what if the messiness of the community is an opportunity for you to act like Jesus? Have you ever considered how Jesus experienced the community of faith? Jesus, who experienced perfect communal love within the Trinity, witnessed the community in all its inglorious humanity.
Community
Is Jesus not enough?
The reality is, if someone joins a congregation because some out-of-the-box program tickles their spiritual fancy, then it is only a matter of time before they move on to some other spiritual side-show.
Finding Jesus in Daily Life: An Invitation
I once went for a walk with someone new to the church. As we strolled through the park, she looked at me and said “So, you are really into Jesus, aren’t you?” What followed was a wonderful discussion about faith, scripture, but most of all, the importance of Jesus. She described being how Jesus seemed aloof to her. What she really wanted to know was how to get to know him.
The Leadership Trap that Keeps Churches Stuck
Even before Jethro voiced his concern, the Spirit was at work in the lives of those 70 elders. The longer Moses held a tight grip on his ministry, the more he limited the Spirit’s work. Believing that ministry rested exclusively on his shoulders meant that opportunities for others to step into ministry were withheld.
The Future Church Doesn’t Exist
Many people relate the future church to the existence and participation of young people. But is the future church a church of young people? Because time-travel is fickle, and the young people today will be the old people of the future, so who exactly are we referring to?
3 Hacks to Make You Spiritually Healthy This Year
The new year often brings resolutions to revamp our lives. We resolve to address the areas of our lives that have become stagnant or problematic. Some resolve to eat healthier in the new year; others to exercise more. But what do we do if our resolution addresses the spiritual side of our life? What if we resolve to be more spiritually healthy in 2026? What then?
The Problem with DIY Spirituality
There will always be areas in our spiritual life where we need to grow. There will always be places where God pushes past our own prowess, not so that we can learn a new skill, but so that we can receive God’s work through another. A spirituality defined solely by our own efforts is ultimately narrow in scope and narrow in experience.
Pray Different
Many of us have a list of people we pray for, either mentally or written down. We pray for these people faithfully and diligently, regularly bringing their names to Jesus. But do we pray for these prayers like I prayed for Emmanuel, silently and quickly? Do these people know we pray for them? Is there an invitation we may be missing?
Why Henri?
I recently led a summer retreat titled "The Spirituality of Henri Nouwen." Henri has long been one of my favourite authors to read, and it’s not too much of a stretch to say that I see him as a spiritual guide of some sort. During this retreat, someone asked the simple question, “So, why Henri?” In other words, why was Henri Nouwen the person that I gravitated to?
Beautiful Intersections
There are times when God peels back the layers of God’s work, allowing us to see the intricate working of God’s will. These beautiful intersections of God’s will with our participation remind us that God is active in ways far beyond our perception or understanding.
Reverend Kyle Norman 