Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Have you ever gotten a makeover? Makeovers aren’t just for your face and hair or even for your house. They are also for your mind! The dictionary definition of transform is … to make someone or something completely different, usually in a way that makes them more attractive, easier to use, etc. When I think … Read more
Today was a busy day, and it marked the end of a busy year! This year, Sarah completed her first year of preschool (see Sarah Goes to Preschool!), and Ethan completed Kindergarten (see Ethan Goes to Kindergarten!). The year also included extracurricular activities–soccer for both Ethan and Sarah and dance for Sarah. Sarah’s year of … Read more
The Church needs to trust God! I have been writing a series of prayers for the Church, offering a prayer with a different focus each week. It’s been a few months since my last prayer in this series, and I have a few more I want to write. So far, I’ve prayed for awakening, transformational … Read more
I’ve said during a couple different worship services in recent years, there’ll be no questions in heaven … only gratitude! That’s certainly not to make light of the questions we have now or the difficulties any of us face. Certainly, in this life, there are many, many questions, many things we simply don’t or can’t … Read more
Today is Aldersgate Day, and it marks 275 years since John Wesley recorded these words in his journal … In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change … Read more
I really enjoyed preparing a message for Pentecost Sunday this past week. In fact, it struck me that without Christmas and Easter, there would be no Christianity, but without Pentecost, Christianity would have no power or ability to last! Pentecost was so important that Jesus’ final instructions to his followers were to wait in Jerusalem … Read more
I finally got around to reading Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else by Jon Gordon, which I’ve been interested in for a while. The book is a fictional story that shares lessons on pursuing greatness. The story follows Martin Jones, an undrafted rookie trying to make it in the NFL. During … Read more
Yesterday’s free, 4-hour online preaching conference, Preach Better Sermons, was great. It will take some time to process it all, but here are five things that resonated with me … 1. Find your own voice and be who are. It was great to see different styles among the presenters. At least two communicators (Mark Batterson … Read more
Preaching is hard work. It’s not just the act of preaching that’s hard, but all of the prep that goes into it during the days (and sometimes weeks) leading up to the preaching event. Preaching requires a lifetime of investment! Recently, I heard Bill Hybels quoted as saying … Preaching has been the single most … Read more
In the last two days, I read three mini-ebooks by Laura Vanderkam. The books are from her series, What the Most Successful People Do. The books are good because they are short, practical, and include lots of personal stories and application. What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is about early morning routines and … Read more