Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category
Christian Leadership B.S.—Online degree completion program Preparing Leaders for over 100 yrs… The above was the auto-generated Google ad on the sidebar of a friend’s blog. It wasn’t the academic degree that caught my eye—for a brief moment I actually thought “Christian Leadership B.S.” might be the title of a […]
Read More...Once in a while we are “blessed” with the opportunity to have to hear the Lord regarding a directional issue in our lives. Those times when God seems to be about to change something in our assignment (like a job or a ministry) a relationship (like dating or marriage) or […]
Read More...It’s been going on for years now…the night before Easter I can’t sleep at all. I want it to be the next morning so badly that you would think I was a kid on the night before a big trip to Disneyland or waiting for Christmas day to show up. […]
Read More...Yesterday I heard a great sermon about the different ways we encounter God. At one point, the speaker, Glenn Burris Jr., said, “Someone else’s God encounter could be found through your life”. For instance, someone may be praying for encouragement, and you look that person in the eye and speak […]
Read More...While I was in the throws of studying for a sermon, I sent my assistant an instant message that said I was wrestling with preparing my message. Her reply back to me was supposed to be funny: “Don’t forget the head-lock, that’s a winning move”. The humorous response actually impacted […]
Read More...“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity…it is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mt. Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore.” (Psalm 133) A couple of years ago I had the joy of hiking some trails around […]
Read More...After church on Sunday, my family hung out at a great park in Costa Mesa. This park had one of the coolest playgrounds I’ve ever seen. It was great fun for the 8 and 5-year old boys, but was also built with a system of ramps for wheelchair accessibility, so […]
Read More...This last weekend I experienced a fantastic conference called “The Idea Camp” that was conceived and led by my friend and colleague Charles Lee. This was a phenomenal event. I could go on and on about why I think it was great. For instance: participatory dialogue; no “talking heads” on […]
Read More...I was just talking to a friend of mine about Luke 24 & Acts 1—the place where Jesus tells His disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait. What an incredibly difficult proposition! They had been given a mission (a great one at that) and they must have been pumped […]
Read More...Yesterday I read, in Luke 18, the story of the Blind man Jesus encountered on the way to Jericho. Mark 10 tells us that his name was Bartimaeus. As Jesus was walking by the place where Bart begged, he shouted out to Jesus, “have mercy on me” and the crowd—those […]
Read More...One of the Christmas traditions at our church is lighting the candles in the advent wreath. Advent means “the coming”and it represents a period of anticipation surrounding the celebration of the coming of the messiah. About 10 years ago, when I wanted to use the advent candles in a series […]
Read More...I was recently made aware of some hurtful actions that were attributed to me. I’m usually fairly self-aware, but though I knew that the necessary actions I was taking were not at all pleasant for the person on the other side, I had no idea of the level of pain […]
Read More...Today my family celebrated Thanksgiving well in Newberg, Oregon. Newberg is a sleepy little College town about 10 miles outside of the urban area of Portland. It was 12 members of my wife’s family, plus Al. Al is in his early 50’s and doesn’t have family around, so he hung […]
Read More...liberty made in usa electronic cigarette
Read More...My wife Deborah wrote the following in our weekly email to our congregation. Though we are taking off today for Oregon to spend Thanksgiving in the crisp fall, it’s a good reminder that the season is not about our circumstance. Enjoy: You know, being an Oregon girl, this weather is […]
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