Imaginatively Inhabit

101110 of 184 items

Coping With Stress

by Tyler Dirks

Have you ever been stressed out? Some of you have stressful jobs. Many moments where you’re barely hitting your deadlines; and it feels like you’re always on the brink of burning out. Some folks are swimming in stress because they all-of-a-sudden find themselves navigating increased financial obligations. Some of you are stressed because you recently […]

Becoming Childlike [Part I]

by Tyler Dirks

How do you define greatness? The only perfect person to have ever lived summed-up greatness in one word – – – > CHILDLIKE. The most powerful person in the history of the universe says, “Whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the Kingdom that is above all kingdoms.” Why is childlikeness so […]

Which Manager?

by Tyler Dirks

Imagine a business office. Imagine that this office has a manager. This manager doesn’t emphasize productivity, but instead intrudes upon people’s personal lives. This manager isn’t too concerned with finances, but is highly concerned that everyone be friends and interact like a big family. Instead of harping on “company policies,” “safety protocols,” and “productivity,” this […]

BCO

by Tyler Dirks

PCA-ers have a big blue book called the “BCO” (the book of church order). There’s lots of great and helpful stuff in the BCO, and there’s a decent bit of boring material as well. Whatever your opinion of the BCO, it’s appropriate to wonder, “Why do we have a BCO?” Let’s acknowledge that all communities, […]

ECPC Leadership Retreat

by Tyler Dirks

What happens on an ECPC leadership retreat? Last weekend the pastoral interns, the deacons, and the elders of ECPC traveled to Lincolnton NC for an annual leadership retreat. Here’s what happened: Within the first few minutes of arriving Jon narrowly escaped a dog attack. For full details contact Jon directly, but suffice it to say […]

Another Difficult Shepherding Case

by Tyler Dirks

There’s a long-time member of our church named Gideon. Gideon had over 5 dozen sons (with multiple women). One of Gideon’s sons received financing from his mother’s hometown community to hire worthless and reckless fellows to carry out genocide against his brothers. But the youngest of Gideon’s sons escaped the genocide. The youngest son of […]

Two Viable Versions of Coping With Abuse

by Tyler Dirks

*These are 2 viable versions of coping with abuse. This is not a comprehensive list of ways to cope, but these are 2 ways of coping that often don’t get published in blog posts or prescribed to victims of abuse. 1. There is a long-time member of our church who has suffered more trauma, injustice, […]

Difficult Shepherding Case

by Tyler Dirks

We have a long-time member of our church who separated himself from the community. He made an impulsive decision to get married to a non-Christian. This ill-advised union led to the birth of 3 sons. Two of the sons were put to death by the Lord because they were wicked. I have often wondered if […]

Good Friday

by Tyler Dirks

Why is it called “GOOD Friday”? At a glance it would seem that we might call this day anything but “GOOD.”  As Jesus of Nazareth sized-up this day, He described it as an episode of unparalleled offense, suffering, and injustice (Mark 12:1-11).  Jesus compares the events of Good Friday to a man who planted a […]

Sex Trafficking, Plagues, & Deportation

by Tyler Dirks

Once upon a time there was a guy who knew God. This guy was close friends with God. God promised this guy unprecedented greatness and support. God would APPEAR to this guy, and this guy would build altars to God and reverently call upon the Name of God. One day this guy got nervous about […]