Have you heard the Christian song, “I Can Only Imagine”? Great message. In fact, they’ve made a motion picture now to tell the story of the writing of the song. Powerful. But this piece is not about that. I need to tell you a story – a true story – as told to me recently […]

Following World War II a Jewish family named Yankel opened a family bakery in Brooklyn. The fact that the family had survived the hardships of the war in Europe was itself a miracle. But let the senior Yankel tell the story: “You know why it is that I’m alive today? I was a kid, just […]

At about 1:00pm on October 7, Caitlin Kirby, 28, strode confidently into the Michigan State University seminar room where five learned faculty members waited to see if she could summarily pass the final oral exam for her PhD degree in the field of Environmental Science. Research done, reading finished, classwork over, just this final grilling […]

Sotir Ilitch (pronounced ILL – itch) moved his family from the country of Macedonia to Detroit in the mid-1920’s. He spent his career working for the Chrysler Corporation and enjoying every perk of the American dream. Sotir’s first son, Mike, was born in 1929, and about as soon as he could walk he fell in […]

I don’t know the lady’s name. I know what people call her but I don’t think that’s her real name. Let me tell you what I learned from her… There is in her city a Bridge Community. I mean it is a community that lives under one of the major bridges not far from the […]

Every baby is cute and every bride is beautiful. Really? Well, what’s the first thing you say when that new mom gives you a look at her newborn? “Oh, she/he is so cute,” you say. Red, wrinkled, hairless, and fussy – but the first instinct is to comment on how cute the kid is. Why […]

If your church is not ministering to the broken, you are in a broken church. Is that too strident? I don’t think so. As we’ve discussed before in this space, In every pew sits a broken heart. Even those who look good and smell good. Even those who answer all the questions correctly and can […]

One of the most intimate experiences two people can have is to talk. Recently Ruthie and I were at the National Quartet Convention in Pigeon Forge, TN. Nearly 10,000 folks sat in the auditorium listening to stirring Southern Gospel music, and in the hallways outside the main seating area the various music groups had their […]

Truth be told, the only compelling reason we pray is for the glory of God. Interesting thought to ponder. He knows what we need before we ask so we don’t pray to inform Him. We ask to concede our need and He is glorified. We pray to acknowledge our helplessness. Jesus said, Without Him we […]

My sister-in-law, Hazel, believes they do. Her phone rang about 2:30 one morning. A call at that hour is seldom good news and this one certainly wasn’t. It was Jan, a teen who had called often before, desperate. Usually Hazel could reason with the girl and convince her to go home from wherever she was. […]