Admittedly, there are many moments in my pastoral life where I feel like I have to take the reins and take control. I need to orchestrate something "powerful" or meaningful. I need to bring things that are or feel like they are in chaos to some semblance of order. I need to make sure that I put all the right people in the right places. What is at the core of these momen...

I worry. And when I say worry, I mean I can be absolutely anxiety ridden with the best of them. I get sweaty pits, increased heart rate, and mental and emotional gymnastics that can keep me up at night. There are times where I want to crawl down into a bunker and just hide it out. Those moments feel like storms, and I just want them to magically blow away. I want them to b...

We live in a day today where hope seems to be slowly fading away. It is in those moments that we need to be reminded that there is a light and high beauty that forever exists beyond the reach of darkness. This is why we started a message series titled "Christ in You: The Hope of Judges." The book of Judges is a collection of stories stitched together to showcase God's reso...

We as a church and as a denomination are all hungry for a church that looks more like Revelation 7: "A great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (Revelation 7:...

Tuesday, June 16 Good morning, friends and family! Missio Dei Church is cautiously and excitedly moving towards a return to gathered worship on Sunday, July 5. I cannot express to you how excited I am about this. I hope you are too! Our fellowship promises to be sweet with one another and the Lord. What a delight it will be to greet friends again, hear familiar voices li...

Friends, I want to thank all of you who responded to the survey from the Elders. Your feedback was very helpful. Here are the results from your brothers and sisters regarding when they feel comfortable returning to a modified form of gathered worship at our normal location (some answered as a household and some answered individually): Now: 51.7% Mid-June: 13.8% Mid ...

This Nomination Ballot is one of the first of many steps in the selection of Elders and Deacons to serve Missio Dei Church. We ask that you, after praying, reflecting thoughtfully, meditating over Scripture, and observing the behavior of the potential people, nominate up to four biblically qualified male individuals for elder and four biblically qualified men for deacon, a...

I pray that Missio Dei Church - PCA becomes a family where deep, authentic, gospel-centered friendships are fostered. You know, the kind where we are willing to risk our temporary discomfort for long-term joy. God, would You make us good friends...

For the past couple of years, I have had the personal privilege of serving as the chairman of the Shepherding Committee for the Chicago Metro Presbytery.The committee has a plethora of administrative duties (transferring pastors in and out, making recommendations to the presbytery regarding calls, providing advice to churches, etc.). Ultimately, the committee is challenged...

We are excited to start up this fall on Sunday, September 9, 2018. On that particular Sunday, we will not expect anything from the students but to bring notes from the sermon. We will spend some time talking about class expectations (study, memorization, sermon note taking, etc.)....