Yesterday, Christina and I had the privilege of going to see Les Misérables in Detroit’s Fisher Theatre. Some people in our church gave the tickets (and even provided babysitting) as a Christmas gift to us. Since Christina loves musicals, this was probably one of the best Christmas gifts she has received. It was a powerful […]
Lessons From “24”
I have to admit that I was a late-comer to the TV show “24”. My first thought was who in the world would waste their precious time to watch a show about a person’s life, one hour at a time. It did not make sense to me. But after some coaxing and in the name […]
Jury Duty
If there is a spiritual gift for getting picked for jury duty, I would have it. This is my 3rd time. In the previous 2 times I was not selected to sit as a juror, but this time around I had the magic number. It started off with about 50+ of us in a jury […]
Anonymous Giving
Jesus said, “When you give a gift to someone in need, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do –blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone, don’t tell […]
Blinded by Hypocrisy and Inconsistency
The Webster’s dictionary defines the word, “hypocrisy” as “a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not.” Also, it defines the word “inconsistency” as “not compatible with another fact or claim.” I don’t have to say much about the hypocrisy and the inconsistency in the lives of Christians today. […]
The Cinderella Final Four
I don’t know about you, but I love underdogs. The 2006 NCAA tournament’s final four is made up of some underdogs. For the first time since 1980 (this is just the 2nd time in the history of the NCAA Tournament), none of the four top-seeded teams advanced to the final four. Instead, we have UCLA, […]
Kazakhstan Visit Update Pt 4
“Wow!” This is the only word that came out of my mouth as we had a tremendous feast – Kazakhstan style. We had food that we normally would not eat in the States. The Kazakh people served us everything from horse meat to a whole lamb (minus the head) that they roasted for 4-5 hours. […]
Kazakhstan Update Pt 3
Whenever I travel to different parts of the world, I am just amazed to see how the same God that we experience in the States is the same God that is working in that particular country. The AMI team went to the Sunday Celebration for the mother church here in Almaty. Pastor Keith preached in […]
Kazakhstan Visit Update Pt 2
Yesterday a handful of us went to a church that was planted by the mother church here in Almaty. I was asked to preach at their service. I was stressing out trying to figure out what the people needed to hear. As we were driving to the church, it dawn upon me that the was […]
Kazakhstan Visit Update
I am just getting over the jetlag. The plane ride from DTW to Amsterdam and then to Kazakhstan was harder than expected. I am guessing I am getting a little bit older. But it has been a privilege teaching in the mornings. It is exciting to see so many future church planters out here for […]
Praise Night 2006
What a night! It was our first time in the Power Center (center of the performing arts). It almost seemed so surreal. Three months ago, I saw the Nutcracker in the same place. In that December night people were applauding the ballet performers, but last night God received all the praise. All the presentations by […]
Lent Through the Eyes of a Child
We are about a week into this Lenten season. Christina and I are trying to do our best to keep up with our fast, but I have to admit that this year has been hard. One thing that is different this year is that Josiah and Elliot decided to observe Lent with us. On one […]
A Peculiar People (1 Pe 2:9)
Last week (Thursday through Saturday), I had the opportunity to speak at the AMI Young Adult Conference held in the East Coast. All the East Coast churches did a great job of preparing for the conference (RWC, GCC, TRPC and ACC). It was a great time of connecting with some of the young adults and […]
A Dream Is Conceived
It was a crazy trip out to Chicago. The family and I drove out to Chicago Tuesday morning. We celebrated Jake’s b-day (the kids’ uncle) in the afternoon. Then on Wednesday evening we met up with people who wanted to know more about the future church plant on the Northwestern University campus. I was telling […]