I have a plan for making America great! It has nothing to do with Donald Trump or the Republican party or the Democratic party either. It has everything to do with the simple biblical premise of Psalms 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Now, follow my logic. The only way any nation can rightly be described as one “whose God is the Lord” is if the dominant voice and view of that nation is God-honoring. The only way that will happen is if the majority of us seek to please God by making others aware of…
Do Less
The idea was doomed from the start. In a well-intentioned attempt at physical fitness, I agreed to play racquetball with my son, Tim, Five weeks afterward, my throbbing back still reminded me I shouldn’t have even attempted playing “just a game or two.” Ouch! It’s one thing to overdo it in sports, but what about the rest of life? In the book, “If I Could Do It All Over Again,” I asked 28 Christian leaders what would they do less of, given a second chance. Check out these responses. Less News Joni Tada admitted, “I would look at a lot…
Uncomfortable Questions
Went to a funeral this week. A lady my wife had known growing up. Let's call her Natalie (not her real name). By the way, have you noticed the way technology has invaded funeral homes? Gone are the days of the old organ parked in the corner. Respectable funeral homes now have electronic keyboards. Forget that old fashioned paper registry book you used to sign to let the grieving family know of your visit. More often than not these days you’ll sign an iPad. Instead of mere poster boards sporting yellowed photo collections, most funeral homes today will scan those…
Two Kinds of People
Recently, I emceed an event for Awana Clubs at Northside Gospel Center in Chicago. Awana—the Bible program—co-founded by Art Rorheim who is 98 years old, soon to be 99. He stood with great strength and composure, speaking to the crowd who gave him a standing ovation. What does a 98-year-old man say at an event like this? A man who has launched a Bible club attended by more than 2.3 million kids in 102 countries…every week? A man who traces his spiritual roots to Paul Rader and the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle. A man who has met at least two U.S….
Kids in Church
How welcome are children in your church? The question is not rhetorical. I am asking you to think carefully. Why shouldn’t we? We bemoan the sense of disconnect today’s emerging generation feels toward the church, and the many ways they are unplugging. Yet I wonder if in some ways we haven’t invited them to leave. "You don't belong!" “Preposterous!” you say. “We have many wonderful programs for kids at our church—and they are well attended!” Maybe you do have a lot of well attended classes and events. Yet if young kids rarely or never take part in the main event—your…
Kindness Matters
Do small acts of kindness really matter? Do they make any real difference? Does God actually take note of them? I know the Sunday School answer, of course. I know the theological rubric. (I’m a Moody grad, an ordained minister). Still, I sometimes wonder. Do you? Dusting off old memories This weekend, I attended an Awana “Historic Walls of Fame” event. We were there to celebrate what God has done in establishing a Bible club now attended weekly by 2. 3 million kids in more than 100 countries. When the program was over, I met with someone I hadn’t seen…
What Courage Looks Like
What does courage look like? Chiune Sugihara is a name most of us have never heard of. Yet this man, born in Japan in 1900, is a soul who embodies Christian courage. Joining a Christian fraternity at his university, Chiune became proficient at learning languages—English, German, Russian—launching him into a career with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bombing Raid In 1939, his government placed Chiune at the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania. There, he met a Jewish man who had recently fled Poland after a bombing raid had taken the lives of his wife and children. It was then Chiune…
Watcha Readin’?
A comfortable chair, a scenic backdrop—and an all-absorbing book. That’s what Diana and I call ultimate relaxation. Reading is a hobby my wife and I share with gusto. She reads a wide range of devotional books, historical fiction, cookbooks, and a lot about the British monarchy (she could probably earn a haul on Jeopardy). I read biographies, westerns, action novels (think Clive Cussler), mysteries (John Grisham, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle) plus Christian writers like Tim Keller, Kyle Idleman, Charles Spurgeon, and J.C. Ryle. Right now, I'm reading a book by puritan Richard Baxter. I’m learning that any title by…
Things We Claim Are Important
One of the many reasons most of us dread a trip to the dentist is that the news we get there seems disproportionately negative. Whether it’s a simple dental cleaning (“You need to floss more”) or an X-ray (“that spot suggests a problem”) a dental exam is rarely a good news kind of experience. Open Wide! May I play the role of the dentist-you-dread for just a moment? Open wide–we’re about to take an exam based on a discomforting hypothesis of mine. Simply stated, it goes like this: Most of us Christians have a long list of stuff we claim…
It Meant a Lot
“Have I got a story for you!” When my friend, Jack, opens a conversation like that, he usually does. “Bob sounded upset. I could tell.” Jack was talking about his friend Bob, whom he has known for nearly 30 years. For more than 20 of those years, Bob and his wife Betty were Jack’s neighbors. "If Only I Had More Evidence" During those years, Jack and his wife, Deanna, tried to witness to them, and shared the gospel on several occasions. But Bob is extraordinarily independent and convinced that God will somehow squash all of his freedom should he yield…