Three weeks before Christmas, Wolfgang Dircks died while watching television. His body wasn’t discovered until five years later. None of the neighbors in his apartment complex noticed the absence of the 43-year-old. His rent continued to be paid automatically out of his bank account. When the money finally ran out five years later, the landlord
I hardly noticed the old rancher sitting in the front row of the small Montana church where I was preaching a message on peacemaking, but he was about to make my day. My text that morning was taken from Matthew 5:23-24, which reads: So, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there
Would you like to move beyond superficial conversation during your Thanksgiving gathering this year? Would you like to connect deeply with your family and friends and hear them share stories about the most meaningful people and events of their lives? If so, give each of your guests a copy of these ten questions and watch
I share a lust with St. Augustine. Although he was a pillar of the church, he regularly prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.” We all inherited this lust from our original parents, who invented the art of excusing sin and justifying ourselves by blaming others (Gen. 3:9-13). I have
My daughter, Megan, was eighteen months old when she decided to test her smile on an angry looking biker. Just before a vacation in Jackson, Wyoming, she had learned what a fun response she could get from adults when she beamed a big smile and gave them an enthusiastic, “Hi!” Whether we were sitting in
Tom called me for advice on how to deal with an 18-year-old church member, Tina, who was pregnant out of wedlock (names changed). Half of his elder board thought Tina should appear before them to confess her sin and demonstrate repentance. The other half did not want to see her shamed and suggested that she
We all know the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” But do you know the Golden Result? It’s a direct corollary to the Golden Rule: “Other people will usually treat you the way you treat them.” Not always, but usually. Because that’s how God made us. I’ve seen this
Our country is currently embroiled in a time of intense political and cultural conflict, which is so painfully revealed in the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk. Each of us is can play one of three roles as we respond to these events. We can add fuel to the fire through harsh and judgmental words. We
Jeff’s reputation was being trashed by people in his own church. He was respected throughout the city for his outstanding Sunday school classes, which had drawn hundreds of people to his church. But then he got caught in the middle of a congregational battle over the senior pastor. A group of members had become increasingly
A lot of leaders are being abruptly removed from their posts these days. Pastors, seminary presidents, ministry and business CEOs. In many cases, they were fired without warning. One day things seemed to be going along just fine, and then suddenly they were told that “the deacons (or elders, trustees, or directors) met yesterday and