This past weekend at Eastbrook Church, I continued our series “Light for the City” with a message entitled "One New Man-One New Community." This message explored Ephesians 2:11-22 where Paul describes the new community that God has created in Jesus Christ from both Jews and Gentiles. I organized the message around five points: Sin and …
Empathy and the drive to belong
Alan Hirsch first brought the following video clip from bestselling author and political adviser Jeremy Rifkin to my attention. In it, Rifkin investigates the development of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our society. One of the most powerful concepts that Rifkin highlights is that the drive to belong is a more …
The Real Face of Community
[About four years ago, I wrote this article for Relevant Magazine's online edition. Since the article is no longer available through their web-site, I thought I'd re-post it here.] Community ... community ... community. Everywhere you turn, inside and outside of the church, people are obsessed with talking about community. This is a good thing …
Close friends?
I came across a pretty interesting piece today on the importance of proximity and background (e.g., race, religion, similar experiences) on in forming friendships. The reporter is looking particularly at how this plays out in college and the longevity of those friendships, but the general data is applicable across the board. As we talk about …
Dave Gibbons – “Third Culture Leadership” (LS09)
Dave Gibbons, pastor of NewSong and author of The Monkey and the Fish, unpacked a look at Jesus’ call to love God with all of who we are and our neighbor as ourselves. While this isn’t a new concept, Dave’s words were provocative and inspiring on how we actually live beyond ourselves to truly love …
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Matthew Erickson 