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
A few essays that introduce the questions and convictions behind this site.
- The Organizing Principle of the Church
- Leadership and Administration
- What Is a Missional Community? — Definition
- Transitioning Your Church to Missional Communities
For sustained explorations of a topic, browse the Selected Series.
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The Ontological and Systematic Roots of Biblical Theology
As our small group has been studying through Systematic Theology together (this is round 3 of me teaching), some new thoughts have arisen as I consider doctrines. One that was particularly interesting was the result of…
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Renewing Cities Through Missional Tribes | Q Ideas
I just read this quote from a Q short by Jon Tyson. Though they may feel like it, these people are not alone. This loss of community has in some ways become our collective experience of…
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10 Ways to Pastor Adoptive Parents | Desiring God
Below is the beginning to an excellent post by Jason Kovacs on pastoring adoptive parents. There are many ways that you can express your pastoral care for those considering adoption and those who have adopted already.…
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Get in the Fight
This post contains a link to one of the most convicting sermons I have heard Matt Carter preach, and it is a clarion call for the consumer church to engage in the mission of God. It’s…
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Coffee Kills
Ever wondered how much caffeine it would take to kill you? You can find out here. Below are my results:
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Scriptural Election: The Third Way
I found this article as I was preparing for my teaching on the doctrines of salvation, and particularly on election. The quote below is very insightful Thesis 23: We must affirm that God creates what he…
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Touchpoint » Blog Archive » An Encouraging Mega Church View
A great viewpoint from David Watson on mega church involvement in church planting movements. From my perspective as a champion for rapidly multiplying small church planting, I do see a need for and appreciate mega churches.…
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When Planning Fails Churches
This quote from an article in Church Solutions Magazine adds some fuel to the fire from our conversations as a staff and implementing our strategy as a church. The statistics tell the unfortunate truth. Eighty-seven percent…
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What motivates you to mission? | shawblog
My friend and colleague has written some fantastic thoughts on ministry to Muslims, which have broad applications for motivations for ministry. Below is the concluding quip from a great post: Passion for obedience to the basic…
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Discipleship and Training | TheResurgence
I really like the Resurgence blog. It always has great thoughts, including the one below on discipleship. The primary context for training should also be the church in situ. I find it strange that this assertion…
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Forgiveness in Marriage
I’ve been reading through This Momentary Marriage by John Piper in preparation for our Nearly/Newly Wed class at The Austin Stone. Although the content hasn’t been earth shattering, I’ve been reflecting on Ephesians 5:22-32, and specifically…
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Attractional and Missional | TheResurgence
Below is quote from a post a The Resurgence on the Attractional vs. Missional “debate”. People often set up attractional church and missional church as polar opposites. Attractional has a come-to-us mentality. It’s about drawing people…