Retreat 2008 Fasting

For the last week and a half, the various small groups have been taking turns in fasting for the Winter Congregational Retreat. There is something about prayer and fasting that brings a church together. Today is our married couples small group’s turn. I am always encouraged to see people who are married (especially those who […]

Michigan Primary 2008

        Today, Christina and I went out for our breakfast date and chit-chatted about various things. It is good that we keep on touching base. I realized that in the midst of all our busyness with church and raising kids, it is tempting to make this a lower priority. But by the […]

Comparisons to the Sports’ World

I have always been an advocate for drawing illustrations from the sports world. In fact, the Apostle Paul uses many sports illustrations to make a biblical point (1 Co 9:24-27; Gal 2:2; 5:7; Php 2:16; 2 Ti 2:5; 4:7). Thank God for ESPN! The other day there was an interesting article in the Michigan Daily. […]

First L3 Gathering for 2008

The Leadership Lesson Luncheon yesterday was great. We had our biggest group – about 30 students came out to discuss and dialogue on leadership topics. The topic of “Implementation” was discussed. All great leaders know how to implement things in their lives and in their organization. It really comes down to priorities. People who are […]

Adultolescents?

John Piper in an article called, “A Church-Based Hope for ‘Adultolescents’” uses this term coined by Christian Smith, a professor of sociology at Notre Dame. It describes a phenomenon that is occurring in the United States, as well as other developing countries. It is simply the “postponement of adulthood into the thirties.” Smith explains that […]

College Students – All Hype?

There was an interesting article yesterday in the Michigan Daily, the UM student newspaper. They titled it, “Students Could Tip Race – If They Show Up.” They gave a list of all the former candidates for presidents who banked on students to win the presidency. But history tells the stark reality that often times students […]

The Depravity of Man in Kenya

        In John Piper’s explanation of the five points of Calvinism, he explains total depravity of man in four aspects. He writes, “Total depravity means that our rebellion against God is total, everything we do in this rebellion is sin, our inability to submit to God or reform ourselves is total, and […]

Off Season and Game Season

I have been sharing with people that there are a lot of parallels to sports and our Christian life. In fact, this is the reason why we see a good handful of examples given in the Bible by Apostle Paul. When we are “in season” we are constantly in training, in practice and in games. […]

The Intelligent Reformed Charismatic Theologian

For many years, people from a charismatic background have been labeled as unintelligent, feeling-oriented Christians. Some people from the Reformed circles have argued passionately about the shallowness of any charismatic experience. This is why it is a bit surprising when a person like J. P. Moreland, a distinguished professor of philosophy at Talbot School of […]

1st Class Service Fuels Impatience?

It is great traveling with Christina especially when she gives illumination to things that I might not normally see. All throughout this trip, one of the complaints that I had was how certain things were done slowly and inefficiently (one of my top 10 pet-peeves). Whether it was waiting in line for service or trying […]

Christian and Christ-Follower Parody

With the marketing savvy of Apple, they have caught the attention of many of the younger generation. I think I will still be a PC guy (without the rigidity and blandness of course) because I don’t know if I want to “re-convert.” Believe it or not, I was a Apple person all throughout my college […]

The Gangster Life

Christina and I went out to see American Gangster for our date night. It was a pretty decent movie which tries to tell the true story of Frank Lucas. After the movie, Christina and I were talking about why people are so fascinated with the gangster and mafia lifestyle. We came to the conclusion that […]

The Trans-Cultural Church

Several weeks ago, I introduced a new term in our church in Ann Arbor and this coming Sunday people in Chicago will hear it for the first time. The term is, “The Trans-Cultural Church.” We have heard a lot of the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic church, but we are trying to create a new ethos within […]

Autographing with Excellence

For some reason, whenever something is done with excellence it inspires me. Maybe it is the perfectionistic side of me. But all I know is that when people give their 100% and they do things well, it encourages me. The flip side of this is when people do things half-heartedly or doing things to just […]

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