Hello, my name is Zach, and I am a nobody. I am a pastor of a church of about 150 people. I have not written any books. I don’t have a podcast. You won’t hear me on the radio. I don’t preach at conferences. I am quite certain that if you are reading this blog and 1) are not a member of my family, 2) a member of my church, 3) a personal friend, nor 4) one of the other writers of this blog – you do not know me from Adam. A high-profile pastor or ministry leader, I am not. … Continue reading
I wish I had a dollar every time someone told me about the dangers of Las Vegas and why they could not raise a family here. I habitually hear, “Oh, ministry in Sin City? Well, just like Corinth they need the Gospel too.” It seems many Christians think Las Vegas the most dangerous place in the world. After all, this IS Sin City! Right? (Or at least that is how we market our city to you). [1] Is Las Vegas the most dangerous place to anyone? Let’s face it, everyone knows the Strip has drugs, gambling, free drinks, and prostitution (even though it is technically illegal in Clark County (LV)).… Continue reading
A few weeks ago we canceled Sunday worship at PBC. I absolutely hated doing it. We canceled because of weather, and I was raised to think that weather has no relationship to what must be done. Furthermore the amount of snow we got would have been characterized as an invalid excuse to be late for work amount of snow in Colorado, where I spent all of my adult life prior to moving to L.A. for seminary. It was hard, others didn’t like it, and it discolored to whole week.… Continue reading
In late November of last year, I wrapped up what turned out to be a two-year and two-month study of the book of Romans; a letter that many students of the Bible have regarded as the Apostle Paul’s magnum opus and one that a particular pastor even calls “the greatest letter ever written.” (His words, not mine. Given that I’m just not sure how to square those words with the plenary inspiration of the Bible, I’d rather call Romans “one of the greatest letters ever written.” But I digress.)
After spending over two solid years in a single biblical book, it can become easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees. … Continue reading
Every one of us has presuppositions and those presuppositions exist in our thinking all the time. The word presupposition derives from the verb “presuppose,” meaning, “to suppose or assume beforehand; take for granted in advance” (see dictionary.com).
Recently the debate over the “Wall” in America turned to interesting discourse. ***Please note, I am not making any commentary on whether or not there should be a wall *** But, it revealed presuppositions. Some people said, “Trump is holding America hostage over this wall.” This is a reference to him not signing the budget failing to include the “wall” funding. However, note, this is rhetoric that presupposes there should be no wall built and he should “work with Pelosi.”… Continue reading
