Writing
Essays and working ideas from more than fifteen years of writing about faith, leadership, discipleship, the church, family, and life in Austin.
Start here
New here? These four pieces offer a way into the writing: what shapes the church, how we lead, and how faith takes form in community. Begin with the recent essays, then explore the earlier work that helped shape those questions.
The church and the Spirit · 2026
The Organizing Principle of the Church
Start with a recent reflection on how spiritual gifts shape the church, and why I’m revisiting an old conviction about mission.
Leadership in practice · 2026
Leadership and Administration
Why leading people and bringing order to the work are gifts to recognize and steward, and what gets lost when we treat them only as skills.
Community and mission · 2013
What is a Missional Community? – Definition
A short introduction to the definition we used at The Austin Stone, and why a community of Christians is essential to a faithful witness.
Leading through change · 2013
Transitioning Your Church to Missional Communities
The opening of a practical series on our transition at The Austin Stone, with lessons about patience, learning, and the time real change takes.
For sustained explorations of a topic, browse the Selected Series.
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Missional community · Leadership · Christianity · Church · Personal · Austin Stone · Discipleship · Theology
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All writing
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Summary | Exploring College Ministry
My new friend Benson Hines has just posted an excellent summary of his ministry over the course of the summer, along with a summary of a number of excellent posts related to college ministry. Head over…
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Book Review | Total Church
The second book I read over my vacation was Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester. The overall perspective of the book is applying to the church the…
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Sunday is for Questions
I was hoping to have some time to write down some thoughts today, but between morning services with the family and preparation for an evening class, I’m tapped out. I figured a good quick post would…
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Culture Making and Plant Growing | 9 Marks
Greg Gilbert does an excellent job of providing a parallel analogy in order to show the relative strength over at the 9 Marks Blog in his post discussing a review of Crouch’s Culture Making. I haven’t…
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College Ministers and Adoption
As many of you have read, my wife and I have really been praying through adoption and how God would have us advocate for orphans in our city. Connecting with another college minister (Michael Mears at…
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Alan Hirsch Takes a Blogging Vacation
I’m bummed.
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Missional Campus Ministry | Jesus Creed
Scot McKnight has entered the conversation about Missional College Ministry over at Jesus Creed. He’s gearing up for a series of post it appears, and I am looking forward to engaging what he is saying! Head…
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So Many Thoughts, So Little Time
Where does time go? I had great ambitions for developing my thoughts on leadership, continuing a series of posts on college ministry strategy, and writing thoughts on adoption, but I just can’t carve out the time…
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Book Review | Vintage Church
Although it wasn’t the first book I read on vacation, I’m going to start with Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. I have grown to thoroughly appreciate the ministry…
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Between Two Worlds: Calvin’s Death-Bed Charge to Older and Younger Men
The following quote is from Between Two Worlds: Calvin’s Death-Bed Charge to Older and Younger Men on Douglas Bond’s The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin (P&R, 2009). Here’s how John Calvin wisely charged older and…
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Vacation Reading | Overview
One of the things I look forward to on vacation is some good time for reading. Over the past two weeks I went through: Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches…
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The Need is the Call | North Africa
Some of our students from The Austin Stone have been instrumental in making the video below…maybe you are the person they’re looking for?