Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Last March I wrote a post called Making Moments where I listed some of the days we will always remember. Making moments is a good discipline. Most of us are accustomed to marking days like birthdays and anniversaries. But what about other days? What days you mark? As we near the one-year mark of some … Read more
Today is our 15th wedding anniversary so we thought we’d take this opportunity to share a bit of our story, specifically about how we became a clergy couple. We met at the Church of God Theological Seminary (COGTS) in 1992. Joleen had been there over a year and I had just arrived. Students were required … Read more
One week from today is Inauguration Day when our new president will be sworn into office. Max Lucado (pastor and author) is leading an effort calling people to pray for President-Elect Barack Obama on Inauguration Day (January 20, 2009). As the site points out, 1 Timothy 2.2 says … Pray for rulers and for all … Read more
Last year, after we brought Ethan home from Korea (mid-February), winter was already well under way in central PA, but Ethan didn’t seem too interested in snow at the time. This year, Ethan’s first experience with snow was the trucks that come and plow the church parking lot, usually while he’s sleeping. It scared Ethan … Read more
In the summer of 1995, having graduated from seminary, Joleen and I were preparing to move to North East, PA to pastor our first church (as co-pastors). One night we were having dinner at my dad’s house and their pastor was their as well. Before he left that evening, he gave us some great advice … Read more
When I was beginning my journey as a Christ-follower and responding to God’s call to leadership in ministry, I often prayed bold, brash (naive?) prayers. I remember praying, while I was in college and contemplating my future in ministry, that God would “send me to the most difficult place.” While I don’t necessarily pray that … Read more
That’s a question that seems to keep coming up wherever I go in the last couple of weeks — a Sunday school class, a gathering of pastors in my district, an online community for pastors, and even in one of my sermons. That’s probably not a coincidence, but something I need to process. As my … Read more
One of the things that I particularly became aware of during my first season of fantasy football was the value of individual players. For example, when choosing a wide receiver, ideally I wanted to choose one who was considered the quarterback’s primary go-to receiver (which might change over the course of the season, depending on … Read more
Recently, we watched Lars and the Real Girl, starring Ryan Gosling as Lars. It’s an interesting — and sorta strange — but good movie with a powerful example of community. Lars is an extreme introvert who mostly keeps to himself. But one day he invites Bianca (a friend he says he met on the internet) … Read more
We didn’t really plan to do a stewardship series of posts, but it’s sorta turned out that way, hasn’t it? See our previous posts: 6 Key Financial Principles, Money Management Tools, and 6 More Financial Principles. This post comes specifically out of our planning/budgeting our giving for 2009. For us, it’s about honoring God with … Read more