Someone asked me recently how it feels not to be in full-time ministry. I had to smile. In all my years in full-time ministry I have rarely if ever had more opportunities to make Christ known than in the last 5 months working in prison. Don’t get me wrong. Full-time ministry as I’ve known it these past ten years especially on staff at a large church has its benefits – nice office, almost twice my social worker salary (and you thought pastors were underpaid), international travel, flexible schedule, conference invitations, and more time to write. I miss it sometimes but not much. It’s a nice gig if you can get it and I don’t begrudge anyone who has it. However, one thing I missed in all that was daily interaction with people in need of Christ. It’s no one’s fault but my own and sometimes the unintended tendency of ministry. Now, as my dad used to say who was a correctional officer – I have a captive audience.

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The beginning of the First Epistle of Peter assures us that though we live as exiles of the dispesion, we have been granted a new identity in Christ.  In Jesus Christ, we have been granted a new identity that defines us and helps us to live faithfully. A fruit of that identity is that we become a people of a living hope, not despair -our identity thrives in knowing the value and certainty of what we possess in Christ. But not only do we have a living hope as a fruit of our identity, we have a transcendent joy. more

In urban ministry two dangers exist: 1) to be so overwhelmed with sociological issues that the gospel is minimized; 2) to maximize the gospel but neglect the acts of mercy and compassion that are necessary fruits of the gospel. When the gospel is truly of ‘first importance’ (1 Cor 15), acts of mercy and compassion will never be diminished.    more

          For the past few months I have been in prison 5-6 hours a day Monday to Friday. No, I'm not serving time but serving the Lord in prison. Is it a job or ministry? It's both. It helps pay the bills while working with a team to plant Grace Church in West Philadelphia. It gives me access to men who desperately need to hear the gospel and daily opportunities to point them to redemption and true freedom in the Lord Jesus. I've been given the fancy title of "addictions therapist" although I'd rather have a raise than the title.   

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My brother John has written on this controversy and the counterfeit Christianity of Pastor Terry Jones. See his blog The Gospel First.

I Peter answers the question: How do we live as Christians in a non-Christian world? The ‘we’ is an important part of the question because the nature of Christian existence and witness is essentially corporate.  The book is about a chosen people and their struggle with the growing alienation they are experiencing. more

I don’t know and I’m not sure anyone but God does. I also don’t know what is gained from defending a young earth position in the face of evidence that the earth at least “appears” old. I know there are arguments to explain the apparent age of the earth but they are not limpidly convincing. I also know that even questioning this may appear unseemly but I take that risk.

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Most American missionaries should not be church planters in other countries. Most missionaries should be church planting facilitators. There are fewer and fewer places in the world today where churches have not been planted and where missionaries need to do pioneer church planting. Of course some mission agencies and denominations think that if their group is not represented on a field then they need to start a new church.

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Okay I admit at the outset that I get annoyed when people have the time to listen to workshops of conferences they didn’t attend in order to find something to criticize and blog about.  I’m jealous in some ways and although I don’t have the time to do that I think those who do might use their time better by engaging in real ministry.

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It is a challenge and a joy to labor in a city where idolatry is rampant and where false gods appear to be invincible. The idols of pleasure, success, education, religion, money, drugs, promiscuity offer to city dwellers the approval, comfort, and security for which their souls long. At times these false gods appear real enough as they give an enticing taste of what they promise. This taste and promise of more keeps the idolatry alive. But the well is not deep and eventually runs dry.  More