Our society tends to move on rather quickly. Sometimes that’s not all bad. I’m glad parachute pants didn’t become a fixture of American society. It was okay to let Milli Vanilli have their fifteen minutes of lip-synching fame and then move on to the next flavor of the month. There are many, many examples of… Continue reading Don’t Just Move On

I mentioned to a friend earlier today that I was never discipled in social media as a follower of Jesus. I was discipled about a lot of things: what was okay to drink or not to drink, whether I could wear an earring or not (and which ear), what kind of music to enjoy, and… Continue reading Seeking the Kingdom First and the Challenge of Social Media

This coming Monday will mark three weeks since George Floyd was killed by a police officer on a street in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s been three long weeks. We’ve seen this before. Again! I’ve had several black friends reflect upon their initial response to the news of Floyd’s death: Again. It’s happened again. It’s almost expected… Continue reading I Can’t Breathe – Why We Can’t Go Back to Normal

My brother Bill Shoemaker loved to teach the truth found in scripture. This past Friday, Bill taught us one last lesson from James 4:13-14, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even… Continue reading In Memory of Bill Shoemaker

It is with great sadness that we inform you that Bill Shoemaker, Director of Mobilizing Disciples, passed away Friday evening May 29, 2020 after developing complications from surgery following a heart attack. We are heartbroken by the loss of our dear brother and co-laborer in Christ, but we don’t grieve as those without hope (1… Continue reading

This past week I was deeply grieved and horrified by the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. I know many of us are struggling to know how to respond as followers of Jesus. I believe it’s in times like these that we have a desperate need for the prophetic voice… Continue reading A Guest Blog by Dr. Andrew Draper

This week is part two of a guest blog by Dr. Reggie McNeal. You can find part one by clicking on this link. Christ’s Peace,Lance The New Normal … Ain’t Going to Be Normal (PART 2) Second, we must change our scorecard. By scorecard, I mean what we celebrate. Church leaders shaped by a church-as-institution… Continue reading The New Normal … Ain’t Going to Be Normal (PART 2)

This week and next week we will feature a guest blog by Dr. Reggie McNeal. I believe it was Wayne Boyer who first introduced McNeal to the CGGC years ago through the book, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (Jossey-Bass, 2003). Reggie was instrumental in the development of the Missional Leadership Initiative… Continue reading The New Normal … Ain’t Going to Be Normal (PART 1)

I’ll be honest. There are many times I feel at a loss for the right words to speak or write. Today is one of those days. Often, I feel like we’ve collectively lost the ability to lament: we want the happy-clappy, Prozac-laced Jesus-loving celebration, but we don’t know how to lament. We don’t know how… Continue reading A Lament When You Don’t Know How to Lament

I don’t know about you, but the month of April seemed like it was at least 60 days long! Welcome to May! I know that many of us are still living with a lot of unknowns right now. In Ohio, we have some glimpses of hope – the General Conference office will be open again… Continue reading Do You See the Opportunities?