Each year, TIME Magazine releases their special issue with the 100 most influential people in the world. One year they broke the list down by leaders and revolutionaries; scientists and thinkers; heroes and pioneers; builders and titans; and artists and entertainers.

In scanning the magazine, I began to think about the people who have influenced my life through the years. While I don’t know that I could name one hundred, I do know there are people who have marked me for life. Everything I am, I owe in some way to them. I realize that Jesus is first and foremost, but I’m talking specifically about the people God has used in my life. Continue reading “Influential People” →

OTHER WOMEN
Some preachers lose their calling and unction because they don’t know how to guard their hearts. They have a problem with women. More than one man in ministry has lost it all because he didn’t stay off the internet and didn’t guard his heart. I have longtime friends from college who are no longer in ministry. They’ve lost their families in the process. They were gifted, talented, and recognized by their peers, but they got their eyes off the Lord and they fell. Continue reading “The Sad State of the Ministry (Part 2)” →

The ministry is tough business. Every month, hundreds of men in my denomination resign their churches. Many have no place to go. Many are bruised, beaten up, or out of gas. Worn down by whiners and pulverized by Pharisees, they limp off the scene, sometimes never to return. Continue reading “The Sad State of the Ministry (Part 1)” →

This past week the airwaves, Facebook, and Twitter were filled with the story of the tragic death of Whitney Houston. She was an amazing talent, who fell into the trap of drugs and a bad marriage. Her life, which began in the church, unraveled, and she will always be remembered for what could have been. One of the great voices of any age was silenced far too soon because of destructive choices. Continue reading “The Missing Word in Our Culture” →

Some people think preachers aren’t real people. Some preachers don’t come across as real people. The pastor of my home church always wore a suit. No, really. I mean always. I saw him working on his house one day wearing a coat and tie. I prayed (and I wasn’t even saved at the time), “Dear God, don’t make me be a preacher. They’re weird.” Continue reading “Intensely Spiritual…but Completely Natural” →