Here’s a trivia question: Which building project took the longest to complete? 1) The construction of the Pentagon, 2) the carving of Mount Rushmore, 3) the digging of the Panama Canal, 4) the building of the Empire State Building or 5) the carving and assembling of the Statue of Liberty.
If Bob Woodward’s Trump-bashing, mega-bestseller is true, how should conservatives vote in the midterms? If the White House is in chaos, led by an unqualified and out of control president, what course should we take on November 6?
Last month, a successful young pastor, Andrew Stoecklein, ended his life at age 30 after suffering from months of depression. He left behind a grieving wife, three young sons and a baffled congregation in Chino, California.
The upcoming election season seems to have government officials in Hawaii on edge.
A few years ago, I heard a preacher tell a roomful of ministers that they couldn’t work miracles or exercise apostolic authority unless they used the word “apostle” as a title. So some of them ran out and printed new business cards—as if putting the word in front of their names were the magic ticket to reclaiming New Testament power.
My friend Charles wanted a mentor. He was eager to learn the ropes of ministry, so he asked an older pastor for training. The pastor agreed—but Charles soon realized the man wanted a valet, not an apprentice. Charles became the man’s “armor bearer.”
When I was in my 20s, I was praying about whether I should enroll in graduate school. Then one morning in my devotional time I came to Psalm 32:8a, and it seemed to be flashing like a neon sign. It said, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go.”
It doesn’t bother me anymore when I hear a phone ringing during a church service. Welcome to life in the 21st century. But I was shocked recently when I heard a blaring ringtone while I was preaching—and a woman on the second row pulled her phone out of her purse and began a conversation as if she were in the waiting room of a hair salon.
All my life I’ve heard people make up excuses for missing church. Long before funny memes were invented for social media, absentee churchgoers joked about attending “Bedside Baptist,” “Church of the Holy Comforter” or “Church of the Inner Springs” to imply that they decided to sleep in on Sunday morning.
I’ve been blessed with some amazing friends. When my father died back in January, several of my friends surprised me by showing up for the funeral unexpectedly. Two of those guys flew all the way from Pennsylvania to Georgia, rented a car and drove to my town simply to support me on that difficult day. When they walked into the church, I burst into tears because I couldn’t believe they would sacrifice so much to stand with me.
