Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
The church needs to be healthy! I’m in the midst of writing a series of prayers for the Church. Each week, I’m praying about a different topic. So far, I’ve prayed for awakening, transformational leaders, urgency, and hope. Too often, churches are spiritually unhealthy. Some are even toxic. Certainly, the church should attract unhealthy people—the … Read more
The church needs hope! Each week, I’m posting a prayer for the Church. So far, I’ve prayed for awakening, transformational leaders, and urgency. The Church also needs hope. We have hope through Jesus Christ. We have the hope of being rescued from sin and spending eternity with Christ. The Church is the messenger of hope. … Read more
We are starting two new spiritual practices in 2013. First, we’re adding a practice to our evening family devotion routine. We’ve always read Scripture or a Bible story and prayed together as a family just before putting the kids to bed. Recently, we became more intentional about memorizing Scripture. This year, we’re adding a little … Read more
The church needs a sense of urgency! Each week, I’m posting a prayer for the Church. So far, I’ve prayed for awakening and transformational leaders. The Church also needs a sense of urgency (I wrote about urgency yesterday in Eschatological Urgency). O God, we are your hands and feet in the world. Thank you for … Read more
The Church needs transformational leaders! Last week, I began a series of posts praying for the Church. The church certainly needs awakening. It also needs transformational leaders. Joleen and I have always endeavored to be transformational leaders. Transformational leaders seek to help the churches they lead experience new life and to become more active in … Read more
I was a 19 year-old college student when I sensed God calling me into full-time ministry. Shortly afterward, I transferred to a different college and changed my major, and my life focus, from engineering to ministry. While I was finishing up my last two years of college, working on a Bachelor’s degree in ministry, I … Read more
I am beginning a series of posts, praying for the Church. Once a week, for a while, I plan to offer a prayer for the Church, each focused on a specific area. First up is awakening. O God, thank you for your Church, your hands and feet. Thank you for inviting us to participate in … Read more
The sooner we settle the issue of how desperately we need God, the better! Jesus once said … I assure you that the Son can’t do anything by himself except what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. … I can’t do anything by myself.” (John 5.19, 30) Later, … Read more
When I read The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson this past year (I wrote several posts; the last one was 5 Takeaways From “The Circle Maker”), one section that struck me was the idea that as we age, we typically follow one of two paths: we either move toward memory or imagination. Batterson writes … … Read more
Now that the election has come and gone (thanks be to God!), we need to turn our attention to praying for the nation and the leaders that have been elected for the next term. 1 Timothy 2.1-2 says … First of all, then, I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all … Read more