If anyone had told me 20 years ago that Donald Trump would one day be president of the United States, I would have laughed and said: “That’s as crazy as saying Paula White will be working for him in the White House.”
Kanye West is one of the top-selling musical artists of all time, but his earliest music was so raunchy that Billboard wrote an article in 2016 listing his most profanity-laced lyrics. We could not print those words here.
To be made in the image of God means that we’re ripe with potential. We have the divine’s capacity in our DNA. We’re like God. We were created to “image” his behavior, to rule like he does, to gather up the raw materials of our planet and reshape them into a world for human beings to flourish and thrive.
Fundamentalist preacher John MacArthur, known for his “Grace to You” radio broadcast, didn’t show any grace last weekend when he was asked what he thought about popular Bible teacher Beth Moore. During a pastor’s conference in Sun Valley, California, held Oct. 16-18, MacArthur said he thought Moore should “go home” when he was asked on a panel what he thought of her.
Last week during a trip to western Australia, I spoke in a small church comprised mostly of Iranian immigrants. The worship was in Farsi and English, and the pastor typically gives his sermons only in Farsi. My translator that evening, who I will call Ahmed, told me he encountered Jesus for the first time just a few years ago.
Last weekend, I preached at a church that meets in a big lecture hall on a university campus in Perth, Australia. Most of the congregation at Zion Praise Harvest Church consists of students from Singapore, China and Malaysia. Some of them met Jesus for the first time while in college.
Last weekend, I led a three-day retreat for 125 men in Pittsburgh. The guys came from more than a dozen states as well as Canada. There were teenagers, college students, 20-somethings, hipsters, jocks, young fathers, businessmen and a few retirees. And the ethnic mix included Ugandan, Korean, Ethiopian, Russian, Hispanic and Ghanaian.
Three years ago this month, my wife and I packed our belongings and made the biggest move of our lives. After living in Florida for 24 years, we pulled up our roots and relocated to Georgia. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done because I’m a sentimental guy who gets very attached to people and places. Yet I found extra grace for this transition because I knew I was following the Holy Spirit.
In one of my first Bible college world missions courses, I was introduced to pastor, author, and missions advocate Oswald J. Smith and his enduring classic, The Passion For Souls. Like many missions leaders with many years on this missional journey, our challenge is to maintain this passion and fulfill the only prayer request of the Lord of the Harvest.
If you watched the Democratic Party’s presidential debate last week, you’ll know why San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro got poor marks from so many commentators and viewers. Castro seemed to be attacking former Vice President Joe Biden for his age, implying that the 76-year-old candidate is losing his memory.
