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Why is Peggy sitting alone in a restaurant? This photo was taken two years ago on the Friday that our governor ordered a shutdown of all businesses to stall the Covid pandemic.  We had twenty-fours before the shut-down order would take effect. We rushed to our favorite Italian restaurant for a special birthday meal. It was 6 pm and we sat alone. It looked like the zombie apocalypse had happened. We never thought it would be another year before we would eat out again! At first…

We stumbled into a traffic jam. Peggy and I had planned a week’s vacation in sunny Savannah, Georgia. On the second day of our vacation, we decided to travel into the city to enjoy the historic downtown and sample the local food. Imagine our surprise when we were met by jammed streets, no parking, and people wearing green t-shirts and green necklaces. We had arrived in Savannah on St. Patrick’s Day. Our carefully chosen restaurant was packed with revelers. It turns out that Savannah has…

Most Protestants don’t think much about St. Patrick’s Day unless it’s an excuse to drink. I have a different take on Patrick. To me, St. Patrick’s day is a time to celebrate imagination and evangelism. Did I catch your attention? Here’s the backstory on how this former slave saved civilization. At the age of sixteen (approximately 406 C.E.), Patrick was kidnapped from his home in Britain and forced into slavery in Ireland. During this time of harsh deprivation, Patrick came to the Savior. After being…

Eugene is a gifted expository preacher. He’s relevant in his delivery and anchored in the Bible’s authority. Eugene’s church is a “destination” church; people come because of the Bible teaching. No one was more committed to preaching the Bible than Eugene. Then the Holy Spirit intervened. “With our emphasis on disciplemaking, I’ve concluded that preaching is a means of helping people understand and apply the Bible. At one time I would have said it was the means.”  “What changed your emphasis?” I asked Eugene. “Public…

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is. I love chocolate especially dark chocolate. I love chocolate even though it has little redeeming nutritional value. My friend Nate debated me on this point. “The cocoa bean has proven nutritional value,” he said. “It probably does,” I replied, “but do chocolate covered caramels, double chocolate fudge ice cream, or chocolate brownies have nutritional value?”  What these foods lack in nutrition they make up in taste and enjoyment. Each is on my Top 10 chocolate list! Sometimes we…

Disciplemakers should be tree-huggers, people who admire and learn from our leaf-bearing friends. No one is a bigger tree-hugger than author Suzanne Simard. Dr. Simard is a professor of forest ecology in the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Forestry. She has spent her life among trees. For generations, her family made its living cutting down trees. Their survival depended on the logging trade. Trees are in her blood. Simard’s first job as a college student was to inspect the new plantings that replaced the…

Re-thinking goal setting Stacked on top of my desk was a decade of my life recorded in a motley collection of journals. My sabbatical goal was to read these journals to trace God’s work in my life. What did I discover as I read? I soon realized that I’m the consummate goal setter. About every four months I recorded a new set of goals. I worked hard at writing these goals. I polished the wording to make them memorable. Some goals remained the same over…

It’s December and Christmas is almost here. I’m a huge Christmas fan. I love how neighborhoods and shopping malls explode in color. I walk through the shops savoring the decorations and soaking in the holiday music. For me, there’s a silent “wow” about the whole season. I know some downplay the pomp of Christmas. They’re concerned that we’ve bought into the values of our consumer culture. I say, “Bah! Humbug!” Let’s enjoy the wild frenzy of lights and decorations. Let’s be generous about giving gifts….

I’m an HGTV junkie. I love watching home remodeling shows. No matter the quality of the home about to be “flipped” there’s typically one thing you can be assured of — there’s always a hidden cost to the home. Termites lie hidden in the walls, the foundation is sloping, or mold is covered by wallpaper. These hidden costs build anticipation to the show’s plot line but they’re disappointments to the remodelers. Disciplemaking has a hidden cost. We rightly extoll the thrill of the Great Commission…

Disciplemaking is like ballroom dancing. There’s an elegance and structure to this beautiful dance of growth. In traditional ballroom dancing, there’s an established leader and a follower. In traditional disciplemaking, the “disciplemaker” typically takes the lead while the one being “discipled” follows.  Just as ballroom dancing differs from couple to couple so no disciplemaking ministry is exactly alike. Like the dancers we have varying styles. One disciplemaking style follows a structured, logical approach to helping someone grow. There’s almost a prescribed choreography to this dance….