-
Does Youth Ministry Matter?
I started youth ministry at Camp Peniel. From there I went to church ministry. I still remember wondering what I had gotten into when someone in my first church gave me an article on the horrors of listening to Amy Grant. Where do you go with that? Fairly early on in church ministry I met…
-
Pastoral Envy
I had this published four years ago in Christianity Today – Leadership Journal. I think it’s been long enough they are good with me putting it on my blog. DEAR GOD, GIVE ME A MEGA-MINISTRY WHEN I BURN OUT It isn’t fair. Bill Hybels burnt out. He wrote, “The rate at which I was doing…
-
Surrender, Yes. Sacrifice, No
The older I get in ministry, the less work it is, and the more of a privilege it becomes. I remember my biggest dread when I started church ministry in 1985. Hospital visits. That’s partly because on my first visit I walked into the wrong room. And, I still have to keep my eyes off…
-
Frustrated with Facebook
Sometimes I take a break from Facebook for a while, then go back on and wonder, “Why have I been off for so long?” I enjoy the updates, pictures of kids and grandkids, and learning really useful stuff like, “The Best Cars for Under $100,000 That Can Hit 200mph.” And then I read some posts…
-
Back to Haiti
One of my questions when I get to Heaven, if I can get up the nerve to ask, is; “Why, when we were replacing a clutch under a Toyota Hilux, for needy missionaries, in the dirt, in Haitian humidity and heat, after ten hours of work, would You send a dog to mark his territory…
-
I Can Only Imagine a Good Christian Movie
I saw Only Imagine yesterday for two reasons. Bart, the song’s author that the movie is about, is an old friend, and I had been up since 3:15am, done church and had a wonderful fish taco lunch, and figured the reclining theater seats would make for a fabulous nap. I was wrong on both accounts.…
-
My 5 Favorite Epitaphs
Earlier this year I attended three memorials in eight days. Death has been on my mind – but in a good way. I’ve seen faith passed down from father to son to grandkids, and heard some amazing testimonies of lives well lived. It helped me remember an old truth. God determines the dates on your…
