Church Culture
Denominational life, curriculum economics, how churches actually work
You Don’t Want to Go to Hell, Do You?
What the New Testament Actually Shows Us About How People Came to Jesus — and Why Scaring Them Into It Might Be the Laziest Gospel We’ve Ever Preached
A VBS leader asked little girls, “You don’t want to go to hell, do you?” So I researched how people actually came to Jesus in the New Testament. Not one instance was fear-based.
What Happens When You Ask the Hard Question
On Church Boards, Undershepherds, and the Cost of Caring Enough to Speak Up
The people who care the most about a church are the ones most likely to get hurt - because they're the ones who eventually say something. A healthy church receives hard questions as gifts, not threats
I Didn’t Get Anything Out of Church Today
What If We’ve Been Asking the Wrong Question Every Sunday Morning?
"I didn't get anything out of church today." I said it for years. But it's one of the most self-centered things a believer can say. What if we've been asking the wrong question every Sunday?
We Don’t Accept That Baptism
On Membership Cards, Denominational Walls, and What It Cost to Choose Community Over Conviction
"We don't accept the Assembly of God baptism." I was already a follower of Jesus. Already baptized. But the denomination required it again — in their water. What I did next surprised even me.
The Church We Forgot: Pt 2 - Shared Elders vs. Solo Pastor
How the Early Church’s Model of Shared Leadership Became the Modern Solo-Pastor-as-CEO Model
The New Testament pattern for church leadership is unmistakably plural. So how did a body of elders become a solo pastor carrying everything? The history is clear.
When the Sermon Became the Job
The Shepherd's Inversion
The average pastor spends 14 hours a week preparing a monologue and 6 hours being with people. Somewhere along the way, the sermon became the job — and the shepherd became the speaker.
The Church We Forgot: Pt 1 - Ekklesia vs. "Church"
What the Word Actually Meant — and How a Building Replaced a People
The early church didn’t have worship bands, sermon series, or children’s ministry wings. They had each other. They had homes. They had bread and wine and prayer and the apostles’ teaching.
The Hat We Put On at Noon on Sunday
Why Kingdom Life Stops at the Church Door — and What Philippians 2 Says About It
I don't get a single call from my church during the week. But do I send one? No. Compartmentalized faith is the norm — and strong believers aren't immune. Philippians 2 asks us for something more.