Pastor Jeremy Stephens

Tag: faith

  • The Race that Matters

    A pastor friend here on the island often jokes that I’m missing the part of my brain that says, “This hurts, I should stop.” That’s because, despite being a relatively big guy, I’ve completed several major endurance events over the years. After multiple marathons, long-distance bike rides, and several half and full-distance Ironman races, I’m…

  • Cool Gear, Empty Identity

    On my twelfth birthday, my parents gave me an unexpected gift. I don’t remember asking for a guitar, but that first acoustic delivered to me on that cold February evening turned into a lifelong obsession. I shudder to think of the time (and even more frighteningly, the money) I’ve spent on guitars over the last…

  • The King Among Us

    One of the great films of the last fifty years tells the story of a young woman, the only child of a powerful ruler, who is completely detached from the people in her kingdom. She has grown up in privilege while others outside the palace walls struggle to survive. She refuses to eat when frustrated…

  • When Paul Corrected My Critique

    I loved my time in college at Cedarville University. One of the things that distinguished it from other Christian colleges was its commitment to chapel every weekday at 10 a.m. Through my four years of college, I heard some of the greatest speakers in the country open the Word and preach. However, with roughly 1,000…

  • Submitted for Approval

    Last week I submitted the first draft of my Ministry Project Proposal to my seminary advisor. Eventually, after what will likely be a great deal of editing, those 5,000 words will form the first chapter of my Doctor of Ministry project. This section of my paper took countless hours of research and writing to put…

  • Two Very Different Mornings

    Two Very Different Mornings

    For many years I served at a church that hosted an Easter sunrise service on the beach. I would dutifully wake up far earlier than I was accustomed to, layer up since a warm Easter Sunday is more of an ideal than a reality here in the Northeast, and make my way to the seaside…