Blog
Our native gifts and talent are overrated, especially when it comes to leadership. God chooses leaders because of their hearts, not their style, image, or earthly accomplishments. The epitaph of a leader’s life will be written with the pen of the love they had for...
In southern Oregon, the smoke from several large fires burning in northern California has filled our valley. The smoke has created hazardous conditions for people’s health. It is so bad we are being advised to remain indoors with the windows closed. A report was just...
When I worked as a homicide detective one of the most unpleasant of all my duties was attending an autopsy. It is a brutal but necessary procedure to discover the cause of a person’s death. What was once a living and breathing human being with hopes and dreams was...
Kingdom prayer is noticeably different than prayer fueled only by sorrow and fear. Kingdom prayer sees past the natural headlines of wars and rumors of wars and looks into the heart of God. Kingdom prayer invites the promises of God to invade the earth. It...
I have always loved the thought of wagon trains crossing the unexplored American West and arriving at distant destinations filled with the hope of a new beginning. I live in the Rogue Valley of southern Oregon where I hope to spend the rest of my days. The first...
When the Word says a peace is available that is beyond your current ability to understand it does not mean this peace is something you are not able to experience. The offer of God's peace is not put out in front of you as something unattainable that continues to run...
There are circumstances taking place in your life that make you feel like the bottom has fallen out from beneath your feet. Your place of stability has disappeared. What was once a secure platform has given way like a trap door and you now find yourself in a...
A wall of judgment sprang up in front of you without warning. A comment someone made has caused this wall to appear and its presence is impeding your forward motion. You have slammed hard against its cold and rejecting presence. The judgment this comment produced has...
Recently, a friend of mine, Dave Jacobs, wrote a book. I have known Dave since he moved to Oregon and set up the base for his ministry, Small Church Pastor ( www.smallchurchpastor.com ) Dave is a coach to pastors across the United States and beyond. I...
Yesterday, I found myself sighing. I let out one of those tired, depressed and faithless sighs that was long and overly dramatic. Jan heard my sigh and wisely said, “Why don’t you follow up that sigh with an act of worship?” I had been lovingly...
Yesterday, I sat in my truck in the parking lot of my dentist’s office. My appointment was still about ten minutes away so I decided to check my email on my smartphone. As I scrolled down through the emails, I noticed that I had received an email to fill a larger...
Years ago, when Jan and I ventured out to start our first church, those who sent us described church planters like us as people who would “pioneer a new church”. That phrase is not used very much in church planting circles today, but remains accurate in...
Over the years, Jan and I have found ourselves serving the Lord in several unique locations. One of those places was our assignment in the West Indies when our base of operation was out of Kingston, Jamaica. Thanksgiving time in Jamaica did not have the...
(This morning one of my former students posted a question on my Facebook wall. I normally answer these kinds of questions with a personal email, but felt this one was important to answer publicly because the response of the church to these culturally charged...
My grandfather, like his father before him, made violins. They called these violins fiddles. From the forest that surrounded the family home near Quitman, Texas they would cut and cure hardwoods that would someday become beautiful fiddles. As they walked through a...