Another month... Another month has come and gone, but the departure of August is always an important one and this year, that hasn't changed... Just consider the significance of this change of month: Summer is on it's way out and cooler weather is on the way in. School is starting for many and …
028-06 — Prepare for God’s Presence
Finally, we get to move off of the "downer" parts of this passage to begin a discussion of God's promises to those who fully return to him. In this message, I get to talk about the fact that God wants to bring us together in unity so that we can experience his presence. It's a powerful truth that …
Are You a Pastor’s Wife?
Are You A Pastor's Wife? Well, I haven't read this article because it doesn't really apply to me, but I thought I'd put a link here for my own wife and anyone who wants to understand her better! …
Support is now at 37%
Jen and I just received our latest notice from Midwest Church planting. Last month, we had two new families come on board as supporters and one of them was a monthly commitment of $100! Praise God! We are now at 37%. If you would like to see our support chart, go to our main website …
Pastor’s Report — August 24, 2005
UPDATE: AUGUST 24, 2005 Well, we have just finished going through the most difficult set of messages I have yet preached. We've covered some really tough ground, but we are now ready to dig into the next steps. What happens after we come through a time of confession and prayer? What next? We'll …
Leadership Summit 2005 Day 1.3
One of the most remarkable stories in South Africa is that of a small, poor, township known as Soweto. In this unlikely locale, Mosa Sono leads a thriving congregation of over 8,000 with a commitment to present the gospel of Jesus in a way that touches the practical lives of hurting people. …
Mad About Principles
For the past few months, I have been a very angry person at least on the inside, and I haven't been able to figure out exactly what was wrong. Mad at God I went to a session during the spring time about getting emotionally healthy as a pastor, and the teacher encouraged us to do an exercise where …
My Kryptonite
Superman had only one weakness (other than his crush on Lois Lane)---Kryptonite. If he was in the presence of this material, he would become as weak as a child. My kryptonite is lack of trust. …
028-05 — Obeying His Commands
In Nehemiah 1:9, it's clear that returning to God is only the first half of what God wants from his people. The other half is obedience. In order for God to release his blessings on his people, he requires them to return to him and obey him. In the original Hebrew, that word "obey" in the NIV was …
My own experience with email scams
Back when I first became a pastor, I got this email and was astounded. It was the first of its kind that I received. I have since learned my lesson, but at the time, I was quite interested. After I did more research, I became concerned about the whole deal and was mostly worried that other pastors …
bpshoppingspree.com is a scam
bpshoppingspree is no longer online... The popularity of this post has resulted in some backlash where some people don't believe my claims that bpshoppingspree.com is a scam. In fact, one commenter has accused me of failing to do my research. I've changed this post slightly to reflect some …
Leadership Summit 2005 Day 1.2
Leadership Is Stewardship -- Rick Warren The second session of the day was Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Southern California, and author of the immensely popular and record-setting book, The Purpose Driven Life. It is no secret that The Purpose Driven Life is now the single …
My Transition Mission
For some time now, I have been wondering exactly what my role should be during this time of transition in our church. My wife and I are planning to move to Lafayette, Indiana to plant a new church, but Northwest Baptist is letting us stay here for some time during our fundraising efforts. I'm truly …
028-04 — Returning To God
As soon as Nehemiah has spoken the words of confession in his prayer to God, he asks God to "Remember" his promises to the people of Israel that he would restore them if they returned to him. In this message, I look at why returning to God is important, and what it requires. Download Now …
Leadership Summit 2005 Day 1.1
For the past few days, my wife and I have been attending the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest churches in North America. I've been to four of these conferences now, and each time I go, I end up getting motivated to be a better leader, to try harder, to rely on …
Summit 2005 is over
The Willow Creek Leadership Summit 2005 is over, and I have to tell you that it was an incredible experience as usual. A little different from previous years in a couple respects, but powerful nonetheless. I promised you that I would blog my thoughts, and I'll keep my word, it's just that I need to …