Thinking about what to write this week, I kept circling back to three moments — a tweet, a podcast, and a conversation — that have been living rent-free in my head for the past few months. They’re unrelated on the surface, but each one, in its own way, has something to say about following Jesus here and now. Here are three “vignettes” of sorts to ponder this week.

When Words Are Weird

This one’s a bit silly. Back in July I came across a post on X (Twitter) that said:

2000 years from now, people will not understand the difference between “butt dial” and “booty call,” and this is exactly why the Bible is hard to understand.

I love how the English language works sometimes – its ability to convey something with such punch, so succinctly. This past spring I spent ten weeks teaching on how to read the Bible faithfully in 2025 and this one line captured the challenge better than any of those efforts!

Words like butt and booty are synonymous. As are call and dial. And yet when strung together, you get two phrases that mean two completely different things. How?! Language shifts. Context matters. What may be clear in one culture or era can be confusing — or even misleading — in another. The work around by many, myself included, is to use the etymology of the word – get back to its original root meaning in Greek or Hebrew and then apply that to our modern reading of it. But as you can see with the example used in this quote above, that would not provide an accurate reading of the phrase.

This seemingly silly illustration demonstrates the profound challenge of Bible translators and interpreters, including you and I as we approach the scriptures today. So what’s the takeaway? Simply this: Read humbly. Hold your interpretations loosely. Resist weaponizing the text. And above all, let Jesus be the lens through which the Bible comes alive.

Voting Like Jesus

This summer I listened to a podcast with Jeremy Duncan from Commons Church in Calgary, who shared a simple but disruptive thought on a conversation about his book “Upside-Down Apocalypse“:

When Christians vote, our primary motive in choosing who or what to vote for should stem from: how will this help my neighbour?

Not: how will this policy, person or platform help me.

Simple right? I can only speak for myself but this is not the primary criteria I’ve used in my deliberating on elections over the years. I’ll think things like, “What’s good for keeping my property taxes down?” or “How will issue x help me find a job?” or “What will this politician do for my quality of life overall?” Stuff like that.

Our political systems won’t save the world, I get that. However, they do shape people’s daily lives and if I’m serious about following Jesus–the same Jesus who taught us to treat others as we’d like to be treated, to take up our cross and to even love our enemies–then I need to consider how my choices at the ballot box impact those around me more than me.

Maybe you’ve always thought that way. I haven’t. But I’m convinced it’s a practical, tangible way of putting Jesus’ teaching above my own comfort when it comes to using our voice in the election process.

Beyond the Three Bs

A conversation with a friend this summer led to an off-hand comment that hasn’t left me alone. I won’t get it exactly right but it was along the lines of:

Sunday morning is not the criteria for how healthy a church is. I want to know how those church people are being the church the rest of the week.

It’s so easy to measure churches by the “three Bs”: Building, Budget, and Butts in seats. But the kingdom of God transcends these metrics. A better litmus test is what transpires in the lives of a church’s community Monday through Saturday:

• Do we practice spiritual rhythms?
• Do we show kindness to our neighbours?
• Do we bring hope into conversations?
• Do we give time, energy, and resources to others?
• What other efforts are being made to bring heaven to earth around them?

For what it’s worth, if you read my Annual Outlook’s introduction a few weeks back, you’ll recall that based on these metrics, I think Grassroots Church is rather healthy these days.  Still, this reminder is important: worship on Sunday is fuel, not the finish line. Church health is seen in everyday faithfulness.