December 8, 2023
National Preaching Summit to Convene March 11-12 in Indy
The National Preaching Summit will gather at The Creek in Indianapolis on March 11-12, 2024, to explore the theme, “Undivided: Preaching Unity in Turbulent Times.” . . .
Articles for tag: Sean Palmer
November 1, 2016
A Look in the Mirror?
By Mark A. Taylor A church friend wrote on Facebook this week, “Why don”t all of you QUIT posting about the election?! Hasn”t everyone already decided who they”re voting for?” Certainly a majority of Americans have decided how they”ll vote””or whether they”ll vote. This year, as in most years, millions and millions of dollars are spent to sway the undecided minority. What may be different this year (in a campaign with a long, sad list of firsts), is the way some undecided voters keep switching from one choice they don”t like to the other. In the midst of all the
June 11, 2016
Discovering the RIGHT Story
By Sean Palmer Biologically speaking, there is no such thing as race. It”s hard to believe given both the recent and distant history of America, yet in reality, race is fiction. The reason some of us have darker or lighter skin is the result of thousands upon thousands of years of physical adaptation based on location. An easy way to think about it is this: Our ancestors living in Norway were cold. They stayed inside. Over time, their hair became predominantly blonde and skin incredibly light. The opposite was true for our ancestors living in Africa. As anthropologist Robert Wald
July 23, 2015
Sean Palmer’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 Sean Palmer, lead minister of The Vine Church, Temple, Texas. ________ If N.T. Wright isn”t the world”s greatest living theologian, he”s certainly the one influencing my life and work the most. In fact, among my pastor and theologian friends, I”ve begun to call Wright “Q” because he is the source of a great deal of what is now being preached and
July 16, 2015
A Conversation with Sean Palmer
Sean Palmer talks about his church, The Vine, in Temple, Texas, and reacts to the predominantly white complexion of the North American Christian Convention. When asked about race relations in America, he answers, “The racial problem is a gospel problem.” In this exclusive interview with Mark A. Taylor, he shares his views on the major obstacle to racial reconciliation in the United States and shares his congregation”s strategy for evangelism: “Spend some time with people who are not like you.” See the interview here.
July 14, 2015
Claiming the Right Identity
By Mark A. Taylor It is easy, too easy for me to make my identity all about me. Can you relate? For example, many of us take identity from our family relationships. (Whose son are you? Which child is yours?) Or we boost identity with what we can afford to buy or experience. (Is this your new car? You live in that neighborhood? Your cruise lasted how long?) We claim identity from the title behind our names. (Instructor or professor or dean? Manager or director or vice president?) But when life changes””and life always changes””when the job ends or the
July 6, 2015
All God”s Children: Loving Our LGBTQ Friends As We Love Ourselves
By Sean Palmer I love gay people. For many, it”s surprising to hear a Christian minister say that””especially an Evangelical minister from a fundamentalist background and with fundamentalist theological training””but I do love them. I really can”t help it. And I don”t love people because I”m a saint. I love them because I know so many by name. I know Jesus asks me to love everyone, but I must be honest; I have trouble loving people I don”t know. A plane crashes in Asia, and I”m saddened for the families of the dead, but I don”t grieve. I don”t love
June 21, 2015
Open Table
By Sean Palmer Maxine was stunned when Jason and Kari Martin, along with their children, Aidan and Regan, stood outside her front door with expectant eyes. As far as Jason and Kari knew, they”d been invited to dinner at the home of our church”s matriarch. If there”s an unquestioned sage at The Vine Church, it”s Maxine. She and her late husband, Ron, served as medical missionaries in Africa, raised three children (one of whom is an elder at The Vine), and around our church, once Maxine says something, nothing else needs to be said. The reason the Martins were at
February 20, 2015
We Speak: Previewing the 2015 NACC
By Mike Baker 2015 NACC President God is a talker. In the beginning, he thundered the creatively explosive words, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and everything we know and see came into being. And he didn”t stop there. He spoke throughout the history of his chosen people: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways” (Hebrews 1:1). But God had more to say, so he reiterated his Word to the world through the person of Jesus. According to the apostle John, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1),
July 13, 2013
40 Under 40: Sean Palmer
SEAN PALMER Lead minister, The Vine, Temple, Texas Sean Palmer is a preacher and an author. He is an advocate for many great endeavors. He loves Jesus. He loves Jesus” people. He loves his wife and his two beautiful daughters. And, yes, Sean Palmer is my friend. But none of that is what makes Sean one of the “40 Leaders Under 40″ being profiled here. No, what makes Sean a man to watch is that he is dangerous. Sean is unafraid to speak the truth. He”ll speak it in love, but he will not pull punches. He is brave and
