pastor || writer || speaker
A friend of mine once told me a story about his father, Bill, who was a farmer in Pennsylvania. On the farm, they had many animals, some of whom were sheep. Bill took good care of his farm, including the sheep who would follow him around wherever he went. One spring, Bill became severely ill …
Continue reading "Jesus the Good Shepherd Who Knows His Sheep Intimately"
Join us for worship with Eastbrook Church through Eastbrook at Home at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM. This weekend we continue our preaching series entitled "I Am: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus" based out of the Gospel of John. This week we look at Jesus' powerful statement: “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11). Here …
The harvest is plentiful:the demon-possessed by the tombs in the Gadarenes,the paralytic lowered through the roof,the tax collector cast-offs like Matthew,the girl who died and her grieving parents,the woman with the twelve-year hemorrhage,the blind men looking for sight,the man with demonically-caused muteness,the crowds listening at the seaside,the unnamed afflicted and sick and hungry... The harvest …
Continue reading "The Harvest is Plentiful: a reflection on Matthew 9"
This past weekend at Eastbrook Church, I continued our series "Ephesians: A Crash Course in Basic Christianity," by looking at Ephesians 4:1-16 with the message: "A Crash Course in Church Growth." The message aims to recalibrate our understanding of what church growth is all about by focusing on the direction of growth outlined by the …
Continue reading "A Crash Course in Church Growth (Ephesians 4:1-16)"
In Thomas Oden's Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry, he takes one chapter to reflect on the analogy of pastor as shepherd. In the midst of that chapter, he strikes at the heart of what I think is missing within much of pastoral ministry as it is currently practiced in North America: pastoral authority approached as service. The …
Continue reading "Real Shepherds: Thomas Oden on pastoral leadership as service"
Matthew Erickson 