Last year, a single father named Gene was homeless and attending AA meetings with his two daughters by his side. Through a cool series of events, Gene came into Midtown Commons for our Thursday breakfast and sat down with Dave and Jeff, a couple of our volunteers. Gene had a bunch of questions about Jesus … Continue reading Shepherding Pt. 3 – Those We Shepherd

What is the believer’s role in shepherding? Are all believers shepherds, or only some? The word for shepherd in scripture means this: “One who tends, feeds, leads, cherishes, guides, and protects a flock.” This definition is used to describe actual shepherds who watch over sheep (Luke 2), it is used to describe Jesus (John 10), … Continue reading Shepherding Pt. 2 – A Calling

I had an English professor in college who pointed out the reason we love Psalm 23 so much: It’s good. There are 150 Psalms in the bible, written by various poets, but David’s masterpiece is just plain awesome. It’s beautifully crafted, it’s comforting, and it seems to resonate with our deepest longing — that we … Continue reading Shepherding Pt. 1 – The Good Shepherd

A couple of years ago, I was reading an interview with a Christian musician who is well known for his criticism of the Church. Because of his reputation, the interviewer asked the question, “What is the biggest issue/blind spot for the church, an area where Christianity is failing to live up to its promise and … Continue reading People > Ideas

I originally wrote a post about my personal goals for 2015 and how those goals were met or at least put into motion by the year’s end. But that was really boring. The better story would be how the Holy Spirit used my wife to connect dozens of poor and homeless people to Midtown Ministries. … Continue reading An Unpredictable Catalyst

Midtown Ministries has a food pantry. I know that many modern urban ministers would advise us to shut it down, because it disempowers people and steals dignity. In fact, I used to think the same thing and hated the idea of offering a food pantry to the community. But, we did it anyway, and I … Continue reading Dignity Pt. 2 – Conversation