humble enough to realize none of us have you completely figured out and that there will be things we disagree on (e.g. women teaching in the church, drinking alcohol, infant baptism, guitars and drums in church, etc.), but we are united in our worship of you.

Father, thank you for the small couples group you have led me to within the large structure of the Catholic church. Thank you for growing me and stretching me my limiting me and challenging me through this group. Thank you for the love I feel from this group. Thank you for caring for my wife and me over the trials and successes of the last 11 years through this group. Thank you for the friendships. Thank you for the anger and frustrations. Thank you for the forgiveness. Thank you that you have provided this “Ruth” to my “Naomi.”

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 20, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“If they ain’t following you, you ain’t leading.” Skye Jethani

28 Dec

Dear God, I was listening to The Holy Post podcast from last week earlier today, and there was a part that really struck me. It starts at the 40:30 mark. They were talking about how evangelical leaders are making public statements regarding different social and political issues and yet evangelical people, when surveyed do not, for the most part, support those views. For example, in 2017, there were evangelical leaders who have said that it is important for the United States to be a place for legal immigrants to be able to come, but, when surveyed, a majority of white evangelicals support limiting legal immigration–more so than any other religious group surveyed. When one host, Phil Vischer, asked another, Sky Jethani, what he thought of that, Skye said, “It’s very simple: If they ain’t following, you ain’t leading.”

It made me think about a Baptist pastor in the town where I live. I was in a meeting among several pastors a couple of weeks ago, and the Baptist pastor, who has trained pastors in third-world countries in different parts of the world, said something to the effect that one thing he learned in the pandemic is that he thought they had a church where people were really seeking you, but what he’s found is that they have a social organization where like-minded people are getting together to socialize. The different agendas people have brought to the table since the pandemic and some of the decisions the church has made in relation to meetings has revealed the true character of the church. There was absolute silence when he said it.

Back to the podcast, they started talking about what each of us allows into our heads that shapes our thoughts, theology, and worldview. For example, if I give my church one hour of influence over me a week, how much time am I giving to news (and which news), television, music, movies, etc.? Phil Vischer mentioned (50:30 mark) that he normally spends time in personal Bible study, but lately decided to give himself over to some teaching from a theologian he trusts to allow that person to shape and/or challenge some of Phil’s perspective. The example he gave was a biblical commentary from Scot McKnight, a respected theologian, on the Sermon on the Mount.

That brings me to the last podcast host, Christian Taylor, who talked about a pastor, Matt Murdock at Church of the Resurrection, encouraging the parishioners to take an inventory of what influences them throughout the week (45:45 mark). What is everything I listen to/watch/consume? Who do I talk to? What all influences me? It doesn’t all have to be sacred, but what am I letting in? How am I using each day to know you better? As I envision doing this inventory, I almost envision the Weight Watchers point system. I can get some sweets, but too much is too much. Over time, I think the Holy Spirit will guide me to the answer of how much is too much.

The last part of the conversation is that evangelical leaders need to figure out the new paradigm of leading and influencing in this new age. They are using a 19th century model for parishioners living in a 21st century world.

Father, help me find good people to follow, and help me to be a good example for those who depend upon me to lead. Help me to see what you see, learn what you have for me to learn, and worship you the way you deserve to be worshipped. Do it all for your glory and so that others around me might be drawn to you, your salvation, your peace, and your path for them.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 28, 2020 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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