"Road Trip" Sermon #1 - The Great Commission

This is the first message in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church.

Title: "The Great Commission"

Summary: In a series of messages I will be taking the congregation on a "Road Trip" of sorts. We'll start and end with Matthew 28 where Jesus tells us to make disciples. Of all the good things that the church can do and does, the core task of the Church is to make disciples; not converts, not Lutherans, not churchgoers and not good, moral people, but disciples. On the Road Trip, we will be focusing first on what it even means to be a "disciple," and then build on that to explore what it means to make disciples.

Slides: Click here to view slides in a new window.

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"Road Trip" Sermon #2 - Go and Make Disciples - What Does This Mean?

Message #2 in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church.

Title: "Go and Make Disciples - What Does This Mean?""

Summary: A disciple is an apprentice to Jesus: we learn not just information from him, but we learn how to be human by walking and working with him. A very helpful tool for thinking about being human is the L-shaped Pipe metaphor. The Pipe describes how humans are built for connection in relationships with God and each other, and also for flow so that all that God pours into us naturally flows out of us to bless others. We do encounter a lot of "plumbing problems" in our lives, the worst of which is disconnecting from God and our neighbor to curve into ourselves. The most important thing is to keep a strong and healthy connection with God, which Jesus refers to as "abiding."

Slides: Click here to view slides in a new window.

Video

Special Speaker Announcement for the Unfinished Business Conference

I am very excited to announce another speaker confirmed for the conference. But I can't tell you who it is.

Seriously.

I was introduced recently to a woman who is a seminary student here in town. She was raised as an atheist in northern China up until the age of 12 when her mother became a believer. She herself came to faith later, and has attended House Church in China for many years. House churches are illegal in China, where only the state-authorized church bodies are allowed to gather openly. So to avoid putting friends and family at risk back in China I won't use her name or give her hometown online.

We will be greatly privileged to have her share her perspective with us at the conference!

Click here for details and to register.

Gina Mueller to Speak at Unfinished Business Conference

I'm beginning to get confirmations from the people who will be speakers at the Unfinished Business conference, and I'm delighted to introduce you to Gina Mueller. Gina will be one of our panelists, looking at the pros, cons and unanswered questions around Luther's house church proposal. Here's her bio:

"Gina Mueller is a national leader with 3dmovements. She trains leaders and teams how to create a culture of discipleship that results in a mobilized church. As a practitioner, she’s done the hard work of going first. Gina has led teams and served in various contexts - shifting the culture of a mega church as well as church planting. She is passionate about awakening the church to live into her sentness by activating the missional creativity of ordinary people. Gina has been building and multiplying extended families on mission called Missional Communities for almost 10 years. Gina loves hanging with her neighbors, her local coffee shop, and pizza night with her family!"

You can learn more about Gina's work with the 3dm discipling movement here. I have been working with 3dm materials and coaches for 5 years and HIGHLY recommend them!

Registration for the conference is now open. Come and be a part of the conversation!