We are now in our tenth year of ReFRESH® conferences. We’ve held them in the Ozarks, Smokies, Richmond (IMB staff), and Albany at Sherwood. Each conference is unique. God seems to always bring the people who need to be there. No conference is like another one. The settings, those attending, the wind of the Spirit, and the flow of the sessions differs from conference to conference. In leading over 20 of these, each one stands alone. Continue reading “The Essence of ReFRESH” →

Okay, so I’m going to weigh in on the whole Peyton Manning discussion. To be totally up front, I wanted Peyton to win. I love the Mannings. Archie played at Ole Miss, and my dad was an Ole Miss grad. I grew up watching or listening to every Ole Miss football game I could.

Archie played for the legendary John Vaught toward the end of Vaught’s coaching career. He was drafted in the first round by the New Orleans Saints. The Saints never provided Archie with a quality team. Most of his NFL career he was running for his life. He never complained. He didn’t get an attitude. He was and still is an ambassador for the game. Continue reading “Legacy” →

Murmuring in the church starts in subtle ways: “I’m not sure about this new building program. Shouldn’t we be giving the money to missions?” As if providing facilities in your community is less spiritual than providing a hut in Africa. This is not either/or; it’s both/and.

“I don’t like the new direction we are going.” Name the area: music, starting a new ministry to the community, actively seeking to integrate the church with people from every tribe and tongue, breaking down social and economic barriers (that always makes rich white people uncomfortable who want church to be a glorified country club). Continue reading “Hard Words to Swallow Lead to Revival (Part 2)” →

There are many factors that limit revival. We must remember: revival is a church term. It’s a church need. Revival is different from awakening. Only after revival sweeps through the church will we see awakening sweep through the culture. God has an order in how He works. He doesn’t work in chaos or confusion; He works to create the atmosphere where men and women hunger for HIM. Continue reading “Hard Words to Swallow Lead to Revival (Part 1)” →

God is stirring His people. Across denominational and cultural lines. Across age groups and generational differences. Across theological preferences. There is a stirring, a longing, a hunger I’ve not seen since the days of the Jesus Movement.

During the Jesus Movement, the church missed a window of opportunity to see what could have been a spiritual awakening. The church, dead in tradition and preferences, didn’t know what to do with hippies, drug addicts, people sleeping together and living on the streets suddenly showing up at the church. Rather than adapt and embrace, the church resisted this movement. They didn’t want “those hippie freaks” in their services. When the church fails to embrace a movement of God, it is destined to wane. We missed our chance. Continue reading “The Stirring Among Us” →