If we’d lived in first-century Israel and witnessed Jesus of Nazareth firsthand, we would have noticed that parties followed him wherever he went. After all, there was much to celebrate. The center point of his teaching, “The kingdom of God is near,” struck a deep chord in the people. They had been waiting a long […]
I have been thinking a lot recently about the Bible in a “can’t see the forest for the trees” sort of way. I have been reading and conversing and praying, seeking to better appreciate and frame the bigger picture of the biblical story. In a 20,000-foot conversation about the Bible, a friend told me about […]
While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them. Luke 24:15 As two of his disciples walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus on that first Easter Sunday, mulling their profound disappointment and confusion surrounding the events of their master’s crucifixion, Jesus came near and walked with them. At first, they did […]
“We must no longer be children…. but we must grow up in every way … into Christ” -Apostle Paul One is hard-pressed to find a time in history when the Church has gone more places, provided more resources, and proclaimed the gospel more widely than over the past several decades. Yet amidst all these efforts, […]
Over the past couple of months I have had several people, more than usual, ask me, Why is the ministry named VantagePoint3? Some who have asked me are new to this spiritual formation and leadership development ministry; others have been friends and partners for years and have never asked directly. I tell this story to […]
“Rob, are you sailing with the winds of God today?” I was recently reminded of my mentor’s question years back. At the time, he shared that he was borrowing the question from his long-time pastor, Roger Frederickson; he called it “Roger’s question.” I can’t recall how I responded then, but I have not forgotten the […]
Twenty years ago this fall I had my first real taste of VantagePoint3 Ministries. I led a spiritual formation retreat for emerging leaders from six or seven North American Baptist churches in North Dakota and Montana. Just an hour east of Bismarck, sixty adults gathered at Crystal Springs Baptist Camp. There were ranchers and educators […]
In his late forties, Sam began to sense that something was wrong. After a couple of decades seeking to honor God in the responsibilities of his life, a question confronted him one evening: Amidst all this stuff I am doing for God and others, does anyone really know me? This question named his unrest. Sam […]
Over the last several years I have witnessed four Celebration of Life/Memorial services for friends who I would say each finished well as people. As I remember Randy, Kris, Mary, and Bill, I am continually struck by the beauty of their lives. It’s the sort of beauty that Simone Weil speaks of when she writes […]
One way to express the spiritual crisis of our time is to say that most of us have an address but cannot be found there. – Henri Nouwen __________________ Adam and Eve have just eaten of the tree that God has commanded them not to eat of—perhaps the most disruptive moment in the history of […]
Many years ago I sat down with a group of Biola University professors and fellow graduate students over lunch to hear Dr. Jim Houston from Regent College (Vancouver, BC) give a brief lecture. In his early seventies at the time, this small, Scottish man, with half a century of experience in the academic settings of […]
