One frequent charge against Christians in general and Protestants in particular is the existence of denominations. The implication is that if we were truly united we would all believe exactly the same stuff and think exactly the same way and even approach ministry in exactly the same form. The problem with this is this has…

New City will celebrate its eleventh birthday next month! This means we’re still a fairly young church and we have growing pains as we lack some of the long-established structure of older churches. That’s also an advantage, by the way. One of the great things about starting a new church is whenever anyone says, “We’ve…

Lent is not a time of celebration. This is because fasting is not a time of celebration, but of lament and of seeking the Lord. Because Lent is a season of fasting, it cannot be a season of celebration. The celebration comes at the end of Lent when we assemble together to celebrate the Lord’s…

We don’t like to give up, well, anything. We live in a prosperous world and while some may have less than others, the reality is we all have more than most of the world. The fact that you are reading this demonstrates the prosperity we all have, whether you’re reading this in a web browser…

When my children were little one of them discovered what appeared to be a get-out-of-jail-free card for saying something offensive: just say the words “No offense”! “Mom, this food is yucky—no offense!” “Dad, your breath stinks—no offense!” After one particularly offensive declaration my wife asked said child what, exactly, does this child think “no offense”…