Five Common Mistakes Christian Parents Make

My wife and I are in the throes of parenting and are surrounded, in our church and among friends, with other parents in the throes of parenting. So my parenting radar is hot. I’m learning, growing, repenting everyday as I ask the Lord to make me a faithful dad. It’s often easier to learn how to […]

5 Things Every Son Needs to Hear From His Dad

By God’s good grace, I’m the father of four beautiful children: three girls and one boy. Last week I wrote about the 5 things a daughter must hear from her dad. Today I want to talk about fathers and sons. Just as there is something wonderful about being the father of daughters, there is something […]

5 Things I’ve Learned in Ten Years of Marriage

Last month, on November 22nd, Angela and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. I’m not an expert on marriage and by some standards I’m still a rookie. But I have learned a few things in these ten wonderful years. Here they are, in no certain order: 1) I’m not naturally a good husband. Before I tied […]

5 Leadership Lessons I’ve Learned in 4 Years

I’m nearing my fourth years as Senior Pastor at Gages Lake Bible Church, which means I’m just beginning. I’m still learning. John Maxwell need not fear. I won’t be dethroning him from the position of Leadership Guru anytime soon. However, being on the job has taught me a few things about leadership, especially for young […]

5 Attitudes for Christians in a Political Season

So another Presidential campaign season is upon us and Christians are engaged at all levels and on both sides of most debates. As a recovering political junkie, I realize how easily my time, my energy, my attitudes can get sucked into the life force of Presidential politics. So here are a few attitudes that we […]

Five Things to Consider When Looking for a Christian College

This time of year many Christian junior and senior high students are looking at their college options. Many are considering Christian institutions. I asked Whitney Reed, owner of ChristianColleges.org, to share five important things to consider, when looking at evangelical institutions:  If you are a student who is interested in earning your degree in an atmosphere that […]

5 Reasons Why Pastors Should Write

I’m a pastor who writes, but I know I’m not alone. In fact, many, many pastors around the world supplement their teaching ministry with a writing ministry. God blessed me with a writing ministry before I assumed the pulpit at Gages Lake Bible Church almost four years ago, but it has only been enhanced as […]

The Five Myths of Being Single

This is a guest post by my good friend, Renee Johnson Fisher. Renee is a spirited speaker and writer to twenty-somethings. She graduated from Biola University and worked with nationally known Christian speakers and writers at Outreach Events. She is the author of several books, including Faithbook of Jesus. This month she released a terrific new […]

5 Pitfalls for Young Church Leaders

I’m a young guy new at leadership, leading my church as Senior Pastor, leading my family as a husband and father of four, and leading (in some ways) as an author/writer/blogger. The world gets excited about young leadership, but quite often young leaders make mistakes because we lack the wisdom of our elders. Here are […]

5 Ways to Pray for Your Community

Last week Dan commented on my post: Nice post. Good points. But one that needs to be added is that church members pray to be burdened for the lost. That is the one thing I have found most lacking in the 2 established churches where I have served. Dan is right on the money. I […]

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 […]

Five Lessons I Learned From Eisenhower

I’m nearly finished with a lengthy biography of our 34th President, Dwight David Eisenhower entitled, Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith. I chose this book to review for Amazon Vine for a few reasons. First, I needed some variety in my recent reading. Secondly, I’m fascinated by history of the World War 11 era. […]