Blog

This coming Sunday is Pentecost and in our prayers we sought God’s will on celebrating the gift of church, in regards to music, in the best way possible. As we often do, we started off our prayers by thanking God for all he has done and is doing in our church. Out of a combination of our desire to do a song set that was well known to our congregation (in order that people can focus on truly celebrating and not learning songs) and God’s leading, the order of our service is geared towards celebrating the anniversary of the church’s beginning

Last September our church changed the location of its Sunday gathering. Our new facility, the Old Church in Wilsonville, is a beautiful combination of traditional and modern. Plus, the location met all of the criteria we were looking for in a location (time flexibility, in Wilsonville, and in our price range). However, one issue emerged: There was/is no room for us to do children’s ministry during the service. At that time we begin to think through the concept of having children in the service. The first thing we wanted to know was if there was any biblical support for or

Note: I consistently read books about church. I do this primarily because God has given me the great responsibility of pastoring a church and I believe that the way in which I do this job should be well informed. However, I find that many of these books not only inspire how I pastor Creekside Bible Church, but also the way in which I approach church on a personal level. I realize that many who read my blog are not in leadership positions in a church. However, I think that those who fall into this category would benefit greatly from reading

As we plan and prepare for church services we often start be reading the passage and then we pray, seeking the Lord’s direction. Sometimes his guidance seems to come quickly and clearly. After five minutes it seems pretty obvious that God has given us a clear direction; other times God’s leading is far less than clear. When this happens services sometimes end up going in a direction that we never would have expected. This sunday fits into the latter category of service prepearation. As we pick songs our focus is always on the main theme of the Sunday, but this

This month is the two year anniversary of my start as the pastor of Creekside Bible Church. As I reflect on the last two years, I want to use this blog post to tell you about how much I appreciate the people in my church and their attitudes towards me through the years. In this regard there is so much to say, but let me begin by saying that I recently I had two interactions that

In “How to Go to Church (part 1)” I presented the idea that it is possible to go to church poorly. I also offered three tips on how to go to well. In this post I want to offer three more. Go to church… unified with others. Near the beginning of Jesus’ longest recorded sermon, he says in Matthew 5:23, 24, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then

Going to church is great. Going to church excellently is better. Perhaps you have never considered the idea that there are better and worse ways to go to church – most haven’t. I have been going to church my whole life, but it wasn’t until recently that I recognized that I can go to church poorly. I am writing my next two posts to help you attend church in a more productive, important, and God-honoring way. In other words, I am writing my next two posts as a guide to help you know how to go to church.

Donkey Sermon Before becoming the lead pastor of Creekside Bible Church I was in charge of our ministry to high school students for six years.  This week I remembered a sermon on donkeys in the Bible that I once delivered to the students…Yes, the donkeys of the Bible. Since Palm Sunday is here, and the event it celebrates includes a donkey, I figured it might be fun to share the sermon here. Before posting it, I figured it was smart to listen to it. Two things are important to share with you before you give it a listen. First, please

In middle of a discourse on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:1-30 Paul uses the body as a metaphor for church. The context of the passage is important for understanding it. The church in Corinth, whom Paul is writing to, had placed far too great an emphasis on the spiritual gift called tongues. Everyone in the church wanted this spiritual gift while the other gifts were seen as unimportant and the people who possessed them were being looked down on. With this in mind, Paul says in verse 12, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all

We had a projector malfunction (along with some other frustrating factors) at church Sunday. It produced a long rant on several church related topics including the importance of God’s presence in the midst of his assembled people, excellence in a church service, church unity, spiritual gifts, church attendance, holiness, and more. Yes, it was quite the rant. You can listen to it…