How Do We Measure the Fruit of Our Lives?
My father pastored five different churches between 1949 and 1994. His first four churches averaged 200 members, and his last church grew from 250 to …
Articles
Shut Down by a Sneer
Six weeks ago, I flew back from a Hearing God retreat in Seattle. I sat next to a young man—thirty-ish—who was returning home from a job interview. He …
Our Biggest Problem Is Our Heroism
On my twelfth birthday, I received four birthday cards, each with a personal message. My grandfather, my parents, my oldest brother, and an elder at …
Invaded
Growing up, I had two close friends: one came from a devout, Christian family, and the other came from a devout, atheist family. One family went to …
The Deceptive Danger of Natural Gifting
I attended the University of Michigan in the 1970’s (like, before indoor plumbing). I joined a campus ministry that emphasized community, worship, and …
Vandalizing God
I attended a magnet high school in Detroit, Michigan. Cass Tech was a university preparatory school that emphasized science and the arts. One night …
Hearing God in the Abundance of His Methods
Most believers long for—desperately long for—God’s voice, but most of us experience silence. Scripture says, “God speaks in many and diverse ways, but …
Betrayed
Last week I woke up in a nightmare. The dream seemed real, like an IMAX theater with heart-throbbing surround-sound and mountain-shaking sub-woofers. …
I Was Ashamed of Myself
I was small for my age. When I graduated from high school, I was 5 feet 7 inches and 120 pounds. (I added 2 inches and 25 pounds in the first two …
What A Fool I Was!
Shortly after graduating from university, I took a trip with my new boss to a conference. He was about to give an important presentation, but over …
Codependent Kids
In the last month, each of my four grown kids asked me for advice: one asked about buying a camera lens, one about the best way to help a friend, one …
Institutional Injustice
Mrs. Blackstock, my fourth-grade teacher, once took our class out to the playground to play softball. She divided us into two teams and assigned each …