LIVING IN PEACEFUL ENCOURAGEMENT Thirty years ago, my mother was killed by a drunk driver at the age of forty-five. It rocked my world, caused me to question everything I knew about God, and has reshaped every day of my life since. I honor her life with my life and will to the day I die. Her godly fingerprints are all over my life. I remember when my mother was killed, it sent me into great season... Read more
LAUREN DAIGLE AND CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION At the Dove Awards show, a few months ago, Lauren Daigle was asked by a reporter to share her encouragement to the younger generation. Lauren said she asked God for a backbone of boldness. Lauren went on to encourage teenagers to stand up to bullies knowing God is by their side. She said, “I would just say, ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted.’ That’s what always comes to mind. I know that it’s difficult and not... Read more
STAY IN THE JEEP We are now almost two years into this covid pandemic and emotionally and spiritually we are starting to see the toll that this season is taking on the hearts of God’s people, especially families with children and students. Both nationally and locally, as a pastor, I have observed and read that the online church engagement has dropped drastically in the past few months, yet in person attendance has not seen a huge increase in... Read more
WORKING OUT PEACE The anxiety you feel right now is an opportunity for God to show you how His peace, that is already in you through His Holy Spirit as His child, can still come out of you and overcome the anxiety in you. His presence of peace in you is greater than the anxiety coming from the circumstances around you. Certainly ask God to change your circumstances, but my experience is, God wants to often times teach me... Read more
COURAGEOUS THOUGH NOT IN CONTROL God has chosen all of us to live a crazy calling Do you ever get tired of living in the ambiguity of your faith? Sometimes I just wish someone would answer my question, did I win or did I lose? You ask yourself this question, you ask others, you ask God. You then pause in silence to hear the answer. And what do you hear? Silence. And what do you conclude?... Read more
COURAGEOUS GRACE LIVED OUT IN RELATIONSHIPS God has almost seven billion children right now on planet earth. And God wants to use you through His grace to change this world. Where do you start? Or better yet, where do you continue? Do you have someone in your life you are tempted to give up on? Have they caused you a lot of pain and sorrow from their sinful choices and you feel like giving up on... Read more
COURAGEOUS TRUST IN GOD’S PROMISES Every person has a story. Every person has brokenness in their lives. We must courageously trust Christ and tell our stories of how God fulfilled His promises in our lives and restored what was broken in our lives. Jeremiah the Prophet taught God’s people in his day to do just that. He showed them how to courageously trust in God’s promises to restore what was broken in their lives. You and I can follow... Read more
CHURCH LEADERSHIP’S HANDLING OF SEX ABUSE VICTIMS: “IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR” The ending of silencing and shaming of sex abuse victims in the church gained a great victory recently through the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. As the Senior Pastor of a Southern Baptist Church in Colorado Springs for the past almost twenty-five years, I am extremely proud of the Southern Baptist Executive committee for voting 44 to 31 to remove the exclusivity... Read more
“Let’s Roll”: REMEMBERING 9/11 AND SPIRITUAL PTSD Perpetual questioning of a negative situation triggers pervasive anxiety All of us are searching for something in our present to help us make sense of our past. Wishing something had never happened doesn’t solve the puzzle but perpetuates the darkness to become pervasive. On the world stage in 2002 our nation was at war in Iraq and Afghanistan searching for the allusive Osama Bin Laden. Back home in my day... Read more
THE EFFECTS OF UNCONFESSED SIN ON A HEART FOR GOD Do you remember the first time you lied and got away with it? I do. I was in first grade. And thus began my life of crime, lying when it benefited me! All of us are tempted to lie from time to time about our sin. When we are younger it is lesser offenses, when we are older it becomes more severe. One of the worst things... Read more
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