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Scripture tells us “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). That verse refers to God’s faithfulness to empower our unique gifts and fulfill our specific calling. On our end of the equation, our gifts and calling can...
The Lord said, “I was found by people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to people who were not asking for me” (Isaiah 65:1). The transition between covenants did not change the fact that God is free to do the unexpected. In a world awash in confusing...
While a charming personality is of some value when a person's spiritual life is not threatened, it does little to protect those in our care or advance God’s Kingdom when evil slithers its way into our lives unnoticed. We cannot charm evil away. The authority of evil...
When Jesus gave us the Great Commission he said, “Go and make disciples of all the nations.” The Great Commission has become the marching orders for the Church over the last 2,000 years. At the end of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus told his disciples to “Go” in another...
In 2013 God will begin moving in powerful ways. This move of God will not be age, gender or race-specific. It will include many elements of previous revivals and renewals. Be careful of criticizing any one element you do not fully understand or agree with. What God is...
One of the most stress-filled things I have ever done was being an entry man on a SWAT team. Entry men were the first members of the team to breach a door and cross the threshold of a house to gain entrance. We never knew what was waiting for us on the other...
For years, I have heard some of my brothers and sisters in Christ appealing for a totally non-violent approach to life. I like the idea and wish somehow this could be our reality in every circumstance. I dislike the thought of having violence as an option...
It doesn't take long to explore our social media sites and realize in some areas of the Internet you can find conversations that resemble "The New Killing Fields." These are places where we conveniently destroy another person by accusation and narrow personal...
As I think of the killings in Connecticut my soul has been sickened hearing the cries of mothers and fathers. This has reminded me of a time recorded in scripture at the birth of Jesus when hundreds of little boys were senselessly murdered in Bethlehem by Herod who...
In the early 1990’s I was trained as a church-planting coach. I was also trained to interview prospective church-planters, conduct assessment interviews, coach pastors and help existing churches set up regional church planting strategies. Much of what I...
When I was in Bible College in early 1970’s, I attended a very conservative institution that has changed for the better over the years. I can still remember buying a plastic covered scripture reference note sheet that had one section titled, “Problem...
With the Mayan Calendar promising an end to life as we know it on December 21, and with the current condition of the world going through its normal cycles of life and death, it is easy for some to allow their hope in Christ to be hijacked by the doom-forecasters....
2013 will be a year the Church begins to experience the release of a Joseph Anointing. This Joseph Anointing will be like the story recorded in Genesis when God called Joseph from a pit to a palace to help Israel and the surrounding nations survive a coming season of...
Creating an apostolic community requires more than just reading good books on the subject or having discussion groups at the local Starbucks. Creating this kind of community requires providing traction points that will actually initiate change. This kind of...
Many years ago, when I was a student at Ministries Institute at Faith Center in Eugene, Oregon, I learned a valuable lesson about sermon preparation from my pastor, Roy Hicks, Jr. Roy was a profound teacher of God’s Word. He taught about God’s Kingdom. His focus...