Peter Wagner was teaching a class at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is somewhat famously known for his teaching on Church Growth, and the roll of signs and wonders in that phenomenon. He even brought John Wimber into our class for one session. Wimber is well known as a strong advocate for the…

The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. – 1 John 5:4 The Message) I’ve experienced it only one time. I vividly recall the occasion and the feelings around it. A woman in the church I was serving was struggling in her marriage. She and her husband were constantly struggling…

Three young men were out for the night. One of the three rode in the back seat. The other had already claimed shotgun.” It would be a great night. On many levels, however, it was not. One of the guys had gotten ahold of some marijuana. “Hey you guys! Look what I have! Want to…

A colleague recently shared a very troubling story about the boyfriend breakup of his daughter, a high school senior. She had broken her relationship with him, allowed him back into her life, and then broken up again. The young man must be troubled. He causes her embarrassment, and trouble at school by saying unkind and…

We were at a church leadership conference in the Chicago area. Bill Hybels was speaking to the crowd of 2000 or so church leaders. He said, “If there is an issue you just can’t seem to get beyond, if there is a sin you can’t seem to defeat, you might do well to get with…

The book, Leadership and Self-Deception, is published by the Arbinger Institute. It is “a relatable story about a man facing challenges on the job and in his family, …[It] exposes the fascinating ways we can blind ourselves to our true motivations and unwittingly sabotage the effectiveness of our own efforts at success and happiness” (Arbinger Institute).…

Herald was a long-time member of the church I served. He had his opinions and I had mine. We didn’t see eye to eye, and in his mind I was destroying the church. One day after worship, he and his son asked to see me. We went to my office and they unloaded on me…

Jesus came to this earth to seek and save those who were lost. It was necessary for him to suffer, die, be buried, and raised from the dead. These are all clearly attested to in the Gospel accounts. He had to do this to show fully the rule and reign of God in his life,…

[Continued from yesterday’s post.] For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a…

Our Ford Pinto station wagon was filled with personal belongings appropriate to a cross-country trip of our family of four. Far from home and family and continuing ever farther. Two car seats with our sons, ages 2 and 6 months filled the back seat. As we drove across the western slope of the Rocky Mountains…