Category Archives: Multiethnic Churches

Radically Changed by the EHS Course

Changed people change the world. EHS is the fruit of 20 years of wrestling with the problem of superficial discipleship. Over the years, we have seen its power in transforming lives, time and time again. Click on the image below to view some stories of the impact EHS is having in peoples lives: We believe the EHS Course is a powerful discipleship model that goes deep beneath the surface of people’s lives and results in long-term missional impact in the world. People are so changed they can’t help but change the world around them. And so we are committed to offering the best training, equipping and resources possible to empower you as a pastor or church leader to immerse yourself in bringing this radical discipleship model to your church. We invite you to consider these exceptional opportunities as you prayerfully plan your church discipleship pathway this fall: Live Training: How to Lead the. Read more.

The Twelve Days of an EHS Christmas

The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone then wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It had two levels of meaning: first, the surface meaning of being a fun song and secondly, a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church. The “True Love” in the song, for example, is not a smitten boy or girlfriend but Jesus, because truly Love was born on Christmas Day. Geri wrote this for our small group that meets in our home for greater integration of EHS in their own lives. I hope you enjoy it. On the First Day of EHS…My True Love Sent to Me One Gift to Explore My Iceberg Journal or share with a trusted companion today: What are you mad about? What are you sad about? What. Read more.

ISIS and the Church

Jesus promises that part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to unpack His wisdom for every new situation we will face so that we will know how to think and act afresh to every new challenge. Amidst the uncertainty and upheaval of such brutality and carnage now at our doorstep, done by people determined to destroy us, what might be our response as Christ-followers? How do we mentor others who look to us for leadership? I do not, by any means, have the final word on this. But the following are a few things to consider: Love and pray for ISIS. How do we love our enemies? We begin by praying for them — in this case ISIS young men and women. They need a revelation of Jesus Christ. Thankfully, we have many contemporary testimonies of Muslims having extraordinary conversions to Jesus via dreams, visions, etc. Grieve. We need to lead our people to grieve. Read more.

10 Top Reasons Racism Continues in the Church Today

I’m excited to participate in Movement Day 2015 in New York City this coming Thursday to participate on a panel around a frank discussion on bridging barriers of race, culture, and class. In preparation, I thought I would get on paper my top 10 reasons of why racism continues in the church today. Here they are: Failure to capture Scripture’s vision of the church as a multi-racial community that transcends racial, cultural, economic and gender barriers. The gospel is the power of God that bridges the infinite gap between humanity and God as well as the “dividing wall” between races, cultures, ethnicities, social classes, and genders. Measuring success primarily by numbers. We want to grow our churches. We want it to happen quickly. The problem is that bridging racial barriers is slow and will rarely produce “big” numbers. Superficial discipleship. We focus on getting people “over the line” into salvation and connected. We don’t. Read more.

5 Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis

There are three main branches of the Christian church in the world today–the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Church, and the Orthodox Churches located primarily in the Eastern part of the world. There is much we can learn from Catholics and Orthodox believers—even though they have plenty of problems and we do not agree on a number of points. This is especially true when we consider Pope Francis. Here are a few of the top lessons I am learning from him: 1. Humility “I ask you to pray for me. Don’t forget!” Pope Francis says repeatedly. It is disarming. Luis Palau, a friend of his, notes in a Christianity Today article that he was always asking people for prayer. In a visit to prisoners in Philadelphia: “ I come to you as pastor, but mostly as brother. No one is perfect and without need of forgiveness.” He refrained from using the perks of his. Read more.

Don’t Cast the First Stone!

We often forget that our rich tradition as evangelical Protestants has some “dirty laundry” and blind spots. For example: Martin Luther’s intensely disliked Jews and wrote essays against them that were resurrected and used by the Nazis. He also advised the German nobles to slaughter the rebelling peasants without mercy. Ulrich Zwingli condoned the torture and drowning of Anabaptists—some of them his own former students—because they believed in baptism by immersion. Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield were slaveholders. African-American believers in our church have questioned me if they were really Christian! The great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Asuza Street (1906) in Los Angeles split terribly over race, resulting in black and white churches throughout America for decades. Many leaders of the Protestant Missionary Movement, along with a number of contemporary Evangelical leaders, failed in their marriage and family life. John Wesley, for example, couldn’t live with his wife; his marriage was, by. Read more.

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