Welcome!

For 5 years I was the pastor of Trinity International Church in Strasbourg, France. I created this blog with those people in mind. In mid-November 2018 I will become the Senior Pastor of Word of Life Church in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. The focus of this blog will therefore shift, but I pray that people from the blogosphere will continue to find it helpful wherever they might be found.
The churches' websites includes recorded sermons for those who are interested. Click the links below to access them.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

100 Things I am Thankful For

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash
It is Thanksgiving in the United States. It's a day for giving thanks to God for the many blessings he has given. Americans typically gather with family and have a huge meal together. We're a long way from family and will be spending Thanksgiving with some friends in Paris. France doesn't celebrate this holiday, and it will be good to spend it with some other Americans.

To celebrate the Thanksgiving, I thought it would be good to sit down and write a list of 100 things that I am thankful for. It isn't going to be thought out or in any order. It will be stream of conscious type of thing. I've lived a number of years and have much to be thankful for. It will be interesting to see where this exercise takes me!

Here is the quick 100 off the top of my head:
  1. Topping the list: Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
  2. My wife, Janet, who for 33 years has cared for me in ways that still take my breath away.
  3. My son Daniel and his wife Becky. I love hanging out with them and watching them put their faith into action.
  4. My son Nathan. Loves Jesus passionately and follows him radically. 
  5. My granddaughters, Addie and Lou...who have their grandpa wrapped around their fingers. "What the grandkids want, the grandkids get" is my rule.
  6. My mom. She's my mom, that's why. She is one of the kindest people that I know.
  7. My dad. I miss him terribly. His laugh, his wisdom, and his way with people. Hardly a day goes by that I don't think of him.
  8. My sister, Kristi. She makes me laugh and keeps me humble. Everyone with a little sister knows exactly what I mean.
  9. My in-laws. Some people have difficult relationships with their in-laws. I am grateful that all my in-laws are wonderful people whom I love to get together with.
  10. Strasbourg, France. This is a beautiful city. It's like living on a movie set.
  11. Hot coffee.
  12. The incredible leaders of Trinity International Church of Strasbourg. What a great group of people!
  13. Worship music.
  14. The challenge of learning French.
  15. 2 bakeries around the corner.
  16. Walking paths just outside the door.
  17. The chance to spend 14 years living in the North Woods of Minnesota.
  18. Memories of loons swimming past in the summer and snow blowing down the lake in the winter.
  19. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area and the many trips with friends.
  20. Campfires.
  21. Fishing.
  22. Books. The books I have read and the stack of those I haven't.
  23. Skype. It makes being away from family bearable.
  24. Sunshine.
  25. Hikes in the Vosges.
  26. Exploring castle ruins.
  27. Tarte flambée.
  28. Creme brulée.
  29. Giggling children.
  30. Watching geese flying south.
  31. The crunch of leaves underfoot.
  32. The silence of the woods in winter.
  33. The Northwoods Revue.
  34. Debbie buns.
  35. Blueberry picking with friends.
  36. The "miracle of the chairs" after church.
  37. Potlucks.
  38. The C&MA family.
  39. Walks along the ocean.
  40. Freedom.
  41. High-speed trains.
  42. The sound of melting snow.
  43. The smell of a football.
  44. Walks around the lakes of Minneapolis.
  45. Balsam Store ice cream.
  46. Any ice cream.
  47. The experience of running marathons.
  48. Chess.
  49. The smell of turkey cooking.
  50. 24/7 Prayer.
  51. A well-worn Bible.
  52. Memories of Release Time.
  53. Greenway basketball.
  54. Little league baseball.
  55. Faithful friends.
  56. Warm sweaters.
  57. Flannel sheets.
  58. Fires in the fireplace.
  59. Blizzards (the storm).
  60. Blizzards (the ice cream dessert).
  61. Spiritual mentors. 
  62. Prayer partners.
  63. Answered prayer.
  64. The smell of a pine forest.
  65. Laughter.
  66. Strasbourg at Christmas.
  67. A vision trip to the Middle East.
  68. Standing on Mount Nebo.
  69. Airplanes.
  70. The people I know who follow Jesus to the darkest and most difficult places.
  71. The hidden prayer warriors...the heroes of the kingdom.
  72. Pastors I have learned so much from.
  73. The Christians that impacted my life when I was in university. You changed my life forever.
  74. A comfortable place to live.
  75. The smell of freshly mown grass.
  76. Chocolate.
  77. Holding hands.
  78. That it is impossible to skip and frown at the same time.
  79. The sound of ice coming off the lake in the spring.
  80. A musical family.
  81. The internet.
  82. Living in place filled with history.
  83. Walking Omaha Beach.
  84. Ocean waves. 
  85. Friends who fix cars and pull them out of snowbanks.
  86. Being American.
  87. Being Scandinavian.
  88. Photographs full of memories.
  89. Wood floors.
  90. Faded blue jeans.
  91. Chocolate chip cookies.
  92. The howl of the wolf.
  93. The feeling of paddling a canoe.
  94. The sound of rain on a tent.
  95. Wood carvings.
  96. Church bells.
  97. Sunsets.
  98. The way water reflects the sky.
  99. Northern lights.
  100. Popcorn.
Well, there it is. A completely random series of things I am thankful for that was written as quickly as I could type. Some silly and some profound. 

You will note that I didn't name many people other than family members. That was intentional. The reality is that it is the people in my life that I am most thankful for. There are so many that I was terrified of offending someone by leaving them off my list. For example, right now I am blessed by being part of an International Church. I have friends from around the world and I am grateful for them all! Before that I was the pastor of a church in Nashwauk, Minnesota. Certainly I am grateful for all the people of the church, but also the whole Iron Range community that is so close to my heart. Before that, there were other churches, employers, and schools where I formed relationships for which I am thankful. To name them all would create a much longer list. If you are reading this, know that you are certainly on the list of people I am grateful for!

Looking back over the years, it is easy to give thanks to the Lord for the many blessings that he has poured out on my life. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

"The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."
Psalm 16:6

It's All About Love, Part 2

Photo by Joshua Fuller on Unsplash
This is the second in a series called "It's All About Love." The series begins here.


We were created for love. The desire to be loved and to love is built into us. We crave and are driven by a need for love. Our abilities and personalities shine the brightest when motivated by love.

Love is the law of God's kingdom. It is a foundational principle that is to guide the relationships people have with one another. "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Galatians 5:14). 

God hates it when we are not loved.

Photo by Tom Pumford on Unsplash
When the bully at school picked on you, God saw it and his heart was filled with anger. When you were the subject of malicious gossip at work, God heard it and was stirred. When the rude shopper pushed his way into the queue in front of you, God was watching and writing it in his book of remembrance.

When people did not value you enough to listen to you and you knew they were intentionally ignoring you, God knew. When people did understand you and then rejected you, God was filled with compassion. When people assumed the worst about you, God was not absent. In fact, God knows exactly how you felt. No one has been ignored or rejected more than Him.

Every time that someone treated you with less than love, God not only saw it, but it broke his heart. We will look more deeply into this in future posts. For now, it is important to understand that love is the law of his kingdom.

Laws without penalties are merely suggestions. The violation of the law of love is called sin and it carries a punishment: death and hell. Does this seem harsh? It isn't. We'll look at why it isn't in a future post but ponder for a moment that the punishments for violating laws vary given the gravity of the offense. God considers the violation of the law of love to be extremely wicked and will be punished accordingly. God's action of punishment is a demonstration of his wrath. God's wrath is his love in action against evil. Unlike human anger, God's wrath is always just and expressed with perfect timing.

When someone hurts us our natural tendency is to try to even the score. We want to hurt them back. The realization that violations of the law of love will be punished by God changes the equation completely. They won't get away with it. God "has our backs"! This is why Jesus encourages us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies (Matthew 5:38-48). Paul puts it this way, "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, “f your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head” (Romans 12:19-20).

The fact that God will judge the evil in the world allows us to forgive and even have compassion on those who hurt us. We know that they will be punished. We can trust that justice will be done in the matter. Perhaps not in the time that we like, but eventually justice will prevail. The evildoer will not get away with it regardless of how powerful they are or how clever they think they are. We are free to love.

That only deepens our problem.

The love of Jesus captures our attention, but it also reveals our faults. We are not like him! Created to love others, we have not loved. Perhaps we feel like we are more loving than others. We haven't hit anyone. We haven't robbed a bank. We pay our taxes. But then Jesus makes the standard clear:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire" (Matthew 5:21-22).
The kingdom of God is a kingdom of love. In a civilized society, people learn that politeness helps them to get what they want. "Please" and "thank-you" come rolling off their lips. They open doors for others. They carefully watch the way we act. They want to be "good people." The outward appearances look great and have been polished to a fine sheen. Jesus will have none of it. His words are like a  like a sledgehammer of love working to expose their true condition (Matthew 23:23-27).

The reality is that each of us stands condemned because of our actions. We have not loved others. We have violated the law of the kingdom of God. Suddenly, the reality of the wrath of God on evildoers is not comforting, but alarming. Because we are guilty. We justly deserve the wrath of God.

That is the real reason people push Jesus away.

This insistence on love and the punishment of the violation of the law of love are the very things that cause people to push Jesus away. People desire to be loved. They like the idea evil is punished. But then they realize that but they have not loved. They have done evil. The blazing light of Jesus's love exposes their own lack of love. It exposes their anger, impatience, and selfishness. They prefer the shadows where their evil deeds cannot be so clearly seen (John 3:19).

God's love and goodness are exactly the things that demand that he punish those who violate the law of love. Imagine that someone raped and murdered your daughter. The criminal is brought before the judge and says, "I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Would we consider the judge to be good if he said, "That's okay. Just don't do it again." No! We would say that the judge was not just. We would want him removed from his position. The good and just judge must render a just judgment. In the same way, the goodness of God demands that violations of his law of love be punished.

We might agree with this view of the judge when it comes to a murdering rapist, but what about "lesser" violations of the law of love? Shouldn't there be leniency? Does every violation of the law of love merit death and hell? The answer is a very reasonable "yes." The rationale is simple, and it will be the focus of a future blog post.

It really is about love.
We all want a better and more just society. We all want to live in a society that is grounded in love and caring for one another. This describes the kingdom of God. The hope of our societies cannot be grounded in our political institutions, our universities, or economic theories. The hope of our world needs to be grounded on Jesus Christ, who came to show us how we can live in the kingdom of God...the kingdom of love. 

Friday, November 17, 2017

It Is All About Love - Part 1

Picture from unsplash.com
Life can seem complicated, but it really is not complicated at all.

We must begin with the right understanding regarding the reason for our existence. We were created for love. We were designed with the deep need to be loved and to love others. We cannot avoid this nor will we ever be fulfilled apart from this. It is hard-wired into us.

A moment's reflection shows this to be true. When we think about our families and how we would like them to be, our basic desire is for them to be places of love. When we think about our professional lives we would like the work environment to be filled with compassion and love for one another. No one likes to be hated by the people they work with! At the restaurant, we want the evening to be one filled with love and careful service. Even at the prefecture, we yearn for the experience to be one of being cared for rather than being treated with disdain.

We were created to be loved. We crave it. We long for it. We pursue it. It is part of how God designed us.

Not only are we created to be loved, we are created to love others. Our personalities and abilities shine the brightest when they are motivated by love for others. We were created to be the loving co-worker or boss. We were designed to be a loving family member and neighbor. We are intended to live lives of love. There is something deep within us that yearns to be a blessing to others. This, too, is part of how God designed us.

Churchill at Place Kleber for the
opening of the Council of Europe.
This impulse is seen in the young people of today. Many of them are seeking to live lives of service to others. They want to see a direct connection between what they are doing and the improvement of society. But this impulse does not just exist in the young. We live in a city that demonstrates a concern that governments treat their citizens with care and respect. It was the wizened older leaders who began the European Institutions here in Strasbourg. They, too, wanted to create a more loving world.

We were created to be loved and to love others. That is why love is the law of God's kingdom. "Owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law (of God)" (Romans 13:8).

In an age that claims to want to build a just and fair society, it is ironic that we have rejected the One who came to show us the way into the kingdom of love. This is in part due to the legacy of a corrupt church. The Church gained political power, was corrupted and over time lost its moral authority. Europe and the West need to rediscover Jesus. Jesus gives us the "in the flesh" picture of what it means to love. His teachings ring with clarity about the nature of love and its impact on life.

One of the greatest things that we can do for people is to introduce them to Jesus. For those that want to improve society, have a successful life, or live a life filled with love, there is no better mentor. Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God...the Kingdom of love. He can show each of us what true love looks like. He will show us what it means to be truly and perfectly loved.

He can give us the wisdom to know how to love. Often his wisdom will run counter to what we have been taught. Frequently we will be challenged to grow in our ability to love. We will discover that often what our culture tells us is loving actually damages relationships. By following Jesus we will become experts at loving others. We learn that only by being truly and fully loved can we love others (John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:7-8).

There are some astounding truths that come from the fact that God's Kingdom is a kingdom of love. We will look at some of them in posts to come.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Together with Jesus

Our recent church retreat had as its theme: "Together with Jesus." The theme meant more than simply spending time with one another. A full version of the theme of our retreat would have been "together with Jesus we will welcome people from all nations, inviting them into a liberating and transformative relationship with Jesus Christ, discipling and equipping them to be good and faithful servants wherever God may send them." 

Welcoming people from all nations

The Lord has called us to be an international church. That means that we need to be intentionally welcoming people from the nations of the world. Most churches consider themselves to be friendly, but that is usually because the regular attenders all know one another. They think the church is friendly because that is where all their friends are!

It is more difficult to find a church that is truly welcoming to newcomers. Perhaps you have visited a church where the people seemed completely uninterested in the fact that you were there. It happens sometimes. It is rare to find a church that embraces people from different cultures, nationalities, or languages. But that is exactly what God has called us to do as a church.

How do we do that?

First, it has to be seen as an act of worship. One key response to the love God has poured into our lives is love for other people. It is an act of worship to walk across the room and greet someone.
Second, we must realize that it is no accident that has caused someone to cross our path. God wants to do something in their life! He has brought them here for a purpose and we want to help them find out what it is.

Third, welcoming others is a discipline. Think of it like exercise. Any exercise is difficult at first, but over time it becomes easier and our body actually begins to enjoy it. Just like exercise though, it is easy to find excuses not to do it.

In welcoming others we need to make sure that there are "open spaces" on our lego wall. Sometimes we place caps on our wall that prevent other legos from being attached. These caps may be the excuses we have for not welcoming others or habits of ignoring those with whom we do not have long-established relationships. We must realize that these caps limit our growth in our relationship with God.

Inviting them into a liberating and transformative relationship with Jesus
TICOS believes that it is important for people to discover a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. There is no greater act of love than introducing someone to Jesus. While many of the people who join us already have a relationship with Jesus, it is not uncommon for atheists, Muslims and Buddhists to come to our services. Whoever they are, we invite them to start or deepen their relationship with Jesus.

We also believe that this relationship liberates and transforms lives. We don't "accept Jesus" and consider that the pinnacle of the Christian life. It is the starting point. As followers of Christ, we are called continually to be changed into the image of Christ. We are supposed to grow. Like a young child, there may be spurts of incredible growth and other times where the growth is more subtle. If a child stops growing, there is something wrong!

One of my favorite questions is, "What has Jesus been teaching you lately?" As disciples of Jesus, we must be continually learning from him. The lessons that he teaches, when truly learned, are transformative. A healthy relationship with Jesus causes us to grow!

Discipling and equipping them to be good and faithful servants
Jesus called us to make disciples of all nations. We want to disciple people in the ways of Jesus. We believe that one of the signs of a healthy follower of Christ is service. Too often we see Christians who are self-centered. They have a "me and Jesus" mentality which is a sure sign of immaturity. Jesus himself provides the model: we are to serve one another. As a church, we want to be models of this servant lifestyle, and also call people to follow in the footsteps of Jesus to live a life of loving service.

Servants can be more effective if they have certain skills. As a result, we enjoy teaching people practical ministry skills. When it comes to practical things in the life of our church, we are happy to teach and train people. It is part of our calling!

Wherever God may send them.
Unlike almost any church you have ever been a part of, we recognize that many people will be a part of TICOS for a short time. It may be a matter of months or years, but they know that they will be moving on one day. And that can be hard.

Loving others makes us want to cling to them. We build a relationship with someone and watch them grow in their relationship with Jesus. We see them become skilled in ministry and then they tell us they are going to leave. We beg them to stay. We scour our connections looking for a job that would enable them to remain in Strasbourg.

A deeper love for others carries us to another level: love that insists that God's will is best. As an international church, we know that people will be leaving. We recognize and rejoice in the fact that God is going to use them somewhere else. It is part of being involved in God's end-time push to reach the nations of the world. When God calls someone to leave, love helps us pack their boxes!

Together with Jesus, we are a local church with a global impact!