Blog
Needing “Just one more thing” is constantly advertised to us, like it was for those who were following Ponce de León in search of the Fountain of Youth. I am reminded of King Solomon’s writings: “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just...
A man I had come to know assumed the primary leadership role in a large international church organization. His appointment was a good fit and made sense. His respected life and ministry were well known across many denominations and church movements...
As young church planters, Jan and I knew very little about what it actually meant to plant a church. We had a calling and a measure of faith—and that was all. When we entered the ministry, few resources were available for church planting. I think our early...
Throughout history, the Church has allowed leaders to hold positions of authority they should never have been given, gifted or not. Our lack of discernment and failures have rocked everyone across all streams of faith. The Lord will always raise up a new generation of...
This time of year, when spring arrives, I like to sit in our front yard amidst the blooming trees and the early sprouts of new life coming to our garden. As I sit in the warmth of the sun, I like to read. This morning, I was reading through my daughter’s...
Remembering God’s goodness and His greatness protects us from all forms of deception. Today, the Lord is testing the Church, calling us to remember and not forget how He worked in us in the past so we will continue to hold true to Him in the future. After Joshua died,...
The Church has always been tempted to become more like the nations where we live than to remain a distinctly different kind of people. From the beginning to the end of our lives, we will be tested to determine the quality of our faith and who we will worship. Life is...
Of late, with all that is happening in the world and in the lives of people we love, Jan and I are spending more time praying together in the Spirit. This is not abandoning a prayer list. It is taking our prayers beyond the list to a place only the Spirit knows. The...
When we listen to reports of wars and rumors of war, or when we hear people speak things motivated by doom and gloom, we must take account of God’s promises so that what we say and report is not motivated by fear, but by our faith in God. Joshua and Caleb are notable...
Large reservoirs in the western United States, like Hoover and Grand Coulee, have occasionally experienced what is called a “dead pool.” A dead pool means that there has not been enough rain to fill these reservoirs and activate the power generators inside the...
One of the greatest truths that Jan and I discovered and live by to this day is to inquire first of the Lord to find out His answer before we act prematurely and do something we would live to regret. Thirty years ago, the Lord planted this truth deep in our hearts. We...
Prophetic acts are something not many in the Church understand. These acts declare in the present, before a spiritual victory comes, of what God will do in the future. Prophetic acts declare God's authority and faithfulness in spiritual conflict. Often, they are...
We can too easily think that those who do not agree with us are the enemy. We can form narrow assumptions and miss a greater truth: we cannot always discern who the real enemy is, those who are shaping our thoughts and leading us to make false assumptions. That...
The Church is in transition. The Lord is leading us to a new place that needs new leaders. Some leaders lost their authority due to disobedience, but those failures will not prevent the Lord from fulfilling His promises. This transition mirrors a pivotal moment from...
As nations strategize for war, the Lord has secret plans that He will reveal to His followers at the proper time. Initially, the revelation of God’s plan will be rejected by the strategists, to their dismay, because they made their plans using human logic rather than...