News & Updates

This summer two computer hackers took control of a Jeep Cherokee using a laptop 10 miles away. They killed its transmission, as well as messed with its windshield wipers, radio, and air conditioning. As our cars are getting smarter, apparently they are also becoming even more vulnerable to hostile takeovers. We westerners are a sophisticated lot. Think we’re susceptible to hostile takeovers the more efficient and self-sufficient we become? Could an app over take me? Do people get taken over…

What affects our behavior? Why do I brush my teeth twice in the morning, and only once before bedtime? Why is my “Happy, Happy, Happy” coffee mug the only mug for me? Why do I do all the quirky things I do? Earlier this summer, my family was serving at a church camp in Ohio. One of the adult faculty members began telling us the difficult season she and her husband suddenly found themselves in. The husband was battling cancer,…

I’m so encouraged to come back from my summer study break to a moving, vibrant, healthy church. AND… to my office which received a major makeover from a small army of great encouragers. I’m excited to be back at it! This morning, sitting quietly in my new office with coffee in hand, I was reminded of Jon Gordon’s words. “Everyone wants the quick-fix solution. They want convenient, immediate success. They don’t want to get messy. But there’s nothing convenient about…

I have a vivid memory of a woman, sitting in a navy blue recliner in her bedroom, open Bible on her lap, and catching a few minutes of a catnap before dinner. Her name was JoAnn and I cared for her child with Cerebral Palsy while I was in college and beyond. I also have a memory of being driven to a camp with my high school youth group, by Laurie and David, a young couple in our church who…

        This summer, my family watched, with great interest and anticipation, the US Women’s National Team play in the World Cup. After losing to Japan in 2011, the American women emerged victorious this time, a win punctuated with sweet redemption. Across the nation, a record number of fans watched – mesmerized by this group of athletes working rhythmically together to accomplish their dream. What was the reason for USA’s success in 2015? The USWNT was considered by…

“It’s a Free Country…” That’s a phrase I remember being “cool” as a kid. I remember my sister saying it when we’d be in an argument and I’d remind her of the rules of calling “shotgun” to ride in the front seat of the van. I remember saying it to friends at school when they’d ask if they could sit in the open seat at the lunch table, or play kickball with our group at recess. I remember it transforming…

Every now and then we run into people who are just flat out jerks, or sometimes even worse. It may be as simple as a rude comment to a waiter at a restaurant, or it may be as something far more serious. And to cap it off, these people claim the name of Jesus. Have you ever stopped to wonder… where’s the disconnect? There might be a huge chasm between what the person says and what the person does. How…

If a parent would unleash the freedom hatches on their seven-year-old’s diet, do you think they would abuse this freedom? Would said elementary student forsake all green vegetables? What if they ate a steady diet of cotton candy? Wouldn’t the very freedom given be the cause of their own destruction? Which begs the question: Is sugar still poison if it’s soft, fluffy, pink, and clowns with creepy smiles sell it? Is there any chance a first-born, seven-year-old would find a…

I’m too very quick to jump to my own fearful conclusions. This morning I was reminded. Outside our bedroom window I heard our neighborhood “cusser.” This is a 26-or-so-year-old Black man who walks with his earbuds and cusses very loudly. I assume he’s listening to some horrific, explicit rap music as he “sings” or cusses along… again, extremely loud. My quick conclusion was to keep my eye out for this guy. I should scurry my sheltered children inside, as he…

This past Memorial Day I did something I’m ashamed to admit. Pastors are great at getting others to confess, but slow to get their own lips a movin’. Here’s my Friday morning confession. On Memorial Day, I took my wife and two youngest kids to a memorial service at the Marietta National Cemetery. This is the FIRST time I’ve done this with my family. Sad. But… the service was incredible. Emotions, tears, and chill bumps flooded my obviously parched sense…