In an article on dealing with conflict, Gordon MacDonald describes how as a young pastor he wanted to gain the “coolness of spirit” to engage in difficult conversations in a positive way: A breakfast with the chairman of our church board sharpened these intentions. I was a very young pastor, prone to making novice-level mistakes. The ch…
On May 27, 1943 the plane carrying famed runner and former Olympian Louie Zamperini crashed while on a rescue mission over the Pacific Ocean. Of the 11 men on board, only three survive the crash. Clambering aboard a woefully inadequate life raft, they float aimlessly westward, drifting toward islands occupied by Japanese troops. One of the men eve…
I received an email from someone troubled by the death of a good friend. Here is the issue put simply:My friend abused himself by eating junk food and excusing it by saying God made all good food to eat and He would live just as long as God intended him to live. To make matters worse, he had already had several heart attacks and couldn’t walk…
A few days ago my friend Paul Ward shared a bit of wisdom with me. In the course of a conversation, we were talking about how some things are hard to do. That’s when he shared something that he said Zig Ziglar told him a few years ago."If you’ve got to eat a frog, looking at it doesn’t make it any better."That’s …
As far as I know we only have one picture from the days when we were dating, and this is it. Someone snapped this picture in late 1973 or in early 1974, when we were seniors at Tennessee Temple College in Chattanooga. We were so engrossed in conversation that we didn’t even notice the photographer and therefore didn’t know about the pic…
Lately I’ve been thinking about what makes a “great” preacher. The answer must necessarily be subjective. After listening to hundreds of sermons by hundreds of preachers (some famous, most not) in various settings for 45 years, I’ve come to some conclusions about “great” sermons and “great” preachers….
A friend told me this story. It seems that her daughter married a man who came from a very wealthy family. Although the young man was a believer, his parents were not. Over the years my friend and her husband did everything they could to share Christ with the other set of parents. The in-law was too busy with his work to consider the claims of …
I received an e-mail from a friend writing to another friend with a carbon copy sent to me. These words from a new Christian contain enormous spiritual insight:"When you said, ’Let Jesus fill you up with Joy,’ I re-read that line about 100 times. I would love that. I will do it. I say now ’Jesus, if joy is to …
I know several people who are contemplating job changes and major career moves. Given the shaky economy, making a move can be a scary thing to do. Sometimes it means moving to another part of the country; sometimes it means leaving a job with no certainty about a future paycheck. Since I’ve been in both situations myself, I know how unsettlin…
Let’s talk about evangelism for a moment. Sometimes Christians are afraid to share their faith because they feel totally inadequate to lead another person to Jesus Christ. They worry that they can’t answer questions, they fear they won’t say the right words, and when you get right down to it, they aren’t certain enough of t…