One of the most meaningful moments at last night’s Friendship Banquet in Chicago happened after it was over. I can’t remember a time when I hugged so many people. It was like that from the time we arrived at 6 PM until we left around 10:15 PM. People started arriving an hour early–one couple drove from Holland, Michigan, another c…
I’ll be on WMBI-FM with Nancy Turner from 10-11 AM CDT. During the first half-hour we’ll be interviewing Ken Cooper, author of Held Hostage: A Serial Bank Robber’s Road to Redemption. In the second half-hour we’ll be talking about October being Pastor Appreciation Month and what you can do to encourage your pastor this week….
When I arrived home from my trip to Canada, Marlene said, “I’ve got something for you.” It turned out to be a very nice birthday present that she gave me last night since I celebrated my birthday on Saturday. She found a birthday card with a picture of Indiana Jones on the front that read, “When they ask how old you are, tak…
This weekend I flew to Ontario, Canada to speak at a “Flashpoint” conference sponsored by Word of Life. On Saturday local church leaders from across the province met at the First Baptist Church of Waterloo for the conference. After speaking three times and leading a question-and-answer session, I came away impressed with the dedication…
About a month ago I started an email correspondence with a soldier serving with the US Army in Afghanistan. From what he has written, I gather that he’s been there for several tours of duty. Somehow he found one of my books, read it, and wrote with some questions. Like all who serve in a combat zone, he has wondered about the possibility of h…
A friend sent me an email detailing some things the Lord has been teaching him the hard way. Mostly the lessons involve letting go of bitterness and moving forward with the Lord. I was struck by the way his ended his email:Sanctification is very expensive. It doesn’t come cheap. It will cost you. Just ask Corrie Ten Boom, or the Apostle Paul,…
I am writing this note from my hotel in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In a little while I’m heading over to the First Baptist Church to speak at a Flashpoint Conference sponsored by Word of Life Canada. Tomorrow I’m speaking at Emmanuel Bible Church in Simcoe. Then on Monday I’ll be heading home. And so it happens that I’m in C…
Peter Faulkner tipped me off to an amazing website called WorldMap.org. Their goal is simple and yet daunting. They want to create maps showing people groups and languages for each country of world while showing the progress of the gospel in that area. I particularly liked the world map showing the progress of evangelical Christianity in every nati…
Each week we receive an email update from Greg and Carolyn Kirschner, our dear friends who are serving as medical missionaries in Jos, Nigeria during the last half of 2009. I was struck by their comments at the end of the update about the importance of prayer. When questioned about the most important commandments, Jesus basically told his followers…
To put matters in perspective, 24 hours ago I was at Cedar Springs Conference Center in Sumas, Washington. Tonight I’m writing this entry from my office at home in Tupelo, Mississippi. Between then and now I’ve had approximately two hours of sleep, mostly because I had to get up at 3:15 AM to make my flight from Bellingham to Seattle. I…