I.R. “The kingdom of man is like a group of friends who went out to dinner to celebrate a special occasion. They were seated at a table of an unloved waitress. She took a long time to get their orders, hardly ever refilled their drinks, and never asked if they wanted dessert. Increasingly throughout the […]
Here’s a recent text exchange with a good friend of mine… My Friend: Does a lack of persecution in one’s life mean there is a lack of boldness for the gospel? Me: I’d say that boldness (as embodied by Jesus of Nazareth) is primarily a radical commitment to be weak, vulnerable, and ‘powerless.’ Boldness is […]
Let’s think about the motion picture Nacho Libre. The film is loosely based on the story of Fray Tormenta (“Friar Storm”, a.k.a. Rev. Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez), a real-life Mexican Catholic priest who had a 23-year career as a masked luchador and competed in order to support the orphanage he directed. There are a few things […]
What’s really going on in the church? What are the subterranean happenings of the ekklesia? Well, if you really want to know …we are harboring an insurrectionist. He is an extremely powerful and subversive person operating in enemy occupied territory. He has won us to His cause, and made us members […]
On Sunday a retired pastor told me a story about a time when he was rebuked by a member of his congregation for being a “painfully bad preacher.” The retired pastor then scheduled a meeting with the Holy Spirit who used this traumatic confrontation to expose his idolatrous lust for man’s empty praise. The Holy […]
The Author and Maker SEZ to submit to the people whom He has ordained, assigned, and positioned in authority over us. The Maker SEZ, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and […]
Every community on the planet supports missionaries. On the most basic level, everyone deeply approves of something, and there is an inescapable desire to advocate for, and convert others to, the same set of beliefs. Some have clearly defined criteria for evaluating whether or not they will endorse and support someone, while others take a […]
How are we supposed to feel about the people we love, who are not interested in personally repenting and relying entirely on Jesus (like the woman in Mark 14:3ff)? How are we supposed to react to the people we care about, who say, “I don’t need to read the Bible or regularly examine myself as […]
There is a missionary doctor – who, for security reasons, wishes to remain anonymous – serving in Nepal. ECPC is privileged to be able to help support the Christ-centered labors of this missionary in Asia, and so (a) because you are investing in their work via your tithes at ECPC, and (b) because it made […]
It’s been a long time since the last blog post here on the ECPC website. I know that all of you faithful blog readers have been going through withdrawals, but alas – here is a fresh blog post! Disclaimer: blogging is not my “unique ability” (at least I don’t think it is …but one can […]