Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
I recently asked, Are You Honing Your Craft? The question forces you to narrow your focus and to name your craft. While there are several things I’d like to be good at, I realize I only have enough time and energy to focus on a very few number of things to develop at any given … Read more
As soon as I heard about The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, just before it was published recently, I knew it was a book that I wanted to read as soon as possible. I’m only about halfway through it, but I wanted to start blogging about it, because I know it’s going to take more … Read more
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Yesterday, I finished reading the book of Lamentations and thought chapter three was a fitting way to begin the Lenten journey. The name Lamentations gives you an idea of the nature of the book. Lamentations is a funeral song. It’s written about, and in the midst of, … Read more
A few weeks ago, hours after preaching on persistence, interestingly enough, I read a great story about the diligence of Steve Martin. In it, the author begins with a quote of a 2007 interview of Martin … I remember getting my first banjo, and reading the book saying ‘this is how you play the C … Read more
Last month, Joleen and I celebrated 18 years of marriage (Really?!). It’s been quite an adventure. Everyone has challenges, and we’ve certainly had ours! The first 9 years of our marriage were intense enough—married in 1994, graduated from seminary and moved to PA to co-pastor a small, dying church in 1995, moved to Williamsburg to … Read more
I just signed up for an online event that will take place on Thursday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m. EST. It’s a FREE online preaching event With Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, Louie Giglio, Dr. Charles Stanley, Jeff Foxworthy, Jud Wilhite, and Vanable Moody. Learn more and sign up at preachbettersermons.com. The event will focus on … Read more
Four years ago, Joleen and I were in Seoul, Korea to pick up Ethan. It’s one of the real highlights of our lives, a day for which we are very grateful to God! These four photos put the hours surrounding the pick-up of Ethan in a nutshell, from the meeting on February 11 to the … Read more
Last month, I mentioned some words from the prophet Isaiah, slamming idols. Since then, I’ve read a couple places in the Psalms that also take a low view of idols. Here are some excerpts from Psalms 115 and 135 (with similar words) … Psalm 115.4-8 (CEB) 4 Their idols are just silver and gold— things … Read more
Recently, I’ve written multiple posts on Mike Slaughter’s presentations at the Bishop’s Retreat (here and here) as well as a couple of his books (“Change the World” and “Momentum for Life”). Here’s one more post with some final reflections and a list of personal commitments. 5 specific commitments I’m making … Dream daily. I’ve always … Read more
At the recent Bishop’s Retreat, with guest Mike Slaughter, I picked up Mike’s book, Momentum for Life: Biblical Practices for Sustaining Physical Health, Personal Integrity, and Strategic Focus. I love that the book sprinkles references to the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) throughout the book. And, using the acronym D.R.I.V.E., the book focuses on five … Read more