As schools are about to reopen in the fall, what are prospective parents looking for in a Christian day school? This post summarizes a presentation I gave at a teacher’s conference. The presentation was on what prospective parents want in a Christian day school. Some of you are thinking they want what everyone else wants. […]
You prepare a table before me (Ps 23:5) As the psalmist, David shifts his attention to protection from the valley of death in verse 4, the new metaphor in verse 5, God as the bounteous host. The psalmist paints this beautiful picture of a rich table where God can defy all his enemies. For one […]
There is much conversation in my church right now about whether we are a declining church body and whether or not we will survive this decline. So, surveyors of statistics tell us that we are in for a long, slow dip before we hit rock bottom and recover. That is not exactly the message you […]
In a magazine for pastors [Pulpit Helps, August 1997], one fellow wrote with one of those “you know you’re in trouble when …” lists. This one is, of course, addressed to preachers and is called “So Long, Pastor” You Know It’s Over When … You return from vacation to find the visiting preacher’s name in […]
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his […]
Sometimes, when I look back at my time in the parish, I feel for my congregation members. My parents raised me with the idea that “good enough” was unacceptable. Complacency is “as soon as you are comfortable with where you are, you are heading in the wrong direction.” The Signs of Complacency. 1) Satisfaction with […]
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as […]
One question I love to ask guests on my podcast is: “What do you want your legacy to be?” The illustration below shows what happens when your answer goes astray. A young man was to be sentenced to the penitentiary. The judge had known him from childhood, for he was well acquainted with his father—a […]
We pause today to remember our fallen heroes. Thank you for defending and giving your lives to keep us safe and the banner of freedom flying high. These videos are a tribute to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ZCvBct6lA https://youtu.be/4VLHEZ6ZUxE Today is more than a day off and time to spend with the family. It is also a day […]
I have spent most of my ministry in big metropolises but have not lived in a community of under 4,000. You know you live in a small town when the closest grocery store is 20 miles away. There is no Walmart in your city, and there are more cows than cars. Doing ministry in this […]
