(From the beginning of this blog, I have used this space to reflect theologically on the things we experience in the culture around us.  I would also love to use this space to give more people at NewLife the chance to share, exhort, encourage, edify, and teach the things that God is putting on their heart to share.  In that spirit, here are a few exhortations from our guest writer, Wes Feshler.  Given our current series on the life of Joseph, which deals heavily with the subject of trusting that God is working towards a good purpose even when He seems absent, here are a few of Wes’ exhortations related to that topic:)

(1) Trust God

Proverbs 3:1-8 - My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,  2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.  3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.  5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.  8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Read more »

“Question everything,” say some people.  “God can handle our questions, and besides, God’s ways are so far beyond ours that it would be silly for us to pretend we’ve got a corner on the truth.  Raising questions helps us go deeper into the mystery of God and frees us from the arrogant belief that we’ve got it all figured out.”

“Questioning everything is foolish,” say others.  “All you do with your questioning is cause people to doubt and give a foothold to the devil.  Better to believe without wavering, and to communicate the truth of God in power.  Raising questions only distracts us from having faith in what we know to be true.”

So who is right?  Read more »

Vulnerability is, well, a vulnerable thing, isn’t it?  My job as a pastor is highly relational, dealing with people from all different backgrounds on all manner of issues.  On one day I’ll be counseling a newly married couple on how to fight fair, another day helping a woman sort out the troubles she has faced in her life and understand where God fits among them, and the next day listening as a young man shares his strongly held vision for where he feels God wants him to use his time and talents.  All of these situations call for incredible vulnerability and trust on the part of those with whom I meet, as they trust me with the intimate details of their marriage, their history, and their heart. 
Read more »

When I was a junior at UConn, I co-led a small group Bible study with my friend Jen.  It was a great group, full of spiritually growing underclassmen that seemed poised to have thriving, lifelong relationships with Jesus.  At the end of the year, the group disbanded, and new groups were formed the following fall.  I distinctly remember watching that winter as a few of my ex-group members ceased participating in their new small groups.  When I asked one of the girls why she had stopped going, she said “It’s just not like Eric and Jen’s group.”  After I stopped patting myself on the back for apparently being the best small group leader ever, I realized that something was seriously wrong.  If all I was doing was leaving people dependent on me for their spiritual growth, what long-term good had I done?  If these students were going to cease pursuing God because nothing else compared to our small group, where had I gone wrong?
Read more »

The bookcase peering over my right shoulder as I type is populated by half-finished books – books on leadership, books on spiritual discipline, books on how to be a manly man, and many books on how to read The Book.  I am the type of person who loves to visit book tables at conferences or browse through Christian book catalogs, only to turn away, hyperventilating at the staggering amount of information that I do not know.  I constantly feel that if I could only read every book ever written on how to follow God or how to pastor a church, then I would reach some invincible expert status where everything would come naturally.

 And then I hear something like this, and I wonder if I’ve got it all wrong:
Read more »

Two Sundays after preaching on how The Church as it was Meant to Be is made up of fearless and bold Christians who are full of conviction, check out this real-life illustration of fearlessness in the face of opposition: 

SAN ANTONIO — A man said he had a heart-to-heart conversation with an armed burglar over a cup of coffee after he found him stealing his belongings from his home on Sept. 11, KSAT-TV in San Antonio reported.
Steve Swanson said he found a man, whom police suspect is Armando Hernandez, stealing items from his home.
“I said, ‘What are you doing here?’” Swanson said. “He said, ‘I’m taking your stuff, and it’s too bad you showed up.’”
Swanson said the man was carrying a knife in one hand and a gun in the other, but he didn’t panic.

“I said, ‘You don’t want to do this. First of all, if you harm me or kill me, I’m just going to go to heaven. You’re going to go to prison forever,’” Swanson said.
Swanson said he gave the burglar all the money in his wallet and offered to listen to his problems over breakfast.
Read more »

Authenticity is a huge buzzword in Christian circles these days, as younger generations clamor for a faith and church that is real and not afraid to be who they are, in all their glory and shame.  But one pastor recently decided to take authenticity to a whole other level.  This Sunday, beginning at 9:00 PM, Pastor Troy Gramling of Flamingo Road Church in Cooper City, Florida will become the naked pastor.  Not THAT kind of naked… the transparent kind.  Pastor Gramling has had webcams set up in his house, car, office and a hotel that will be displaying his life 24/7 over the internet on www.mynakedpastor.com for all to see.  Not just for a day or two – for the next FIVE WEEKS (thanks to Monday Morning Insight for the tip).

Read more »

This week’s Time Magazine “cover girl” is Mother Teresa, the world-renowned Catholic missionary to the lepers and poor of Calcutta, India, who died in 1997.   In case you haven’t heard, there is a book coming out next Tuesday called Mother Teresa:  Come Be My Light, which includes letters that she sent to her confessors and spiritual directors over many years.  The shocking revelation is that she struggled in the midst of her heroic service to have faith in God.  Consider the following quotes:

 “I have no Faith — I dare not utter the words & thoughts that   crowd in my heart & make me suffer untold agony,”(undated)

“Such deep longing for God and … repulsed empty no faith no love no zeal. … Heaven means nothing pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything.” (1956)

“What do I labour for? If there be no God — there can be no soul — if there is no Soul then Jesus You also are not true.” (1959)

Read more »

(I am going on vacation and taking a two-week break from blogging.  This week, guest blogger Wes Feshler will be contributing a testimony of encouragement regarding what God has done in His life.  Take it away Wes!)

My pastor graciously invited me to write some encouraging words which, prayerfully, will increase our faith in Jesus Christ.  My words come from over 25 years of Christian experiences in many churches with many people.
     
Read more »

As I look back on the last few months of posts, I’ve written a lot of words about many difficult subjects, from Biblical interpretation to sexism in the church, from religious tolerance to homosexuality.  This week, I’m feeling the need to return to a verse in the Bible that has resonated with me more than any other, for some reason.  It’s found in the Old Testament, in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verse 2, and in my unauthorized “Eric Stillman Version” (ESV), it says this:

Do not be quick with your mouth or hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.  God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so SHUT UP.

Read more »