Pastor Jeremy Stephens

Tag: Following Jesus

  • Speaking for God

    A research study in 2007 found that “getting rich and famous” was a high priority for young adults. Another found that one in three millennials wanted to be famous—with some even willing to sacrifice jobs and relationships to achieve it. One U.S. poll found that half of adults wouldn’t mind experiencing some measure of fame.…

  • Beyond the Broken Image

    In high school, my algebra classes met in a classroom on the upper floor of our building, directly across from the restrooms. I remember that classroom more vividly than almost any other room from my academic career. It always seemed ten degrees warmer than the rest of the building, and the hallway carried the smell…

  • 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…

  • Character over Charisma

    When I started pastoral ministry in my 20s, the world was in an interesting technological moment that had a direct impact on churches throughout the United States. YouTube, podcasting, and social media sites were in their infancy, and church planters were quick to adopt those tools in their efforts to reach the lost for the…

  • More Than a Chore Chart

    My daughters are entering their summer break from school. Like every parent, we’re beginning this summer season full of optimism, hoping that the girls will do more than sit on the couch, wasting away the hours by watching mindless television and playing video games. We’ll have chore charts, activities, and responsibilities for them to balance…

  • Order Matters

    Do you remember learning about “order of operations” in middle school? Maybe the mention of PEMDAS just gave you PTSD! We suffered through countless homework assignments designed to remind us that it wasn’t enough to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. The order in which we performed those operations could create drastically different…