5 Ways to Pray for Your Church
A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog, How to Help Your Church. It was one of the most popular posts of this year so far, perhaps because it struck a chord with pastors and church leaders working hard to serve God’s people. Interestingly, I wrote a similar post a few years ago. However it […]
Creativity is Cool, but So is Maturity
By now you’ve read some of the dust-up online about two prominent pastors and their presentations of intimacy and marriage. Mark Driscoll and his wife Grace have written what seems to be a very raw, personal book, Real Marriage. Ed Young, Jr is launching a new preaching series/book/media blitz in which he and his wife […]
Children as Image-bearers
I ran across this terrific article at the Gospel Driven Life blog on parenting (HT: Trevin Wax). It discusses our children as image-bearers. The author says about our kids: They are image bearers. They are creatures, made by God and for God. They are given glory and honor by God. They have inherent value, of […]
Dads Should Lead on Thanksgiving
In the last few years, the Thanksgiving holiday has slowly been redefined by overeating, crank in-laws, lots of NFL football, and early Christmas sales. Now, I enjoy all of those things (yes, even the cranky in-laws). But if we are not careful, we can allow a grand moment for worship and thanks to pass us […]
Penn State and The Danger of Insular Communities
The news from Penn State University continues to shock, anger, and sadden all of us. A once-proud University, known for it’s commitment to excellence and integrity is now humbled by the revelations that it allowed one of it’s longtime coaches to abuse children on their campus. The allegations are still forthcoming and most of us don’t know […]
The Leadership Lessons of 9/11
This week is a sober one as we look back on the tragedy of 9/11. I’m amazed at how many of the memories come flooding back as I read the article and watch some of the clips. I recently read through my copy of World Magazine, who did a fantastic job with some original reporting […]
Why Campaigning is Easy, but Governing is Hard
I’ve been watching, with interest, the emerging campaign for Presidency of the United States. I gave up involvement in politics a few years ago to devote full-time attention to ministry, but I am still keenly interested. I watched clips of the GOP Presidential debate last Thursday night. I’ve always enjoyed the debates and give the […]
Friday Five: Michael Hyatt
Today it’s a privilege to welcome Michael Hyatt to the Friday Five. Michael Hyatt is Chairman of Thomas Nelson, the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the world. A respected leader in the Christian publishing community, he is a sought-after speaker on the topics of leadership, time management, and the integration of faith and technology. […]
Three Lessons for Christians from the Debt Crisis
I as I write this late at night, it still appears there is a stalemate on the debt crisis in Washington. Will the leaders come together and get a deal done? Will the markets react? We don’t know. But what can Christians learn from this crisis? I see three lessons: 1) When You Put Off […]
Lessons from the Juniper Tree
If Hollywood commissioned a biopic of the Old Testament hero, Elijah, they would probably end the movie with his epic holy war on Mt. Carmel. It would be a fitting ending for such a bold, courageous, insurgent leader. But alas, this is not how Elijah’s story ends at all. If you turn the page one […]
The Opportunity I Won’t Get Back
It was my first year in college and I had an important job interview with a Ramada Inn close to our house. I really wanted this job as desk clerk. I thought dressing up in a suit and handing out keys was pretty cool. I had an eleven o’clock morning meeting, which meant I had […]
How to Act Like An MVP
A few years ago, one of my childhood heroes, Michael Jordan stood on a stage in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was giving a speech after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. I was expecting the usual words of acceptance, thanking parents and teachers and coaches. But instead, Michael shared a bitter rant against anyone […]