a planted life | learning to love
Lifeway Resarch group published the results of research they did to see what the contributing factors were in spiritual health among young adults.What they found was that overwhelmingly, kids who regularly read the Bible while growing up are likely to experience a healthy spiritual life with God and the church. I was both shaken... Continue Reading →
Tomorrow, people all over the U.S. will go to a local church. I have an opinion about what most of us going to church tomorrow think doing ministry means. I'd guess if you asked the average church attender, who among them is doing the work of the ministry, I bet they'd point to the... Continue Reading →
“Who’s Jason Vance?” you may ask. Nobody famous. And that’s the whole point. He’s the young church-planting pastor of my local church. A few years ago my small church closed. My pastor retired, went into a teaching ministry role and moved to Oregon. That sent me and my two sons into about three years of... Continue Reading →
Yesterday at church my pastor taught through the story in Genesis where Jacob wrestles with "a man." Toward the end of the sermon he referred to the passage in Genesis 32: 9-12 where Jacob prays. And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your... Continue Reading →
It's Jesus that my friends and family trip over when it comes to faith. They're OK with a general nameless, faceless deity- a benevolent one. They admit not understanding but throw their hands in the air hoping that God won't judge them any differently than they judge themselves. They trust that he (or she, or... Continue Reading →
The accessibility of scripture is something people before us have given their lives for. William Tyndale (1494-1536) laid down his life so that, "... the boy who drives the plow," could know the scriptures even better than the Pope of his time. The stories of how the translation of the Bible, at the blood, sweat... Continue Reading →
In March, Fathom Mag published an article I wrote about my own struggle to concede my need for an anti-depressant. A wise pastor and friend helped me to see that medication was not an alternative to provision from God. It was a provision from God. I've been taking Prozac for a couple years now and... Continue Reading →
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 ESV Last summer, after a week long vacation with my family... Continue Reading →
On Easter Sunday an unbelieving loved one sat with me in church while the gospel was heralded and the very doubts and questions he has were exposed. This of course has created some interesting conversations in the last couple days. Questions about evidence. He wants evidence of the resurrection. I know there are smarter people... Continue Reading →
I’m not an apologist. I don’t know all the arguments for the evidence that the resurrection of Christ really happened. But I do know what happens to a seed when you push it into the earth. Throughout the Bible the image of seeds, trees and plants are used to describe the life of a person... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Faithfulness 