5 Pitfalls for Young Church Leaders
I’m a young guy new at leadership, leading my church as Senior Pastor, leading my family as a husband and father of four, and leading (in some ways) as an author/writer/blogger. The world gets excited about young leadership, but quite often young leaders make mistakes because we lack the wisdom of our elders. Here are […]
Book Review: Gospel Wakefulness
If you’re a longtime Christian, you’ll notice and experience times of profound spiritual dryness, seasons when it seems you are numbly walking through the motions. Or perhaps you’re a believer who has at one time believed the gospel, but have not seen it’s life-changing implications bear fruit. Some might say you’re seeming spiritual deadness is […]
Can We Build the Church By Being Against the Church?
It’s hard to read a Christian book or blog post or to hear a sermon without hearing some overt or implied criticism of some part of the evangelical Church as a whole. That’s not even counting the Twitter feeds of Christians. I’m reading a terrific book right on the centrality of the gospel by one of my […]
Friday Five: Matt K. Lewis
Matt Lewis (@mattklewis) is a conservative journalist, blogger, and political pundit whose work appears at The Daily Caller. He has also appeared in publications like Politico, The Guardian, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, and New York Magazine. He is a sought-after guest on television, making regular appearances on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC NEWS, and […]
5 Ways to Pray for Your Community
Last week Dan commented on my post: Nice post. Good points. But one that needs to be added is that church members pray to be burdened for the lost. That is the one thing I have found most lacking in the 2 established churches where I have served. Dan is right on the money. I […]
Satan’s Hidden Tax
I wrote this for my weekly devotional (published at Crosswalk.com and also Clash Entertainment): It was almost midnight and I was nearly finished filing my income taxes. I had finished my federal return and was now almost done with my state return. I live in Illinois and typically the state portion of my taxes is […]
Mini-Reviews #10
Another batch of mini-reviews, this time the American History version: Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward Smith I was born in 1978, well after the era of Dwight David Eisenhower. So prior to this book he was only known to me from history books and a cursory knowledge of WWII. But I have […]
Friday Five: Jim Rodgers
Perhaps nothing challenges church leadership more than the use of their facilities, specifically knowing how, when, and where to allocate resources toward expansion. That is why I appreciate so greatly the ministry of my friend, Jim Rodgers. Jim is an “architectural pastor”, consulting churches on the use, expansion, and renovation of their facilities. He spent […]
5 Ways to Pray for Your Church
A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog, How to Help Your Church. It was one of the most popular posts of this year so far, perhaps because it struck a chord with pastors and church leaders working hard to serve God’s people. Interestingly, I wrote a similar post a few years ago. However it […]
Great message on Melchizidek
At Gages Lake, we are in the midst of a study of Abraham. This coming Sunday we encounter a man named Melchizidek. One of the best sermons I’ve ever heard on this mysterious man in the Bible was preached by Don Carson at the 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference. I’ve posted the video below: Getting […]
Friday Five: Calvin Miller
Calvin Miller is a best-selling author with nearly four million books in print. He is one of the most poetic and gifted writers in the evangelical world. He is also a long-time pastor. Miller speaks all over the world and is professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School. His latest […]
Five Lessons I Learned From Eisenhower
I’m nearly finished with a lengthy biography of our 34th President, Dwight David Eisenhower entitled, Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith. I chose this book to review for Amazon Vine for a few reasons. First, I needed some variety in my recent reading. Secondly, I’m fascinated by history of the World War 11 era. […]