Starting tonight, we are going to have our nightly prayer gatherings for the Winter Retreat. A life lesson that I have learned over the years is: Prayer is a priority for preparation. Whenever there is a hunger for prayer amongst God’s people, then it is a pretty good sign that God wants to do something […]
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. […]
Prayer Cards for the Winter Retreat
We had a great time of prayer at our church-wide prayer gathering yesterday. It was the first time we implemented the corporate prayer cards that many of our members have filled out in their small groups. At first, it was exciting to see all the prayer cards with various prayer requests. It was also encouraging […]
The Unexplainable Witness
I first heard the news of the December 9th shooting at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs on the internet when I was in Malaysia. It was pretty shocking to hear that a gunman walked in to the church after one of the services and starting shooting. But over the years, I have learned […]
Thoughts on “Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church”
Ever since 1996, we have been trying to build a multi-ethnic church here in Ann Arbor. To be honest, I knew that it was going to be difficult, but I didn’t know that it was going to be this hard. Human nature tells us that we like things are comfortable and […]
The “H” in the Transformasphere Movement
Last month there was a World AIDS Day on December 1st. It just reminded me of the importance of the Church being in the forefront and the frontlines of trying to show the compassion of Jesus. As many people have said, “AIDS is like the modern day leprosy of Jesus’ time.” This is one of […]
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 […]
Keeping Fit with All the Bad Stuff?
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to exercise at least four times a week. There seems to be a direct correlation between exercise and having more energy. Since I want to do all that God is calling me to do, I need to be faithful in keeping my health in good condition. I am […]
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 […]
“Unleashed” Sermon Series
I am excited about starting a new sermon series for the start of this 2008 year. Awhile back, the staff and I were talking about the lack of knowledge and even the preconceived notions we have about the Holy Spirit. Sadly to say, we often times refer to Him as an […]
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. […]
New Beginnings 2008
Yesterday, Christina and I sat down and set some new goals for our marriage, our family and our sphere of influence. This is something that we have always done from the start of our marriage back in 1996. This gives us a purpose and a target to strive for throughout the new year… without it […]