I have never gone on a mission without the fear factor. The recent excursion to Africa, Egypt and India was no exception. It reminded me of 1986, when a trip to the Philippines nearly got scuttled due to the coup d’état of Ferdinand Marcos. Very déjà vu-like, departing to Egypt in the wake of the […]
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10/40 Window Gut Impressions
Over the next month, I will be blogging on my recent visit to Africa, Egypt and India. As a disclaimer, the reason I haven’t written yet is because I’ve been under a publishing deadline. The first four pieces (more to be added later) of my Missional Engagement Series are completed and sent! Thank God. My […]
Continue readingGot Gospel Clarity?
Earlier this year, I went to a two-day training session for church leaders, and when the evangelism subject surfaced, they asked each table to discuss the process they used to reach unbelievers. Of course, I love these conversations! But I bit my tongue, and tried to listen to what others were doing and thinking. As […]
Continue readingBook Review: Church Planting in Muslim Cities by Greg Livingstone
Referred to by a friend, I too am offering my endorsement of Church Planting in Muslim Cities. I can hardly believe that Livingstone wrote the book twenty years ago! He, in my view, was ahead of the curve. Besides some of the practical nuggets regarding the challenge of establishing churches inside Muslim domains, the biggest […]
Continue readingWhat Hollywood Can Teach the Church
He seems to be saying some of the same things that you are. The email, which came to me from my wife, referred to a speaker who had visited my son’s school. Not the typical gig at a Christian college, Ralph Winter, is a Hollywood producer with notable credits including the X-men films. Many things […]
Continue readingThe Journey Out of Dry
Have you ever found yourself in a spiritually dry period? This desert experience, where the “living water” promises of God appear like a mirage, is something all Christians face. My wife, who is super big into her devotions, recently confessed to being in a dry spell. Anyone who goes through this sort of parched season […]
Continue readingWhat I Have Learned From Autism
When he was four years old, my wife and I began to zero-in on the uniqueness of our firstborn son. Matthew’s peculiar patterns started to emerge with greater clarity and confusion, leading two concerned parents into the doctor’s office for testing and evaluation. Learning about Asperger’s Syndrome has been an education. But not just about […]
Continue readingTapping Living Water in the Church
While visiting Israel, a man observed the newly excavated lower aqueduct, which originally linked Solomon’s pools to the Jewish temple. Being both ignorant and inquisitive, he inquired with a local resident the purpose for the aqueduct being connected to the temple. From this simple question, he unearthed an intriguing response. The man said, “In the […]
Continue readingPastor Survival Tip: Wingin’ It!
When consulting pastors, I often sense a need for alternative outlets. It was during my own journey through the valley, when my church involvement was at its lowest ebb, that God taught me something really big about church survival. Here’s how it happened. I recall volunteering at Sandals Church for about a year (by the […]
Continue readingPerfect Imperfection
When I had turned into the publisher a final edit of my edited book, I felt a great sense of accomplishment. Weeding out the last inconsistencies was a huge project for a non-analytic like me! When the book arrived, I milked the satisfaction, thumbing through the pages as a once-and-for-all last perusing, when my eyes […]
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