FOUNDRYcast

This year we are spending our time each Sunday on a different passage from one of the four gospels. Why? Well, if we are claiming to follow Jesus, couldn't we all benefit from a clearer picture of what He told us? In a day where even religion is becoming polarized, let us fix our eyes on the author and perfector of our faith. So about this first sermon. Well, it's the one the writer of Luke placed...

What does it mean for Jesus to call us to specific ministry, especially with those we encounter in our community and neighborhoods? Chad shares this passage from John 1 with us.  The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!   30  This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.'...

For Foundry, much of our vision comes from John 1:14. So the word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness, and we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son. John 1:14 NLT Since the beginning, we've looked to this to understand not only how Jesus is in our world, but how He calls us to be in our world. Eugene Peterson, in his tra...

Remember that awkward conversation you've had with someone? You know…the one where you are trying to figure out what the relationship is actually like? When I was in high school, in the mid-90's we called it the DTR. As in "define the relationship". It could be good or it could be not so good. There were always based off of how one person interpreted the interaction with the other. Sometimes it wa...

Do you ever feel like you just don't want to do Christmas? It's alright. It happens from time to time. I  created a video  a few years ago on my own bah-humbugness. We all have these different factors at play during the holidays. But if we are honest with ourselves, that doesn't come close to grinch levels. I don't think any of us have ever plotted to wipe Christmas from the face of the earth. We...

This week, Rev. Alan Johnson, the director of the ULM Wesley Foundation and Foundry board member is sharing the message. Alan always brings a great conversation to Foundry (check out this one about a demon-possessed man).  Back in the 90's when I was in college and really beginning to step into my faith, Max Lucado was writing a lot of books. One of the first books I read during those times was  G...

It's been one of my favorite Christmas conversations of the last few years. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?* To really answer that, we have to look at what makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie? There is a typical pattern. You have to have a great story, in need of a rescue. (check). You have to have a person who seems to be in need of a miracle. (check). You need to have a situation where peop...

I sometimes feel like filling ourselves up is a prerequisite for Thanksgiving. We all have those favorite things to enjoy. And many of us gather around the table and each answer a question along the lines of "What are you thankful for this year?". But what if we look at being thankful 365 days a year, and especially thankful in the way scripture talks about the action of thanks Paul digs big into...

These last few weeks, we have been talking about the different ways leaders engage with God and work inside of his mission. We learned from Nehemiah that "Burdens Break Us for the Mending of Others" Last week, we learned in Jeremiah that Jesus guides on down a path of repentance surrounded by his remaking of our life.  We are finishing up these conversations this week with a story from the book of...

So let's get straight to it. Why does the average person, the everyday "normal" Christian, have problems seeing the power of God in their life?  I think it's because we fail to take a personal stance on the idea of repentance. Repentance, which means to "turn" in, is an excruciating personal word. We can't really cast it off. For us to repent, we have to admit we have things we need to turn from....

When was the first time your heart hurt? Not some high school love heartbreak, but a genuine brokenness for other people. For me, it was seeing the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. The storm didn't affect my family, but it had changed the lives of many of my friends. It was also felt like it was in my own backyard. I remember gutting a house, 9 months after the storm, that stood not 150ft from wher...

How comfortable are you with the unknown? Finding something that you know you need, but you don't know exactly what it is can be terrifying? It's a dangerous thing. It's also tiring. Have you ever been looking for something, or desiring something…and simply giving up and going back to what you know? We are all trying to find something. What direction are we looking towards? What God gives us today...

As we look at the world around us, I think it would be hard to realize we struggle with the idea of morality. Did you know we have a significant issue even talking about it? In this article , Jonathan Merritt shares how tough it is finding words to use for religious conversations. In it, he references a study that shows our usage of words of the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, ki...

What does it mean to be a good person? That's a tough question. I'm sure you have as big of a definition as I do. For the most part, we can probably look at these two verses and think this makes up a good, short list of what it means to be a good person. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and se...

Weakness can be a tough thing. How do you handle things you struggle with not doing? Or maybe it's a part of your personality that isn't part of you? If you are a fan of any sort of business or management strategy like Gallup's Strengthfinders, you probably do everything you can to eliminate the need to function in the realm of your weaknesses. As we journey into an investigation of the Fruits of...

Country singer (and writer of the greatest redneck Christmas song ever, Merry Christmas from the Family) wrote a song called Love's a Word I Never Throw Around . I think we could all stand to process that idea and talk about our use of the word. Just this afternoon, while on a break from writing this sermon, I told someone I loved gas station meat pies. Clearly, I need to spend more time reflectin...

Everyone loves a good story. One with tension, great characters, and a fantastic story about taking chances. We love that part in the arc when you get to the point, right on the edge of your seat…waiting for it all to happen. The occasionally, just every now and then, the storyteller has done such a good job we realize we haven't even arrived at the summit. We've hit a false summit, just what we t...

You remember that whole getting picked process when you were a kid? We all had things we could easily make the front of the shuffle, and some of us have memories of being the last person standing. it's always a frustrating memory. Then we all love a good underdog story. I mean seriously, how do you not like the Mighty Ducks? Any conversation on who is in or out gets awkward. And for many people, R...

Have you ever been super excited to get something, then suddenly realized it wasn't that cool? I remember when I was a kid my parents made me save the money up to buy a Nintendo Entertainment System. It took years and felt like sweet victory. Around a month after I bought it the Super Nintendo came out and rendered my new prized toy obsolete. I ended up realizing that I was behind the video game c...

What does it mean to agree to something? Or, what does it take for you to agree to agree? That's a mouthful. For some people, all they need to really do is believe in the person or the vision of a big picture. For others, they need to see the plans. These are the folks that have serious questions. Once those are answered, then they make the decision to agree. And another group of people won't real...