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The end of the year is always fun at Substance! And after a year like 2020… we could all use it! For starters: Late-October means Vision Season: We always unveil the soon coming upgrades followed by a Heart for the House leadership night (This Sunday Oct 25th). And then, come December, Christmas at Substance is…

Honor seems to be a lost virtue in our culture right now. It’s all over in politics, news, social media…you name it. And oftentimes, dishonor is treated as some sort of noble act of truth-telling…some people are even under the impression that if you don’t dishonor someone, they’ll dishonor you! But, here’s the thing- the Bible constantly links honoring…

Our city is literally on fire. And the time for talk is done. Here is our battle plan. And how you can help. As you already know, the destruction over the past few days has primarily affected minority families and businesses. Thousands have lost their jobs and homes. So, Substance has been helping people find…

There are some strange commands in the Old Testament. Many that we no longer apply. So why do modern Christians apply certain commands like “do not steal,” but not others like “cut off her hand?” People often say “well, much of that Law passed away with the New Covenant.” But I think we need a…

No matter how good our lives are going, there’s always something in our lives to whine about. People with no family whine about it. People WITH family whine about it. And all this goes to show, we all need the discipline of thanksgiving this time of year. So, if you’re feeling anxious today… I have a…

Recently, in our teaching series, Disciplined Part 5, we talked about the discipline of “Sharing our Faith.” The Apostle Paul taught Philemon, “I pray that you would be active in sharing your faith, so thatyou will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ” Philemon 1:6  I.e., we share our faith…

Have you ever had a “Holy Hangover?” “What is it?” you ask? Well, it’s a numb euphoria mixed with exhaustion and shepherding stress. For years, as a senior pastor, I used to hate Easter. Part of it was because every year our church would experience record lows in attendance on Easter – partly because 70%…

Young pastors are always asking me the question: “How do you find the time to do everything? You write sermons & blogs; video scripts & tweets; and then, somehow amidst all of this, you find the time to lead an organization?! How do you do it?” Truth be told: there are many days when I…

There is something almost magical about a written life plan. Years ago, at the beginning of each year, I would write down my “roles & goals.” Over time, I’ve started revising and expanding that plan every three months. In some ways, it’s a master plan for my year; but, it’s also a prayer journal. As…

It gets STINKIN’ COLD in Minnesota… like, the windchill for the next day is, honest-to-God, -45-65F degrees below zero. And for the record, it often gets way warmer here than most people think during the summer… often as hot as Florida (and maybe some of you nerdy folks can explain why that is??) But, I…