It’s that time of year: we’re in the middle of significant “special days” that demand attention and recognition. Retail advertising – on-line and in-print – will be running “Dads & Grads” as a key theme. Fathers – for families that are still aligned with the traditional pattern of father/mother/kids who are linked long-term – will […]

What if you didn’t get the whole story in Sunday School? Bible teachers are incredibly valuable in the work of helping believers grow in their faith through their understanding of Scriptures. That’s foundational for everyone; thank God for the teachers! The gravity of Scripture – given their authorship by God, and their intended purpose to

Symbols are important; when symbols depict reality, their importance amplifies. Four years ago Saturday was a historic moment: on May 14, 2018, the Embassy of the United States in Israel moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Some argue that the location of the Embassy is simply symbolic, but it depicts a reality that is incredibly

This is a big day, for Cheri and me. Today is my release from medical confinement at the City of Hope, freed to shift from an in-patient status to out-patient, allowing my continuing treatment to occur while commuting from home. For over 100 days, I’ve been in isolation; my freedom was sacrificed to receive the

Greetings from my luxurious hospital room at the City of Hope in Duarte, California! After 60 in-patient nights in the last 110, I can’t wait to re-emerge in a couple of weeks to open air and sunshine! Hospitality! I love the sound of that, don’t you? In our culture, hospitality is both hosting traded between

“Our days may end at seventy years…” According to the United States Government – the Centers for Disease Control – the average lifespan for an adult born in America in 1948 is 68.2 (I’ll be 69 next month). That opening quote was from Moses – who headed the Jewish community for 40 years, nearly 4000

Football fans hit their peak in early February; there are bowl games aplenty, but there’s only one Super Bowl. Attention is riveted on the field – or, the screens – for 60 minutes, plus time-outs and commercial breaks as the battle for victory consumes the weekend for millions. Christian churches hit their highest post-pandemic crowd

Just: the four-letter word that has become a cancer in our conversations with God. It’s a word with multiple meanings and wears a couple of different identities. When it comes through your mind or lips as an adjective, it catches God’s ears because it touches on one of His self-described attributes: “He is the rock,

We’ve passed our 25th birthday; we would have had a party, but I was already in the hospital being treated for Acute Leukemia and celebrating the marker wasn’t the priority… It was in January of 1997 when I invited 120 business leaders to breakfast and invited them to join me for the next three years

Is there anyone but me who finds it difficult to make sense out of the paradoxes that are on display around the world? For most of the last two centuries, America was assumed to be the country most aligned with the Christian faith. Today vestiges of that era are being dismantled. Operating under the banner