I have been a strong advocate of the universality of music and how it is an incredible medium to communicate a message. There is something powerful about music and how it speaks to the heart. It really does supersede culture, language and nationality. This is why I believe that the next great evangelist of […]
Passion Week Reflections 2009
Picture of Saint Joseph’s Cathedral As we have started the Passion Week (Jesus’ agonizing journey to the cross, hence “Passion” = “Suffering”), I realized that it is so easy to just go through the motions and forget the significance of it in the midst of our busy schedules. But the way we […]
Cultural Faux Pas
PA Photo Many of the British news outlets caught it right away, while some of the other foreign journalists did not notice it at all. Now, talk is circulating in the media that Michelle Obama made a huge cultural faux pas, when she placed her hand on the back of Queen Elizabeth II […]
The Need for Evaluation?
Photo by Carmody Consulting John Ortberg wrote an article for Leadership Journal that was pretty insightful. He addressed the topic of “evaluation.” It is clear that there are many people who do not evaluate themselves and their ministry. Ortberg writes, “Some people refuse to ask any questions about effectiveness at all, on the […]
Bringing the Old with the New
Now this is how nun-chucks are supposed to be used. Believe it or not, I used to practice using nun-chucks on a regular basis when I was in high school. I don’t what it was but I got into this phase of martial arts. Confession: yes, I had the ninja stars and […]
Lessons from St. Patrick’s Day
History.com Photo It is amazing how many people were out and about today because it was St. Patrick’s Day. One of the staff pastors told me that he even saw a long line outside a bar in downtown Ann Arbor at 6:15AM as he was driving to morning prayer. Then when we went […]
Twitter + Etiquette = Twitterquette
As you know, Twitter is taking over the internet. In fact, I find myself on Twitter more than Facebook and other social networks. My blog is second to Twitter when it comes to communicating things. For some time now, I have not “followed” everyone that has decided to follow me. My thought was […]
The Last Sermon
Photo from FBC website In light of the tragic death of Rev. Fred Winters of First Baptist Church in Maryville, IL, it is hard to believe we have come to a point in this world where people are being gunned down in churches. Even though this is not the first time a gunman […]
All-Night Prayer 2009
It has been awhile since our church had an All-Night Prayer Gathering. After coming off the 21 Days of Awakening, as the pastoral staff and I talked, we felt a greater sense of urgency with prayer. Usually when God prompts His people to prayer, it is because there is something that God wants […]
The Beauty of Skylines
Photo by Richard Seaman USA Today published an article called, 10 Great Places to Study Skylines of the World. The list was created by James Blakeway, who is the author of “Skylines of the World.” I have always had a slight artistic side in me; therefore when that side mixes with my […]
Lent 2009
It is about that time of the year again where we prepare ourselves for the week that leads up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Every year it has been good to fast (give up something) for 40 days in order to prepare our hearts for the Passion Week. For some reason, this Lenten season has […]
Bollywood vs. Hollywood
AP Photo On Monday it was awesome to read that on the 81st Academy Awards (Oscars) “Slumdog Millionaire” won 8 Oscars. It is a great achievement, especially knowing that the some of the actors and actresses were directly from India. Christina and I have not watched it yet (it has been […]
Kids’ Piano Recital
Yesterday, our family headed out to the kids’ piano recital. It was a great seeing them practice all throughout the week to memorize their piece. We were so proud of them and all their hard work. The recital was made up of all the students of teacher Amber who is doing an awesome job of […]
Global ACCESS Retreat 2009
Tonight we are going to start the Global ACCESS (GA) Retreat. We started this ministry to international students because over the years we have noticed that more international students were coming out to our church. The needs are somewhat similar to any college student but yet they are very different because […]