brian shivers

Acts 20:25-38 – Second at Six - August 25, 2013 In our passage for tonight, we drop into Luke’s recollection of an important speech given by Paul to the leaders of the church in Ephesus.  The church in Ephesus was a church Paul had a hand in establishing and nurturing.  He had spent three years with these people teaching, preaching, and living in their community.  This was the longest that Paul had spent in any place on his missionary journeys.  Therefore, the people of Ephesus held a special place in Paul’s heart. Our text for tonight is a part of Paul’s speech to the leaders of the church he had gathered some 30 miles south of Ephesus in Miletus.  This was not just any speech.  This was his farewell address to the people of Ephesus with whom he had so much history and many important memories.  Just prior to our text, Luke tells the hearer, now us, the reader, how Paul spoke of the nature and character of his ministry and time spent among them.  Paul had reminded them of how he

I must confess that I am begrudgingly jumping into the ongoing and often opinionated conversation about the Mosaic or Millennial Generation - those born between the early 1980's and the early 2000's.  I tried really hard to refrain, but as someone who works with and knows well many people from this generation my frustration level continued to rise as the conversation raged on. Many people have been talking about and unfortunately for this amazing group of individuals who are classified as a part of this generation.  Some of what has been written is incredibly wise, well thought out, and helpful; others...not so much.  Many of the pieces are about the long studied and over-analyzed faith and religious practices of this generation (or the perceived lack thereof) and the panic that should produce in the church.  As you can imagine, there is no small amount of 'wisdom' being offered as to how the church can reverse these trends, reach this generation, and help them become

I have been gone for a while from the blogger world.  The summer has been incredibly busy and has not afforded much time to post.  However, these warm months have provided a lot of material about which I hope to write.  It is my intention that the next several blog posts will be about experiences and thoughts had throughout the summer's journeys. --------------------------------------------------------------------- I had the distinct privilege of traveling to many amazing places with some incredible people in June and July. The way in which they experienced the world around them and the manner in which they embraced their experiences challenged and changed me. One experience that will forever be a part of my memory, my life, and my faith took place with a group of recent high school graduates on the beautiful island of Patmos.  Patmos, a small Greek island in the lapis blue Aegean Sea, is one of the most picturesque places one can ever visit.  It is quiet, quaint, and shrouded