There are so many heroes and heroines that time has forgotten related to the gospel’s advance and the proclamation of the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). Tonight my bride and daughter and two grandchildren started to watch the Ingrid Bergman movie, “The Inn of the Sixth Happiness”. It is the story of Gladys Aylward, a … More Other Heroines Forgotten in Time
Tuesday is for Thinking It was almost two decades ago. I was attending a local pastors forum. Around the circle were 40 pastors, almost all of whom cared for congregations of between 500 and 1,000 regular worship attenders. Sprinkled in among them were two or three “mega church” pastors. The idea was to learn from … More Your Local Church is Gone. Would Anyone Notice?
More than a few will judge me for revealing that I am a Tom Clancy fan. So be it. The original books were filled with so much submarine tech and knowledge that, as the son of an ex-navy medic, I always found them fascinating. Before Clancy died, he and his books had become a cottage … More Many Pastors Leave Their Churches with Similar Thoughts
I am cleaning out file cabinets of former classes I have taught. It’s one of those tasks aging parents ought to do because most of what we have accumulated through a lifetime of ministry and life are of little value to our children. And frankly, at this point in my life, they are of little … More “A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words.” Really?
One of the great disappointments of any gathering of pastors is how much of the discussion around our tables, at our conferences, ministerials and seminars revolves around trivialities. We talk more about systems and programs, size of churches, staff hires, staff departures, grumblers and controllers, elders and deacons, ministry structures, what my friend Colin Marshall … More The Discussion We Need to Have with Pastors
A Summary of Old Testament History in a Parable The Parable of the Unfaithful Wife A husband betrothed a wife in a covenant of faithfulness. He bound himself to his wife and swore to love her, protect her, to never forsake her or abandon her for another. His bride made vows to him as well … More A Parable for Our Times (the Unfaithful Wife)
John Piper is a hero not because he is always right, or without flaw but because he, in his redeemed heart, is one of the most passionate hearts I know of running hard after God. I want to be passionate about pursuing God. Even in my present sickness and low energy due to many travels, … More Spiritual Blindness is not Just a Non-Believing Problem
I’m at a retreat for Standing Stone Shepherds with about 30 of us, I think. We drove eight hours to tuck ourselves into the beauty of these Tennessee hills south of Nashville and arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon. We ate, we sang, we prayed, we heard from our president and his wife and we … More Hungry, I’m Falling on My Knees
I had the privilege of attending worship in my home church today after a ten day trip to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland to care for Christian leaders seeking to be faithful to Christ and His kingdom. It was a good trip even if exhausting. Numerous angels are also exhausted from keeping me awake during … More Thinking of the Slavery of Paul (and ours too)
Deuteronomy 8:3 says that the God of Israel, . . . “humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.” … More Every Word. Living by Every Word from His Mouth
ChosenRebel's Blog 