Thanksgiving. My Catholic friends may understand it better than my non-Catholic ones. Or maybe not … I recently discovered 3 views on Thanksgiving that I had never noticed before. 1. Thanksgiving is an attitude, not just a day. Look at the following Bible verses, especially the context for thanksgiving: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! …

Small Group Leadership TIPS of the past 2 weeks as Tweeted, posted on the Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and posted on LinkedIn. (Last week I taught a one-week “intensive” Small Group Ministry and Discipleship seminary class at Cincinnati Christian University, and the week before that I was buried in preparing for it, so I’m catching up now!) *     *     …

Small Group Leadership TIPS of the past week as Tweeted, posted on the Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and posted on LinkedIn. *     *     *     *     *     *     * Monday, 11/23: Each day this week, send a letter or email or call group mbrs to #thank them for what they bring to the group. Tuesday, 11/24: Thank your #church leaders: …

What is your small group doing over the holidays? “Many groups struggle with meeting and studying over the holidays, and this can be detrimental to the health of your group,” I wrote in my November column in The Christian Standard magazine. “Not only that, but this is a prime time of the year to help your group members grow in …

Our world is in desperate need for leaders with integrity.  A healthy leader whom God will use to carry out his mission, bearing lasting fruit, is a person of high integrity. But you already knew that, didn’t you? Yet here’s the thing. Integrity is pretty easy to believe in and talk about; but it’s incredibly hard to live out. Integrity …

I wrote yesterday about Lyman Coleman and his thoughts on small groups as an assimilation strategy for the church. Today, I want to share some more personal thoughts about Lyman. I first met Lyman Coleman in 1992 when I wrote a feature article about him for The Lookout magazine (right). I had called Serendipity House, the ministry he founded, to …

I am thankful today that I have the privilege of having a loving Father who is BIG and powerful! Bigger than any circumstance or situation, more powerful than anyone or anything that comes against me. I’m thankful that though he is so big, he also is concerned and involved in the minute details of my life. He is Jehovah Jireh, …

Temporary is a sweet sweet word. When Jesus told people not to worry but to seek first the kingdom of God, he was telling them, and us, that stuff is only temporary. When Jesus healed people of their diseases, he was telling them that their sicknesses were only temporary. All these people eventually died of something, and yet all of …

I am thankful today for God’s jealousy, vengeance, and anger. I haven’t always felt that way. In the past, as I’ve studied the Old Testament and read about God being a jealous God, seeing his anger burn against the people he created, and observing his vengeance, I frankly didn’t like it. I don’t like thinking of God that way. I …

I’m working from our kitchen table today, but it’s not easy to focus. Every so often, I look out the glass sliding doors into our back yard and watch the snow coming down. It really is awe-inspiring to watch as it covers the tree branches with its winsomely white artistry. (Picture at right taken by my wife, Heidi) I stopped …