As I write this, I am on a camping trip with one of my closest friends and her family. I am so looking forward to the three-day weekend with these precious friends, despite the forecast of lots of rain. Unlikely Friends I first met this friend at a previous church. While I immediately liked her,…
Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” (John 13: 26-27…
One summer night, after a meal at our favorite sushi spot, my fortune cookie declared, “A great honor will be bestowed upon you in the next year.” Eight months later, I was offered an opportunity to teach at a local Christian college. By the end of that academic year, I had resigned. The job was…
Those of us who have grown up in the evangelical church have learned, whether directly or indirectly, that “real” ministry requires significant sacrifice. For some reason, we seem convinced that the work of the Great Commission should only occur beyond the borders of the United States. Yet there are people all around us looking for…
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. (Prov. 16:3 NIV) I am a huge fan of goals and plans. Correction: I am a huge fan of making goals and plans. Sticking with them, however, is a whole other thing. In January, I am one of those people who tends to make…
For years, I clung to the notion that bad decisions led to bad stories and good decisions led to good stories. I desperately and naïvely wanted to believe this was true—that we had some control over our stories. But we know it isn’t true, don’t we? We live in a broken world, and our stories…