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By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (John 15:8, ESV)

Gregory Nazianzen calls the church a Vineyard, “into which all are summoned as to their place of work, as soon as they are brought to the faith.”¹

Cultivating a quality vineyard takes time, patience, science, study, knowledge, art, dedication, passion for the work. Vineyards require constant care. As vineyards grow, they need many people doing many different things.

Vineyards become a sustaining source for families, a heritage and a legacy. Whole communities and countries can be known because of their vineyards.

Is this how we approach being baptized into the Church?

Is this how we think of being part of our local Christian communities, and part of the Church universal? Is this gathering of believers a living legacy to us, something that we will toil in, so that its fruit might bless the whole world?

Is it our life’s work?

Recently, a prominent Reformed blogger I read (and generally appreciate) asserted that the the Roman Catholic Church is a false church. Of course, this isn’t the first time I’ve read something like this. It seems to me that this is par for the course among Protestants of all kinds.

The thing is, apparently even Martin Luther wouldn’t have made such a serious accusation, despite his many harsh words directed toward the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope.

Luther, for instance, said,

We call the Church of Rome holy, and the bishops’ sees holy, though they be perverted…there are still Baptism and the Sacrament, the Gospel, the Scripture, the ministry, the name of Christ and God. Therefore the Church of Rome is holy.

Luther doesn’t stop there. He continues:

Wherever the Word and Sacraments substantially remain, there is the holy Church.¹

The fact that even the Father of the Reformation realized the Gospel still resided in the Roman Catholic Church deals a mighty blow to the idea of the Gospel as basically equivalent to the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Even Calvin acknowledged the validity of Roman Catholic baptism and said,

…some ruins of a scattered Church exist there…²

Obviously the Reformers had deep and divisive differences with the Roman Catholic Church. Yet, I am finding in some of their writings a charity that is strangely absent from mainstream Reformation Christianity.

I believe that mentoring relationships should be at the core of any discipleship program, and they are the foundation of my own ministry. Spiritual direction is something I approach with with a degree of fear and trembling (cf. Matt 18:6), so I’m always on the lookout for resources to help me be better at what I do.

Mentor Like Jesus was hands-down the most influential book I read for my ministry last year. As I wrote in my review, it’s geared toward older men in a different stage of life than me and the guys I mentor, but the principles are solid and can be applied to anyone looking to disciple a group of others using a model similar to the one Jesus used with his own inner circle.

When it comes to giving spiritual advice and developing one on one relationships, Spiritual Mentoring by Keith R. Anderson and Randy D. Reese is just as important. (more…)

The New Year is almost upon us. Of course, New Year’s Day is just a day like any other, but the culture and customs surrounding it can provide a valuable way to mark the beginning of something new. This is a chance to start over, reinvent yourself, propel your ministry forward, recommit to a life of radical discipleship to Jesus.

(more…)

With the new year arriving in just weeks, it’s time to rest up and get ready for a new season of life. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the busyness of the holidays! You don’t want to start the new year frazzled and scrambling to catch up.

A single day of solitude might be just the jump start you need to begin a brand new year with intentionality and energy. (more…)

Pope Francis, in a response to whether or not ecumenism is a priority for him:

For me, ecumenism is a priority. Today, there’s the ecumenism of blood. In some countries they kill Christians because they wear a cross or have a Bible, and before killing them they don’t ask if they’re Anglicans, Lutherans, Catholic or Orthodox. The blood is mixed. (more…)

When you need really focus in to write that sermon, finish that blog post, complete a project, or get administrative tasks out of the way, do you just turn on Pandora and get to work?

Turns out, popular music in written to connect with you on conscious level (emotions and thoughts) so it can actually be a distraction!

Music service Focus@Will promises to deliver music that helps you get in the zone and get more done, without distractions. (more…)

Social media is clearly a massive blessing to many ministries, but it is also the source of much distraction, idle talk, and even anger. Have you participated in Facebook comments thread about theology lately? It doesn’t take long for it to disintegrate into something much less than Christian love and charity. Here are five ways to regain control of your social landscape and start using it instead of it using you. (more…)

We were driving to church; it was a fairly typical Sunday morning. I was thinking about new improvements to this site, the worship set I would be leading during the service, the new drum we’d bought to give some more energy to our acoustic sound. I was feeling a bit nervous about singing some fairly new songs and working with the drum for only the second time. It was a cold night for Phoenix the night before, down in the fifties. The morning air was still chill enough for me to start the heater in our car.

I pulled up to a stoplight near Mountain View and 7th Street, the outskirts of one of the less great parts of central Phoenix. There is a large homeless population in this area that begs for money at lights while camping out at abandoned gas stations. Today a younger-than-normal blonde woman stood by the side of the road with the typical cardboard sign and grocery cart full of old clothes and bags. She stretched our her arm to wave, and I noticed her hands were dirty. She’d been on the street a while. She shuffled alongside the road, eyes tired and downcast.

<img class=”size-medium wp-image-2716″ alt=”Appropriately, Jensen means “God is gracious.” Photo by Amber Joy Photography” src=”https://nathanrhale.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/a44e88770a.jpg” width=”300″ height=”279″ /> Appropriately, Jensen means “God is gracious.” Photo by Amber Joy Photography

My three-year-old son Jensen asked–as he often–does, what her cardboard sign said. “It says she needs help,” I said, as I tried not to think about it too much. She probably got herself into this mess anyways…she has a sweatshirt on…it’s not too cold out…

“Daddy?” he asked, “can we help her?”

“Not today,” I replied, “we don’t have anything for her in the car right now.” After all, I didn’t have any cash in the car. I also knew that if I pulled over, I’d be late for church. And I needed to get there to make sure the new drum was set up and that we had the right songs to project on the screen.

* * *

In church, I felt like I should pray for this woman, and as I did so, I felt as if God just punched me in face. Repeatedly. I realized the depth of my sin and my brokenness in that moment.

No I didn’t have cash, but I could’ve bought her a hot meal at a drive through. That would’ve meant I’d have been late to “worship” rehearsal though. Worship is way of life, Nathan. Not just three songs on Sunday morning. When. Will. You. Get It?

Oh, and I did have something for her in the car. Bibles. Two or three, in fact. Purchased just to give away.

I hesitated to give them to the homeless woman because I always like to provide some “practical” assistance (read: cash or food) along with them. Tangible assistance is absolutely important, of course, but in my mind my options were limited to cash or food on hand, and I had neither of those so…Better for her to not receive a Bible at all than to get it with no money. Right.

How little faith I have.

How deep is my prejudice and dehumanization of those with less than me. I’d like to think I’m a compassionate, empathetic person, but I acted as if money is the solution to her problems. As if.

As if a kind word, a smile, eye contact, a simple prayer and respect for another human being is worthless and wasted on this person if I can’t just throw some money at them.

I preach about “Jesus is enough” all the time on this site and as part of other ministries. But this Sunday, Jesus wasn’t enough of a reason for me to pull over and show some kindness to someone in need.

God I believe; help my unbelief.

The truth? My lack of compassion was not enough for the homeless person on the corner. Me getting to church on time was not enough for her. Me ignoring God’s voice in the sincere desire of my little boy to help another human being was not enough.

But Jesus really is enough. I had the opportunity to be the hands and feet and voice of Jesus, and I elected to take a pass.

Christ, forgive my hardness of heart.

Christ, have mercy on me.

I’ve been thinking this week a lot about contentment, and how I seem to focus on ridding myself of desires for material things. This is all well and good, after all the Bible tells us:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, ESV)

Yet, we often forget to also cultivate contentment with our circumstances as well, not just our financial situation.

You may be too busy, you may be in pain, you may be in a place you don’t want to be in, you may be dealing with an avalanche of relational issues and heartache. You may be facing slander or a scenario where it seems there is no good decision to be made.

Can you and I be content, even in the midst of it all? 

“…for those who love God all things work together for good…” (Romans 8:28, ESV)

Yes, because Jesus is present with and for us in every situation.

And he is enough.