Author Archives: Don Follis

Thank you James!You got problems, friends? Of course you do. Well, here’s how noted hunter James Whitehead handled his problems.Face your “bears” head on, pilgrims.  You can do it! 

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother or sister; then come and offer your gift.”Matthew 5:23-24 Many times in my ministry I’ve beenContinueContinue reading “But what if I did nothing wrong? What then?”

Pope Francis today declared two former popes to be saints — at the same time. How about that? That’s big news even if you’re not Catholic.  Pope John XXIII is Saint John XXIII and Pope John Paul II is Saint John Paul II.The pundits are are trying to figure out what this all means.  TheContinueContinue reading “The big challenge is to live out our sainthood now!”

There are a thousand little deaths to come as I follow after Jesus, a million little denials of my self. To be His disciple means that I am a cross-carrier. Every day I pick it up. Some mornings, it feels like a ton of bricks, and other times, I find it surprisingly light. Either way,ContinueContinue reading “A thousand little deaths…”

The Donkey by G.K. Chesterton When fishes flew and forests walked      And figs grew upon thorn,   Some moment when the moon was blood      Then surely I was born. With monstrous head and sickening cry    And ears like errant wings,   The devil’s walking parody      On all four-footed things. The tattered outlaw of the earth,    Of ancient crooked will; Starve, scourge, derideContinueContinue reading “The old Palm Sunday donkey got his blessing!”

I like how Eugene Peterson expands the 9 fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in The Message.  May they keep ripening in our lives!Love – “affection for others”Joy – “exuberance about life”Peace – “serenity”Patience – “a willingness to stick with things”Kindness – “a sense of compassion in the heart”Goodness – “a conviction that a basicContinueContinue reading “May the Fruits keep ripening…”

I thought the Seattle Times did a pretty good April 6 piece on how local groups are ministering to mudslide survivors after the tragic Oso mudslide on March 22.I especially liked this part of the story:The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, which was formed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, deployedContinueContinue reading “Ministering to the mudslide survivors in Oso, Washington”

Yesterday I preached on “Dying that we might live.”John 12:24New International Version (NIV)24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.These words of Jesus bring us face to face with a great paradox ofContinueContinue reading “Dying that we might live”