Cruciform Stuff is a gathering of theological commentary on everything that is “life.” Each of the observations you’ll discover here will have first served as a thought-filled, Gospel-induced introduction for the eNewsletter that I send out to my own congregation each and every week.

Yes, I write and send a newsletter every week. Yes, this is often a monumental task. Yes, it is absolutely worth every bit of the effort.

Keeping a steady cadence of communication with the people in my care is something I consider to be of high importance, and with the avenues provided by email and social media, the possibility and potency for such things is amplified.

I’ve been doing this since 2015, and over the course of the years, the results have far exceeded what I could have ever imagined. A renaissance of commitment as members of a Christian family has occurred, and with that, good things continue to happen. Namely, I’ve seen us come to a much deeper and more vivid understanding of who we are in Christ, and by His grace, we’ve shown a muscle for tackling some fairly formidable challenges.

In short, I believe it has helped my congregation grow in faithfulness to Christ and in loving service for the neighbor.

Just so you know, not all of the eNews introductions are shared here. I exclude some because they are far too intimate to the members. Of the ones that I do share, of course I don’t include information about potlucks, weekday confirmation, and such. As I said, I’m only giving the introductory words—or as the tagline for the blog reveals: A steady cadence of Christ for life.

I never plan what I write. I type on the fly about whatever comes to mind in the moment. Still, I won’t deny that everything written serves according to the grander plan I mentioned before—which is simply to give a steady stream of God’s Word to the people in my care.

These are things that a Christian pastor should be speaking to his people on a regular basis. I share them here with you with the hope that they can (and will) serve beyond the borders of our own little church and school in Hartland, Michigan.