Last weekend we celebrated World Communion in what many of you have shared was a moving and innovative way: we prayed through the Lord’s Prayer, focusing each petition on one of our Mission Partners. You will recall Joseph Bataille who shared via video, our representative with partner World Relief in Haiti. As I shared, Haiti—the poorest country […]
Seahawks and Prayer
The Hawks are playing this Sunday at 10:00, which means that our Saturday night worship service at 6:30 will be very full and very fun. And whether it is Saturday night or Sunday morning, we will see a lot of jerseys with the number “3” on them. Whether or not you are a football fan, it […]
The Sin of Prayerlessness
I’ll admit it. I was a little disappointed. As most of you know, we have launched a year of Prayer. We are going to spend a year learning more about prayer and, more importantly, praying! Actually praying. My hope, and prayer, is that by the end of this year, hundreds more of us will have grown in […]
Learning How to Breathe
When I climbed Mt. Rainier 21 years ago, one of the most surprising aspects of the adventure was how my body dealt with the lack of oxygen. Although we were trained to take deep breaths with each step and then expel those breaths forcefully, every time we stopped for a rest and I sat down […]
Our World Has Been Turned Upside-Down
On April 13, I told my wife, Cyndi, that I felt like the Lord was leading us to sell our house…. our house of 28 years. It is the only home we’ve ever known—the home I owned when I asked Cyndi to marry me, the home into which we brought our newborns, raised them and […]
A Healthy Backwards Glance
One of my favorite verses is Luke 9:62 where Jesus says, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” The historical context is simple. If the plowman was looking back over his shoulder, he would end up zigzagging his way across the field. The […]
SOLD Experience
When you hear the word “slavery,” you probably think of 18th and 19th century America and the Civil War that was fought to end that monstrous practice. Would you be surprised to discover that there is more slavery today than at any other time in the history of the world? About 36 million people are forced to work […]
Religious Freedom
When King Solomon had completed construction of his magnificent temple, meant to be a house of prayer for all nations, the Lord appeared to him at night with this powerful promise: “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, […]
Fair Warning
Last week Cyndi and I were in Spokane for the Whitworth Board meeting. It was a great time of connecting with many of our Chapel Hill kids and being reminded, once again, of the important ministry taking place in that university. It might also have been a high point, meeting-wise, for many of my colleagues […]
Holy Week
Last Sunday 50 of us returned from a pilgrimage to Turkey. Despite the headlines, we never felt insecure, and it was a truly inspiring experience to walk and stay in the places we read about in Acts, Revelation and the letters of Paul. Perhaps my favorite spot this time was one that my daughter Rachel […]