I pray for me a lot. I don’t mean I pray for my stuff, I mean I pray for my heart. Here’s the deal, there are things I’d like to have – important things – and I pray about those. We’d like to sell our house…it’s on the market. I pray about that.  We’d like […]

I just spoke to a dear friend who, with his wife, lives in New Bern, NC. If you followed the saga of Hurricane Florence you will recognize the name of that city of 30,000 which was not only the first capital of North Carolina, but also has the dubious distinction of being the birthplace of […]

If, when I say Happy Hour, the sound of clinking glasses and bawdy music come to mind, you and I are thinking about two different settings. Merchants of misery attempt to make their brew seem desirable by disguising that interlude – often just after working hours – as a time of happiness. But true happiness […]

According to recent reports, the Roman Catholic Church has paid out more than $3.8 billion (through 2009) to victims of serial sexual abuse inflicted by their clergy who were allegedly providing spiritual nurture. (Yup, that’s a B.) Ouch. That number only cloaks the true anguish those tyrannies have caused. Include those that have not yet […]

Big word. He calls Himself Provider. Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides; it’s one of His favorite names. That’s His covenant with us. “My God shall supply all your needs…” He wants us to see Him in that role. I just finished working through the book of Ezekiel and discovered a pattern I hadn’t noticed. There […]

Wow. Ruthie and I just came back from a “Prayer Summit,” in another state about five hours drive from our house. It was moving. He was there – you could sense it. There were about fifty folks who gathered at a mountaintop conference center for a long weekend to pray, to learn, to worship, to […]

Last time, we talked about building a strong prayer hedge around your pastor. (“Your Pastor’s Back”) I hope it made a difference where you worship. You might ask around and see. Whenever I talk to a congregation or a church board on this topic someone is bound to ask something like, “But what should we […]

It’s right there in front of you. You can recognize it even from a distance. I don’t mean your pastor has returned, I mean we’re looking at him/her from behind. Here’s why: If your church seems to be a target, your pastor is the bullseye. Sometimes it seems like it’s painted on his (or her) […]

It’s awkward to do church in a congregation where you don’t speak the language. Years ago we were visiting in China where I was scheduled to speak. I knew my translator was skilled so the congregation would understand what I said. But I didn’t understand a word they said. Except one. It was in the […]

If you know anyone whose life goal is to become a gossip columnist, I have a suggestion for you. Tell them about the Bible book of Judges. In fact, you can specifically mention chapters 13 – 16. It’s a textbook case. It has all the ingredients of a run-away bestseller. It begins with hope and […]