Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
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
Recently, I read two articles on the Harvard Business Review blog: Fatigue Is Your Enemy and Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time. Tony Schwartz writes … Two years ago, I began hearing the phrase ‘It isn’t sustainable’ over and over from senior executives. They were talking about the everyday demands at work. The day of … 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
I recently started reading through Francis Asbury’s journal (see my previous post). I’m still only on page 50 of Volume 1 (of 3), but one thing that strikes me is how much Asbury writes about preaching, and how much he talks about his preaching in experiential terms. Here are a number of examples of how … Read more
Acts 13.22 describes why God chose David to become king of Israel: God made David king, saying, “I have found David … to be a man after my own heart” (NLT). The goal of a Christ follower is to have a heart like God’s. I’ve written before about a prayer that has become part of … Read more
The Apostle Paul was known for encouraging followers of Jesus to rejoice. In 1 Thessalonians 5.16, he wrote, “Rejoice always.” In Philippians 3.1, he wrote, “Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord” (NRSV). Paul added in Philippians 4.4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (NRSV). The word “in” is … Read more
Last March, Preaching Rocket conducted a free online event called Preach Better Sermons. Speakers included Andy Stanley, Jeff Foxworthy, Louie Giglio, Perry Noble, Jud Wilhite, Vanable Moody, Dr. Charles Stanley, and Dan Cathy. It was a great event. Afterward, I wrote 5 Takeaways from Preach Better Sermons. Preaching Rocket is replaying the 3-hour online event … Read more
In recent years, our holiday tradition has been to travel to Tennessee to visit my family for Thanksgiving, and to stay home, near Joleen’s family, for Christmas. Going to Tennessee gives the kids a great opportunity to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Willis and other family members! On Wednesday, we picked Ethan up from … Read more