Surviving and Thriving Under Pressure!

Today, perhaps more than ever before, we feel under pressure.  The pandemic has left us feeling like a titanic weight is crushing us.  How do we survive? More important, how can we thrive under pressure? In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United States government developed and deployed nuclear powered submarines.  The USS Thresher was

The Joy of Easter

I love Easter and I love the springtime, don’t you? It is a time of Joy.  I would like to share with you a few thoughts about joy today, and what it means to have “the joy of the Lord” in your life. There is a verse a Scripture found in Hebrews 12:2. This verse

What Really Matters?

Priorities!  How do you set your priorities?  What comes first in your life?  Of all the things that you do, what matters the most?  Determining our priorities can be an illusive and difficult task, especially for people like me who are not wired to think like that. I think most people do things without really

Silence and Solitude

Have you ever thought about the importance of silence and solitude in your spiritual growth and formation? I come from a tradition and culture that places a high value on being busy and doing things for God, so much so, that taking time to sit quietly and enjoy the presence of God is often neglected.

The Light of Our Legacy

When you look at the stars in the night sky, are you aware how long the light from each of these stars has traveled to reach the earth? Light travels at the speed of 186,282 miles per second. The nearest star to our galaxy is 4.5 light years away. The light from the stars we

The “Marginal” Church

My article last week was about what it means to be an attractional church.  This week I want to focus on what it means to be a marginal church.  The term “marginal church” refers to the fact that we no longer live in a Christian culture in the United States, and that Christianity no longer

The Ultimate Undercover Boss

Personally, I do not care for most “reality” television shows today.  There is one exception however. I really enjoy Undercover Boss.  I especially enjoy watching people’s reaction when they learn they have just spent a day working alongside the CEO of their company. In each episode, hidden cameras follow a different executive each week on an

The Power of Partnership

How important are partnerships in your life, and in your ministry?  Have you given much thought to the partnerships in your life?  Which were successful?  Which were failures?  Do you find yourself seeking out new partnerships, clinging to old ones, or steering clear of them altogether? Partnerships are important.  In Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 the Bible says,

Remembering a Father’s Love at Christmas

Note:  Each year at Christmas, I share this same story with my readers.  I share it because my life was changed forever through the sacrificial love of one man – my father.  God’s gift to us at Christmas is His eternal, unchanging love – the love of our Heavenly Father. As a ten year-old boy,

“Joy Unspeakable”

On my way to work every morning, I pass one of those electronic billboards, with frequently changing messages. Yesterday, I noticed a holiday message, “Eat, drink and be merry!  Enjoy the holidays!”  The sad truth behind this message is for some, the only joy they will experience during the holidays will be in eating, drinking, and being