Planning for the long game. That requires strategic thinking. I spent a couple of years as a war planner. We were stationed in Germany at the time of that assignment. It was during that time our country experienced the tragedy of 9/11. I found myself in the middle of writing war plans and annexes for how we would embed media, talking points and messaging, and our overall public affairs strategy. I...  Read More

I remember the day I walked through Great Lakes Baptist Temple with the other Pastors, the vision of another campus was in full swing, everything was falling into place but what I didn't realize was the amount of work that would go into the transformation of that building. From the roof needing to be redone, to bathrooms needing repaired, to a gym floor, to countless upgrades. We had the team in p...  Read More

A “living sacrifice”—that is quite an oxymoron. How can a person be living, while also being a sacrifice? From what the human mind thinks of when it comes to sacrifice, nothing about that sounds fun. Sacrificing in modern day times, usually is in reference to giving up something—like time, money, possessions, those types of things. We don’t have a context for what sacrificing means when it comes t...  Read More

In 2003 the Christian band “Casting Crowns” released the hit single, “If We Are The Body”. The song tells a story and asks an important series of questions in light of 1st Corinthians chapter 12. The story begins with that of a lonely woman fading into the faces of a church service. Perhaps she made her way to church reluctantly, carrying the baggage of her past, weighed down with all of the hurt ...  Read More

Urgency is a thing. Every time my daughters leave to go back to college, I am reminded of how fast time passes. I am now in my early 50s; I am an “empty nester.” When I see all of the many kids running around our church campuses, it causes the memories to flood back into my mind. It seems like yesterday that my three kids were that small. Now, I may seem as if I am depressed over this reality, but...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:  You are needed. The fact is that the church is all about “participation over performance.” It is the people who do the work through the Spirit of God speaking the Word of God (Romans 10:14). In the American church, so many people come to receive, but few come to give. That was the farthest thing from the 1st century church. In fact, both Paul and Peter taught that every p...  Read More