Adam L. Feldman's Blog, page 9
July 6, 2015
Is Your Church a Lighthouse or a Light Pole?
In just under two months, Metanoia Church will celebrate our 10th year of ministry. (Yeah, I’m pretty amazed, too!) That’s 10 years of church planting—and all of the heartache, long nights, longer weeks, disappointments, hysterically fun surprises, mid-stride changes, and happy salvations—for Kim and I.
One of the fun things about being in the church planting world for so long is that for some reason I am viewed (by some) as some sort of expert. While I like to think this is because I am awes...
June 29, 2015
6 Marks of a Disciple: Part 2
In the first part of this two-part series on discipleship, I explored three marks (characteristics, qualities) of a disciple of Jesus Christ. These three marks are: calling (disciples are called by Jesus), receiving (disciples respond to Jesus by receiving and accepting his call), and being (disciples are first and foremost called to be with Jesus).
Thisseries is exploring a total of six marks ofdiscipleship that come from Mark 3:13-19, where Jesus calls out his 12 apostles from the crowd.
An...
June 22, 2015
6 Marks of a Disciple: Part 1
There are many things that attract people to Jesus. For instance, some people like Jesus’ teaching, others his love and care for the outcasts, and still others the spiritual life in God that he embodied and proclaimed. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things—or any other reason why people may be attracted to Jesus. But, there is a danger to reducing (or generalizing) Jesus to one thing.
A while ago, I wrote about how Jesus was not a good teacher and it got a lot of positive and negativ...
June 16, 2015
Sabbath for Good: Doing Good on Sabbath
We could all benefit physically, emotionally, and mentally from rest.For Christians, there’s another impetus for resting: the spiritual benefits of keeping a weekly Sabbath.(Here’s an article that I wrote a few years ago on why I believe every Christian should consider keeping a weekly Sabbath: “Day of Rest.”)
In this two-part series on Sabbath, I am exploring two ways Sabbath keeping benefits our spiritual growth:
Part 1:The Benefits of Sabbath Part 2: Doing Good on SabbathThe first way S...
June 9, 2015
Sabbath for Good: The Benefits of Sabbath
Run down. Exhausted. Not wanting to get out of bed. Burnt out. Fatigued. Stress. Anxiety. Depression. Distraction.
There are so many words that we use to describe the experience of rest deprivation. Rest deprivation hurts our bodies, our souls, our minds, and our relationships. The fatigue we experience from lack of rest lowers our quality of life and our productivity at work. We know this, and yet many of us choose to continue in un-rest.
We could all benefit physically, emotionally, and men...
June 2, 2015
Fasting that Honors God
Shortly after reading Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, I desired to practice the spiritual discipline of fasting more regularly. I shared my interest in Foster’s book and my desire to fast with my brother, Scott, and he, too, desired to practice fasting on a regular basis.
Scott and I set out on a journey of fasting together on the same day each week. The time was beautifully fruitful for me and I experienced how regularly fasting can benefit my spirit...
May 26, 2015
“Patient Trust”: A Reflection
My life is presently in an upheaval of sorts.Just to name a few things… two family members are suffering through protracted illnesses and physical ailments, our church is wrestling through approving a new Constitution and grieving a series of broken marriages, and our family is coming off of a very intense nine-month school year as my wife, Kim, takes the summer off from her doctoral studies. This is just the tip of the iceberg for me/us as there are many other deeper, pastoral, or otherwise...
May 19, 2015
Loving Baltimore: Close to Heart, Close to Home
Late Monday afternoon on April 27, I started receiving text messages from out-of-state family members asking if my family was “safe.” I had no idea what those messages were about.
I had no idea that Baltimore was suffering riots and looting a few miles from my house.
Close To HomeAlthough we don’t live in the affected neighborhoods, we are neighbors. We live just inside the beltway, 15 minutes from Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Stadium (home of the Ravens). Our zip code straddles the c...
May 12, 2015
Groups on Mission: Collaborative Leadership
As a church planter assessor for the church planting network that Metanoia is part of, I am trained to look for certain qualities in planter candidates. One of those qualities is the planter’s ability to build effective teams and to nurture ownership of ministry.
Leading throughteams (versus “leading teams”) is one of my own personal core values. (See “The Value of Values.”) Here’s how I describe my core value of team:
Team: We are better together.
I really do believe that about teams, and I...
May 5, 2015
Groups on Mission: Bible Application vs Bible Study
An oft quoted verse from the first chapter of the letter of James says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). The “word” here refers to the fullness of God’s word to us as expressed in Scripture, exposited in sermons, and experienced in the dynamic life-with-Christ through his Holy Spirit.
The preacher in me had to use three words that started with “e”…
Speaking of preaching, this is one of my convictions: God speaks to believers through the prea...
