Author: Jon Gauger

Imagine that you are an air force pilot…but your country has only four airplanes (flying condition unknown).  What would you do if 10,000 enemy soldiers advanced to within 16 miles of your nation's second largest city?   That was the situation faced by Lou Lenart. According to an article in The Times of Israel, Hungarian born Lenart, of Jewish descent, immigrated to the United States as a child to avoid rampant anti-Semitism.  Enlisting in the U.S. Marines at the age of 17, he is said to have “talked his way into flight school” and flew combat missions in the Pacific during…

It happens in most every church, most every Sunday morning.  The pastor has finished his sermon and the congregation is about to sing another chorus or two. The pastor prays a prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to “do a work among us,” driving home the Bible passage just preached.     But in nearly every congregation some folks are exempted from that prayer: the worship team.  The singers, band members, interpreters, they make their way up to the stage while the prayer is being prayed.   Question:  Why?   Answer:    Because we don't want to “waste time” getting everybody situated. …

Only when you are in a cave and they turn off the lights do you finally grasp how dark true darkness really is.  We experienced such a lights-out encounter touring the Cave of the Mounds. When some workers mining for lead set off a dynamite charge back in 1939, they unknowingly ripped a hole into the Wisconsin wonder known today as the Cave of the Mounds. The “roof” of the cave at any given point along the tour route is between 30 and 60 feet below grass level.  So temperature year round is a constant 50 degrees.   Unlike most caves,…

When traveling through Elkhart, Indiana, do not miss the RV Motor Home Hall of Fame, a one-of-a-kind camping collection (rvmhhalloffame.org/). The museum features camping curiosities sucy as the 1913 Earl Trailer and Model T Ford, believed to be the oldest trailer camper in existence.  There's a 1915 Model T with Telescoping Apartment (earliest known example of a “slide out”). It was interesting to peer inside the 1931 Chevrolet House Car owned by Mae West.  Built for Paramount Studios, it was used as a chauffeur driven lounge car and featured a rocking chair on the back porch! One of my favorites:…

Have you noticed how young ears hear more than we sometimes think they do?  The other day, three year old “Kay-bib” (he's still working on pronouncing, “Caleb”) heard Keith and Kristyn Getty sing, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”   Reacting to the song, Kay-bib told his mother, “I love Jesus” (stated most enthusiastically).  He then inquired, “But Mom, what is the blood of Jesus?” Mom replied, “Well, when Jesus died on the cross for us, He was bleeding.  He saved us from our sins on the cross.  So this song is our way of being thankful for Jesus' doing that.” …

Her name is Augustina and she lives on Lower Wacker Drive. The thing is, no one really “lives” on Lower Wacker Drive–they merely exist there.   Wacker is a major traffic artery for downtown Chicago.  But as if offers a cement roof from the elements, it is a shelter for those with nothing.  When my friend, Jack, met Augustina on his walk to work, she asked him for food.  Ironically, at that instant, Jack held in his hand a laminated card with the text of 1 John 4, which he is memorizing.  The passage has much to say about loving our…

Have you ever witnessed a holy work of God with your own eyes?  I am not speaking figuratively or metaphysically, but literally.  I had a front row seat to such an event during a recent Moody Radio visit to Peru with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Truthfully, there was nothing that spoke of deity in the cramped office where we stood vying for space with boxes and supplies.  There was nothing that hinted at the supernatural in the window that looked out upon Huancayo's gray streets.   Huddled in front of a computer monitor were four jacketed men and women (it was cold). …

Some things in life cannot be explained.  They can only be experienced. I was reminded of this traveling through Peru, South America.  We were about 200 miles east of Lima.  Think mountains, snow caps and deep breaths (elevation about 12,000 feet).  Forget any notions of jungle climates or decent roads.   Arriving at a mountain village (so remote the switchback roads dictated we abandon our small bus and walk a path to the village), we attended church in a mud brick structure dimly lit by five fluorescent fixtures.  Blue tarps formed the inelegant ceiling and hardened dirt was the floor. We…

If Barbie dolls bother you, get ready to be really bothered. The iconic American doll, first introduced in 1959, has achieved mega status on a global scale.  More than a billion Barbies have been sold in 150 countries. In a toy career spanning 56 years, Barbie has survived seas of stormy controversy for being too sexy, too blond, and too inappropriate for young children. But get ready for a new wave of controversy. The latest generation of Barbies will be equipped with Wi-Fi and speech recognition.  Meaning little girls (who have always talked to their dollies) will now be able…

I am concerned about the theology being taught in today's evangelical churches. (If you are yawning, you may be part of the problem). Notice I am not complaining about our poorly attended prayer meeting services.  I am not expressing concern about worship music that glorifies the musicians, or outreaches that never mention the gospel. I am not attacking our youth groups that are increasingly as much about pizza as they are biblical truth.  Nor am I bemoaning the death of the Sunday evening service. No, I am concerned about the theology being taught in today's evangelical churches. Exhibit One A…