Last spring, Cross Timbers Community Church in North Texas began giving money away. Lots of it.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars.  They’ve given single moms and widows $100 gifts; they’ve given $200,000 to four local and two mission organizations; and they’ve fed, clothed, and paid utility bills for  many local people during these tough times. [...]

At what point is too much too much?  I recently heard about the massive $130 million building campaign of First Baptist Church of Dallas, and my mind immediately went to this question. It was just announced that the church (founded in 1868) will launch one of the nation’s largest church construction projects, aiming to transform [...]

Jennifer Knapp is a songwriter and Christian musician whose lyrics have always been honest and at times profound.  Her music is good; a folk/rock mix with a sometimes gritty and raw edge.  Two of her three albums were Grammy nominated, and in total, the three albums have sold nearly one million copies.  She put out [...]

Currently, my church is involved in a study of Jesus’ words from His “Sermon on the Mount.”  Along with Jesse Harden, my friend and associate, we’re preaching through it each Sunday.  Then following each sermon, along with Andrew Streett, my friend and our new Director of Missional Living, we’re discussing each sermon in more detail [...]

Missional.  It’s a new word in many churches today, but it’s not a new concept at all.  As a matter of fact, God’s call on His people to live missional lives is as old as the book of Genesis.  Simply put, to be missional means to join with God in His redemptive mission.  And a [...]