Today I will do something I rarely do although I am a minister. I am conducting a funeral for a friend. This friend is my age, 47, taken entirely too quickly. He leaves behind a wife, a son who is a senior in high school with my son, and a daughter just younger than my Hannah. This is a hard day. In part this comes from the fact that I have lost a friend, and I grieve with the family. … →

I just returned from a wonderful weekend of ministry near Hilton Head, SC. I loaded up a trailor with gear, these seven wonderful students, and drove (well they did most of the driving) 5.5 hours to the church. We had an amazing time together. I so love students! Other than my family, hanging out with students is the best.

If we could simply recover the passion, the power, and the practice of the church in Acts we just might reach America as effectively as the early church reached the Empire. How did they do it? In a book every church leader simply must read, Michael Green in Evangelism in the Early Church observed not only how the church in Acts spread the message, but how she continued for over a century. I will note his quotes and then my … →

We are on a much appreciated break this week. Whew. So I have just a little while to think and reflect. Here are a few random thoughts: On our Christian subculture: I suppose it is inevitable to have one, but have we ever had such a developed and simultaneously detached-from-the-rest-of-culture (how’s that for poetic license) community as seen in American Christianity? We have Christian mints called “Testamints.” We have Christian perfume. I have seen Christian soap (I think the cross … →