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 […]
Winter, spring, summer, and fall. These seasons reliably follow one another. The particular highs and lows, sun and clouds, rain and droughts will vary within the season. But we can absolutely count on winter following fall, spring following winter, and so on. On the prairie where I live, Fall brings the arrival of the migrating […]
The older I get, the more convinced I am that Jesus’ presence with me – the gift of the Holy Spirit – comes alongside me, most often in very ordinary days and ways. Jesus in our midst — Do you notice that, too? In the Luke 24 Emmaus Road story, two adults were walking about […]
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 […]
For a while now, I have been challenged and haunted and just generally curious about growing up into maturity in Christ. I have been on a journey around what Jesus has to say about us growing up and how that happens in us, for a while. If you are reading this blog post, you are […]
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 […]
At VantagePoint3, we have been cultivating the art of seeing others for 23 years . Close friends know that we call this “particularizing a person.” As our lives and the communities we lead continue to re-calibrate and lean into what matters most in 2024, the importance of relationships is front and center. As a team, we have […]
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 […]
My imagination is being stretched. And I would like to stretch yours. A neighbor has been coming by our property twice a year on behalf of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology researching the density of eastern bluebirds in the Upper Midwest. For many years she has not seen a single bluebird when she visits. Early […]