It happened again yesterday. I was attending one of those hip, contemporary churches — and almost no one sang. Worshippers stood obediently as the band rocked out, the smoke machine belched and lights flashed. Lyrics were projected on the screen, but almost no one sang them. A few women were trying, but I saw only one male (other than the worship leader) making the attempt. A few months ago I blogged, “Have Christians Stopped Singing?” I did some research, and... Read more
Over the last few weeks I’ve been giving you a special preview inside the covers of VOICES OF THE PACIFIC, the new book that I wrote along with New York Times bestselling author Adam Makos. Today’s story comes from front line machine gunner Dan Lawler, who relates a powerful and poignant story about the first time he encountered civilians while fighting on Okinawa. There was this one day we were looking for Japs and we came upon a cave. We... Read more
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard it. I finish teaching a parent workshop or answering a parent’s question about social media, and the parent will just shake their head and ask, “Wouldn’t it just be easier if I just smashed my kid’s phone!” I think most parents of teenagers have felt this way at one time or another. Unfortunately, responsibility isn’t genetic. Parents often ask us, “Why isn’t my kid more responsible?” Or they’ll say, “I wish... Read more
Two religions that put special emphasis on men are America’s fastest growing, according to a recent study. Mormons and Muslims are adding the most members, while mainline Protestants and Catholics continue to shed followers. “The number of Muslim adherents rose to 2.6 million in 2010 from 1 million in 2000, fueled by immigration and conversions,” said Dale Jones, a researcher who worked on the study by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. The number of U.S. Mormons grew by... Read more
Several years ago I was on a speaking tour of Texas with my wife when what has become known as the infamous “San Antonio Incident” occurred. One day we stopped in downtown San Antonio and stayed at a wonderful hotel across the street from The Alamo. Later that evening we took a leisurely stroll hand-in-hand visiting the shops along the River Walk. We then spent a romantic, candle lit dinner at an outdoor table overlooking the river. As we slowly... Read more
New York Times bestselling author Adam Makos and I released a new book recently. It’s titled VOICES OF THE PACIFIC—the long awaited oral-history project featuring untold stories from the Marine heroes of WWII. Over the past few weeks I’ve been giving you glimpses inside the book. Today here’s Jesse Googe, a runner for Captain Andrew “Ack-Ack” Haldane, (the commander of K-3-5), remembering his beloved and widely-respected leader. Googe tells a story that will make you wince, but... Read more
This traditional church is growing by about 10 percent a year. The nursery is bursting with children. They recently expanded their sanctuary and parking lots and added a third service to accommodate the crush of people. Their mission and community outreach are broadening. Read more
My good friend, Tony Rorie, is the founder of a program called Men of Honor in Dallas, Texas. Men of Honor exists to make passionate followers of Christ by mentoring and training next generation leaders ages eleven to seventeen in the principles of chivalry, honor, integrity, moral excellence, and courageous leadership. They use a three-pronged strategy of life-changing camps, conferences, and curriculum. The camps are weekend encounters where youth go through rites of passage, leadership development exercises, and powerful encounters... Read more
Last week I offered you a special glimpse inside the covers of VOICES OF THE PACIFIC, the new oral history project from New York Times bestselling author Adam Makos and me. Today is a bonus story that’s only available off my coauthor Adam Makos’s website, http://www.valorstudios.com/ Katharine Singeris the sister of Marine Sid Phillips. She was featured in Ken Burns’ project The War and provides the home front perspective. I met Katharine a few years back and interviewed her extensively... Read more
I’m a member of Alaska’s largest church. It’s a lot like every other megachurch. We meet in a cavernous, windowless room with stage lighting and two huge projection screens. We’re led by a rock band and a casually dressed pastor. The service lasts exactly 75 minutes. Our church draws a large crowd that attends sporadically. There’s a relatively small, highly committed core of members that keeps the machine going. I like my church. But it’s in Anchorage, 26 miles from... Read more
A Few Grown Men
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In