I am the Lead Pastor of Essential Church in Hudson, FL, Assistant Professor of the Ministry Department at Trinity College of Florida, and just trying to be the Husband and Father that God wants me to be.
I personally celebrate both Christmas and Festivus – Christmas because I love Jesus, and Festivus because I love Seinfeld. So in the spirit of this made-up, American holiday, I hope you will join me in airing your grievances, comparing your feats of strength, and pointing out any Festivus miracles that happened in your life this … More Festivus: My Grievances, Feats of Strength, and Miracles
The life of Jesus is recorded in 4 Gospels, and they each reminisce about Him in a slightly different light. The first time Jesus is introduced actually illuminates quite a bit about how he will be presented. Let’s get started: Mateo 1:1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, … More Introducing Jesus: Where Do You Start?
I always try to interpret the Bible as accurately and consistently as I can. Good exegesis and hermeneutics of the Scriptural texts is always my first goal. When history or science invariably disagrees with what the Bible says, I first off pause, and double check the Bible. Was I just always taught something that wasn’t … More Young Earth but Old Universe?
This is how we view time. This is our line segment of time. We’re born and we die. This is our life. We can also look at all world history the same way. The segment would be longer, but there was a start to it all and there will be an end to it at … More Geometry and God (Godometry)
From the makers of Sham Wow, the George Foreman Grill, the Snuggie, Pre-Blessed Food, and Bow-Flex now present Insane Devos! Has your devotional time grown stale? It’s time to change it up a bit! But there are so many different devotionals out there. What do you choose? Insane Devos! is a 2-tiered program that will … More Take Your Devotions from Mundane to Insane!
I personally have mixed feelings about church membership. I remember going through the Purpose Driven Life’s 30-Days of Purpose with my church when I was but a precocious Bible College Student. The Bible Study material brought out topics such as: Evangelism, Discipleship, Worship, Preaching, and Membership. I remember thinking how Sesame Street taught me. (sing … More Pros and Cons to Church Membership: Yes There Are Pros and Cons
I think this is a challenging question for many Christians. Is there certain material that as a Christian we just shouldn’t watch? I guess for some it’s not challenging at all because they just see whatever movie they want. I’m a straight shooter. I find total honesty makes my life easier. So here it is, … More A Christian’s Movie Standards: Joe’s Thoughts
The Holy Spirit constantly gets referred to as an “it” or some kind of impersonal force all the time. I can’t remember a time before Star Wars so I don’t know if The Force affected the church’s understanding of the Holy Spirit or if there was always some confusion. But the bottom line is, the … More 7 Ways that the Holy Spirit is Better than The Force
So this week, I watched a 6-year old movie (it was basically black and white, well I guess it was like Technicolor, I could see reds but pretty much everything else was yellowish.) It was Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. It was a decent, animated comic book movie (there are some great ones out … More Explaining Gnosticism through the DC Universe
Ah the Trinity, every time we explain it, it turns us all into heretics. Don’t believe me. Have you ever used an Egg or Water to explain the Trinity? Yeah. Heresy. Let me allow my little Irish smart aleck friends help you. That makes things sooo much clearer. Thanks Patrick. I’m not going to try … More What Happens When We Emphasize One Person of the Trinity Over the Rest?
Joe Allotta 