Many years ago I took a night course called “Advanced Apologetics” from Dr. John Warwick Montgomery at a place called Melodyland School of Theology. I’m not making up that name. The school met in a big church building located right across the street from Disneyland. At that time I was pastoring a small Covenant church in a suburb …
In the middle of the night I received an instant message that somehow found us in our stateroom on a cruise ship sailing somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. It was Peter Faulkner telling me that his father had died at the age of 95. “We are at peace,” the message said. While thinking about Dr. Faulkner, my mind wandered back to my fir…
Yesterday I put forth a modest collection of “self-evident truths.” Here are seven more:1. If it’s truly important, you will find time to do it. How many times have we made excuses for not doing something when in the end, we know we didn’t do it because it just wasn’t very important to us? Actions speak louder than wor…
I’ve been mentally compiling a list of self-evident truths that cannot be denied. You can ignore them but you can’t disprove them. Here is my list so far, with a few explanatory comments: 1. Life goes on. No matter what we do, life goes on. If we foul up, life goes on. If we hit the jackpot, life goes on. Whether we laugh or cry, shout …
Over lunch with a friend, he told me about something unusual that happened when he attended a conference where a noted Christian author was speaking. Suddenly and without warning, during the middle of her address, a man stood up and verbally attacked her. Although taken aback, she recovered and responded with kindness. My friend said…
Some time ago I heard the following statement on the radio and thought it was worth passing along: “The key to success in life is how well you adapt to Plan B.” There is a world of truth in that simple sentence. So many of us go through life frustrated because we’re still working on Plan A. That’s the one where everything wo…
By the time you read these words Marlene and I will be heading to Puerto Rico to board a ship for a seven-night Caribbean cruise. I’m not totally sure about all the places we’ll visit, but I know St. Thomas is on the list, along with Barbados and St. Maarten and a few other islands. This is not a ministry trip or a “working vacati…
My friend David Steinhart, pastor of Forest Park (IL) Baptist Church, shared some insights on humility from a tape on leadership by Dallas Willard. Humility is a quality that is hard to define and even harder to develop. Very few people would admit to praying for humility even though the Bible instructs us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand …
Durng the Friday edition of “Christian Life Today” on American Family Radio, we talked about what it means to know and do God’s will. It’s been my experience that most Christians are sincere and truly want to do God’s will if only they could figure out what it is. And most people realize there is no easy answer to the …
Here are four unrelated links. I thought I would pass them along because each one is useful in its own way. The Gospel and the Gosselins Pooped Pastors.com The Loudest Cheers in Heaven Chinese Calvinism Flourishes …