Blog recipients: To supplement one of our YouTube videos, we linked this chapter from Soul Whisperer. Enjoy! — Chapter 18 — PERSPECTIVE SHIFTS The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see. —WINSTON CHURCHILL I don’t know if this reflects a masochistic desire for pain, or sheer stupidity, but I […]
Continue readingBe a Picture for God
Paul and the Gospel: There are so many things to learn from God’s chosen “instrument” to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). What a calling! When God looked down from heaven, it might seem like he chose the wrong guy. Yet we know in God’s infinite wisdom, this was no mistake. God saw in Paul many things that […]
Continue readingThe Significance of the Scrawl
Meditating on the story of the adulterous woman caught and corralled by a religious stone-throwing community, I puzzled over why the Gospel writer captured the detail, “But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger” (John 8:6). Initially, I surmised that it was just one of those mindless actions that had […]
Continue readingHow Evangelism Got Lost
I know the title puts the skids on for some. What? Evangelism lost? That didn’t happen. You are right in the sense that God continues to reach people, and he continues to use his church, unquestionably. But what I am insinuating did happen. A shift took place that relegated evangelism from prominence. I believe such […]
Continue readingGain Heart for God’s Call
Living in Southern California, we have famous theme parks in driving distance. The last time we were at Knott’s Berry Farm, my wife and two boys had gone on most of the big rides except one. Late in the night, we stood sizing the Xcelerator ride, and from sheer intimidation, we passed. Leaving the park, […]
Continue readingMovement Starts With Us
We can observe movement in many Bible passages. Try it now. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way […]
Continue readingGod’s Globes
It’s that cinematic celebration time of year again. We are now only days away from the Oscars. I watched its precursor, the foreign press’s Golden Globes. Did you tune in? I enjoy these cultural events; there always seems to be something worth noting. And no different this year—it arrived from the words of George Clooney. […]
Continue readingYour Highest Call: How God Births His Vision
What is that unique work that God wants to do through you? As we look at the Scriptures in relation to our world, one thing is always consistent: God sees injustice. It reflects who he is as the One and only Righteous Ruler. Looking down from heaven and throughout the earth, God picks servants to […]
Continue readingMission Atrophy
I played football at Long Beach State University. A walk on, I fought my way up from the bottom rungs of the depth-chart to second string status; that is until I blew out a knee in the final Spring game. Ouch! It wasn’t the worst kind (medial collateral ligament tear), but it did require the […]
Continue readingNew Believer Ministry Matters
Standing before the class, the teacher asked the question: When you became a Christian, how many of your friends were non-Christians? “All of them,” replied Chris. Stop for a moment to let his statement sink in. All of his friends were outside the church. Wow! If you can’t see the missional opportunity there, you need […]
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