I met Jackie in January of 1997 on a plane headed to Vegas. That is true but not nearly as sketchy as it sounds. Or was it? You know what they say… Jackie and his wife Cedra moved to Arkansas around the same time that I did. We were both serving in college ministry about…
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Learning to Abide in the Word
One of the most important habits to develop as a disciple of Jesus is how to read and live in God’s Word, the Bible. The Word of God is the path we must stay on as we journey towards becoming like Christ and living for God’s glory. Listen to these two statements Jesus made about…
My Spiritual Heritage, part 1.
I believe that “where we come from” is important. The more we learn about our own heritage or the heritage of others, the better we understand them and can love them. This is true for both our physical heritage and our spiritual heritage. Here is part of my spiritual heritage. It is not so much…
I Need a Stronger Faith
“I exalt You, my God the King, and praise Your name forever and ever. I will praise You every day; I will honor Your name forever and ever.” – Psalm 145:1 “There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might.” – Jeremiah 10:6 “Who can compare with…
I Just Need to Get Motivated
I was in a conversation recently with a young man about regularly spending time with God. I am trying to help him establish a habit of focused time throughout the week when he can pray, think, and read the Bible. When I was asking him about it, he said, “I just need to get motivated.” …
Jordan, part 2
As part of our time in Jordan we had the profound privilege of being in the same places where some of the most significant moments in biblical history took place. It really is hard to put into words the sense of wonder that we experienced. There was one significant aspect of experiencing Jordanian culture…
Jordan, part 1
It felt like we woke up in a completely different world. Everything looked different. The buildings. The land. The people. The food. The air was different. The smells were different. The sounds were different. Everything was different. We were not in Dalton, Georgia anymore. We were waking up in the Black Iris Hotel in Madaba,…
25 Years Ago Today, part 2: I tried to quit.
Before I get started, (well technically speaking, I have started since I am typing this), if you have not read part one from August, you may want to go back. Just be warned it is long. 25 years ago today was another important day in the last 25 years of ministry. It almost ended that…
Influencing the Influencers is Not All Its Cracked Up to Be
“Influence the influencers.” “Find the key people”. “Who are the movers and shakers”? “If we can only get that guy connected”. You hear things like that often in church leadership circles when it comes to getting things done. We have this idea that if we can influence the elite in our communities or the person…
Part 2: Learning to Be Known – The Courage to let People In
We are not designed to walk through life alone. We are not designed to try and navigate the Christian life alone. This truth is clear in the fact that when Jesus began His ministry He put together a community of people that He would refer to as friends. Then, as we see in the rest…
Abiding in Jesus 