Eden was a garden-temple
This letter was written to Jeff Windham, a friend who works on the Westwinds Grounds Crew. You may not know how it all started—and by “all”, I really do mean…
The Garden and the City
The Bible begins in a garden but ends in a city. Why? Why doesn’t Revelation end with humanity back in the garden? Why doesn’t the story come full-circle, like all…
From the pastor’s prayers to the people’s playground: An overview of how we plan our teaching at Westwinds (Part Five)
The final step in this process is thinking both about a response and a reflection. A response is something we do now, during the service, and we want to put…
From the pastor’s prayers to the people’s playground: An overview of how we plan our teaching at Westwinds (Part Four)
Once we figure out our indoor aesthetic, we start to think about what’s going to happen in the community—attention-grabbers and interactives that invite the neighborhood into the conversation. An artistic…
From the pastor’s prayers to the people’s playground: An overview of how we plan our teaching at Westwinds (Part Three)
After the big idea is set, we start to look at the environmental aesthetic in our church and any community activity outside our church. Inside, we want to create space…
From the pastor’s prayers to the people’s playground: An overview of how we plan our teaching at Westwinds (Part Two)
Before we get into too involved in what will be said and done week-to-week, we delve deeply into scripture, culture, and academia to discover the key concepts associated with our…
Garden-City Epistles is HERE!
Starting August 3, we will spend a month talking about City Theology. Not sure what that is? Stay tuned, or, even better, check out the accompanying book right now!
From the pastor’s prayers to the people’s playground: An overview of how we plan our teaching at Westwinds (Part One)
I’m often asked how we put together everything that goes into our teaching series at Westwinds—the art, aesthetics, interactives, responses, reflection, and biblical research. Let me tell you. …
Jesus’ friends and followers (Money & Messiah)
Jesus is often painted as the champion of the poor. He was. He is also frequently painted as the enemy of the rich. He was not. Consider the biblical descriptions…
“What do you do all week, anyway?”
People often ask me what I do all week. They know what I do Sunday, but they’re always politely curious about how I earn my keep Monday through Friday. I’ve…
The Church Survival Guide, Rule 38.6
Taken from our sermons series, How to be a Christian without Starting a New Religion. You can download the complete pdf for $1.99: The Church Survival Guide
The Church Survival Guide, Rule 25.2
Taken from our sermons series, How to be a Christian without Starting a New Religion. You can download the complete pdf for $1.99: The Church Survival Guide