August 25, 2025
SERVICE IS POWER
What we remember at this time of Communion is not how much Jesus knew but how much he loved us, and this love drove him to the cross.
Articles for tag: Dallas Willard
July 1, 2019
Lesson for July 7, 2019: Speak Up by Being Different (Philippians 3:7-21)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 25-28; June 23–July 14, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Speak up by living with Christ’s values. ______ By Mark Scott In many ways, believers are similar to unbelievers. Both are made in God’s image and therefore have dignity and worth. Both are fallen due to sin and therefore have need of redemption. But they are also very different.
January 28, 2019
Lesson for February 3, 2019: God Is with You in Your Failings (Adam and Eve)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 1 (weeks 5–8; February 3–24, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Know that God is with you even when you make mistakes.. ______ By Mark Scott The word closer sums up much of the Bible’s content. God is always wanting to get closer to people. Even in our text today God is pictured as walking in the garden (near Adam and Eve) in the
April 10, 2017
Out of Control
By Jon Kehrer We could have learned to trust almost anywhere. But our adventure happened to be in the Middle East. I remember climbing up onto our roof one night in January, just a few weeks after our family had moved to the Middle East. Cars, with horns blaring, filled the streets below. Windows were adorned with waving flags. People all around were shouting in victory””all because a major political leader in the Arab world had just stepped down. We didn”t know it at the time, but our move had coincided with the beginning of a popular uprising in Tunisia,
February 18, 2016
My Theology and My Attitude Toward My Kids” Rooms
By Jason Yeatts My view of theology changed two years ago. For most of my life, I considered theology an academic discipline, reserved mainly for those smart enough to handle it. But two years ago, I realized something was missing. My kids were getting older, and I was discovering that the theological information locked in my brain was quite powerless when I brought it into my living room, kitchen, and bedroom””the intimate places of my home. Theology seemed disconnected from my real life, and I struggled to understand how it could, and should, affect my day-to-day comings and goings. Helped
November 11, 2015
The Secret-Driven Life
By Jim Tune (This column was first posted November 5, 2014.) To be real is to risk. I know many preachers who feel a deep reluctance (often well-founded) to reveal who they really are to those they lead. Henri Nouwen suggests that pastors are the least confessing people in the church. The expectations demanded of pastors in our Western culture are often unattainable, unsustainable, and soul-withering. I admit that I have sometimes allowed my own fear of vulnerability to push me into hiding. The trouble with life in the shadows is the double life it promotes in the shadow dweller.
July 31, 2015
Tom Ellsworth’s Thought Leaders
We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Tom Ellsworth, senior minister with Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, Bloomington, Indiana. ________ Theology: Jack Cottrell Devotional study: Max Lucado, Ken Gire, Mark Atteberry A deeper challenge: N.T. Wright, Dallas Willard Cultural study: Thom Rainer Inspiration and perhaps my all-around favorite: John Ortberg
July 24, 2015
Michael Plank’s Thought Leaders
We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Michael Plank, executive director of worship and discipleship, Spring Road Christian Church, Lanett, Alabama. ________ Dr. Richard Averbeck, professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, is also the director of the Spiritual Formation Forum. Building on the amazing work of Dallas Willard in the field of discipleship, Averbeck and his forum of scholars in this field
July 13, 2015
Randy Harris’s Thought Leaders
We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Randy Harris, spiritual director with the College of Biblical Studies, Abilene (Texas) Christian University. ________ If I confine myself to largely contemporary figures, the list might look something like this . . . Non-Christian: Thich Nhat Hanh is, in my opinion, the greatest living Zen master, whose very presence brings peace. He is an example of what one can become if one
February 12, 2015
Solving Sexuality
By Jason Yeatts We, as a society and a church, have unconsciously adopted an understanding of sexuality that does more harm than good. I”m not talking about our culture”s growing acceptance of homosexuality, but our acceptance of the idea of homosexuality. The two are quite different. We have picked up a language about sex that both perpetuates a wrong view of human identity and hinders the path of Christian discipleship. To understand how this has happened, we must first look at the human heart. When Scriptures declare, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) and
February 5, 2013
Spiritual Formation””Defining the Terms
By Casey Tygrett Abide Abide is the central word in Jesus” teaching on the vine and the branches in John 15. It is a key teaching because it emphasizes our need to remain in the life, teachings, and transforming presence of Jesus throughout our lives. A life of abiding is key to Christian spiritual formation. Abiding can be a form of prayer in which a person concentrates on just being with God without needing to make requests or even use words. Abiding is a key concept to spiritual formation because it essentially is the “base camp” out of which
August 1, 2010
I Was the Big, Dead Tree
By Tim Harlow When I was a youth pastor, one of my favorite stories to reenact at church camp was from 1 Kings 18 when Elijah and the priests of Baal had a god-duel. The trick was to have someone with a roll of toilet paper soaked in lighter fluid in a nearby tree. At the right moment, he would light the toilet paper and let it slide down a wire into the altar””it was a great effect! I”m sure the real thing was even better. I can”t imagine how great Elijah must have felt knowing he was on the
March 15, 2009
Spiritual Formation as Leadership Development
By Bill Weber Bible colleges and seminaries are charged with preparing leaders for the church in an increasingly sophisticated and complex world. An institution”s value is determined by the success or failure of its graduates. A school”s visibility may be enhanced by special programs or presentations, new buildings, faculty publications, or successful sports teams, but the effectiveness of the graduates indicates whether or not a school is fulfilling its mission. These schools are expected to serve the educational and developmental needs of students. The first goal is to provide a knowledge base in important areas: Scripture, theological concepts, leadership theories,
June 18, 2006
Five Books About Spiritual Formation
By Tony Twist The Imitation of Christ: How Jesus Wants Us to Live By William Griffin (HarperCollins, 2001) This contemporary version makes Thomas a Kempis”s time-tested classic from 15th-century Germany much more accessible. Book one helps us understand how a healthy spiritual life functions. Book two, especially good for modern Americans, helps us find our spiritual bearings. I especially like the section on friendship with Jesus. Book three brings us deeper into the type of peace Jesus wants us to have. The final book on preparation for Communion is desperately needed today. We are too often guilty of “popping the
