There’s an interesting article about current and upcoming trends for the church in the Summer, 2011 issue of Facts and Trends, the periodical from LifeWay Christian Resources. The article has credibility because it is written by Thom S. Rainer, LifeWay’s President and CEO and author of Breakout Churches and co-author of Simple Church. Rainer has made a [...]
Several people have been asking me about what our church is going to do for Vacation Bible School this summer. Well, instead of doing a traditional VBS, we’re hosting what we’re calling “Family Workshop” with practical teaching to benefit all of us. The idea was borne out of a desire to expand our limited focus to include whole [...]
I’ve always been intrigued by these words from the father of a boy with an unclean spirit in Mark 9. The disciples of Jesus had already tried to cast out the unclean spirit but were unable to. So now he encounters Jesus and asks Him to help “if (He) can do anything.” Now this request [...]
Missionary to the New Hebrides Islands (1824-1907) While still newlyweds, John and Mary Paton sailed away from their Scotland home to become missionaries to the islands of the South Seas in 1858. Months later they landed in the New Hebrides Islands and began to build a house and start a new life there together. From [...]
Yesterday, my wife Jody and I celebrated twenty-two years of marriage. And I want to publicly acknowledge God’s grace in granting us the evidence of His favor. As I look back on our marriage, I can see God’s hand in growing us closer to Him and with one another. I remember the day I first [...]
I’ve just finished reading the classic children’s book series, The Chronicles of Narnia, written by C.S. Lewis, for the first time. I had read parts of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe before, but never the entire series in sequence. So I finally got around to reading the series because I wanted something fun and substantial [...]
February 10, 2011 – 4:29 PM
Yesterday afternoon I was given a vision by the Lord. No, it wasn’t anything magical or mystical, but it was powerful nonetheless. I was doing a late afternoon jog in my old neighborhood until I stopped to rest at a familiar location. It was right in front of the storage facility that we used to [...]
January 28, 2011 – 2:25 PM
It’s time once again for our annual Missions Conference. The theme for this year is “Open Doors.” Our good people from the headquarters of the Christian and Missionary Alliance have put together a wonderful media package promoting the Missions Conference. Here’s what they have to say about this year’s conference: The Alliance is committed to [...]
January 26, 2011 – 10:21 AM
We’ve just begun a study on John Piper’s book Desiring God for my Young Adult Sunday School class. And I’m happy to announce that it’s been met with great interest, both from my regular classmates and some new ones as well. John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [...]
November 23, 2010 – 10:36 AM
This coming Sunday morning, November 28, 2010, I will begin teaching a new 6-week study during my Young Adult Sunday School class on the person and work of Jesus Christ entitled, Knowing Jesus. We just completed our 8-week membership class, where among other things we discussed the classic Alliance doctrines of Jesus as Savior, Sanctifier, [...]