Blog
Once, when I was pastoring, a woman I knew in our church made an appointment to see me. On the day of our appointment, my secretary led her back to my office. She didn’t say anything as she walked through the door and sat down. The woman looked directly at me and...
On a walk last week, I saw a group of turkeys sitting on a fence. It got me thinking about how we can become so afraid of offending someone that we shy away from expressing the truth, especially about hot-button social issues. To a passerby who wants to see a...
As summer winds down, I’m thinking of the summer of 1973. It was a special time. On Mother’s Day, I proposed to Jan, and we set the date of our marriage three months later. That summer was carefree and filled with expectations of a new life and a new future...
Recently, a friend of mine sent this communique to thousands of church leaders around the world: “In 1998, Hurricane Mitch wrecked havoc across Central America, especially in Honduras. The casualties were steep: 5,600 people perished, 12,300 were injured and 8,600...
God never leaves His people without a believing remnant. We have all read about the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness for forty long years. I have personally processed this as a time when unbelief had to die off so a new generation, based in faith, could...
A few years ago a trivia game emerged called “Kevin Bacon and the Six Degrees of Separation.” The theory goes that in this game any actor could be linked through their acting roles to Kevin Bacon, a fellow actor, within six relationships. While this trivia game is fun...
Recently, I have been talking to believers about establishing their “pivot point”. A pivot point is that place where you put one of your feet conceptually and say, “This is my bottom line – I can't give this up." There is not a lot that should occupy that spot. The...
(This is part five in a five-part article about the “H.O.P.² E.” acronym taken from the book, “They Told Me Their Stories,” where the environment of faith was described that attracted God's healing power to that great revival. This article deals with the final letter...
My dear friend in Central Oregon, Jim Stephens, writes some profound things on his daily devotional. A few months ago Jim wrote that he was not going to use the word “awesome” anymore, except to describe God. Jim's commitment on personal vocabulary is such a wise word...
(This is part four of a five-part article about the “H.O.P.² E.” acronym taken from the book, “They Told Me Their Stories,” where the environment of faith was described that attracted God's healing power to the Azusa Street revival. This article deals with the fourth...
“The one who trusts in the Lord will never be put to shame.“ Romans 9:33 When I was 12 years old I entered Junior High School. As a boy in the 6th grade I was warned by my classmates that the big kids in Junior High liked to pick on the incoming 7th graders. The...
(This is part three in a five-part article about the “H.O.P.² E.” acronym taken from the book, “They Told Me Their Stories,” where the environment of faith was described that attracted God's healing power to the Azusa Street revival. This article deals with the third...
(This is part two in a five-part article about the “H.O.P.² E.” acronym taken from the book, “They Told Me Their Stories,” where the environment of faith was described that attracted God's healing power to the Azusa Street revival. This article deals the second letter...
(This is part one in a five-part article about the “H.O.P.² E.” acronym taken from the book, “They Told Me Their Stories,” where the environment of faith was described that attracted God's healing power to the Azusa Street revival. This article deals the first letter...
As I write this article I am inside a warm cabin in Central Oregon. It is raining outside and a fire is crackling in the fireplace. Even though it is early June, the fire feels good. Like most cabins used by lots of people throughout the year, the accumulative effect...