This picture of the start of the Chicago Marathon takes me back a few years. When I ran the Chicago Marathon in October of 2000, it took me 6 minutes to get up to the starting line after the race began. There were 33,000 runners, and I was probably 150 yards back from the startingContinue reading "We Must Run Together"

>During the Midwest Vineyard conference last week and then again this past Sunday (7/11/04), Derek Morphew, a Vineyard theologian from Cape Town, South Africa, was our teacher and preacher. I thought he was just terrific.He clearly and persuasively articulated the essence of the Kingdom of God. He was clear that the the New Testament saysContinue reading "The Kingdom of God and Total Depravity"

The church building has been a flurry of activity the last couple of days as the staff make final preparations for the Midwest Vineyard conference that starts tomorrow (July 7) and runs through Saturday noon (July 10). Happy and Dianne Leman, our senior pastors, have designed a great program. Bert and Evelyn Waggoner (on left)Continue reading "The Midwest Conference begins"

Can you really be a person of faith if you have no deeds to show for it? That's the question I asked during last night's sermon at the 703 young adult service, as I preached from James 2:14-26. While I think it's true that right doctrine without deeds isn't much use, I would never denigrateContinue reading "Faith and Works are Inseparable"

Part of my ministry includes working with GodSearch, the Vineyard's young adult ministry. 703 is the Sunday evening service targeted directly to young adults. This summer, my teammate Tony Ranvestel (the young adult pastor) and I are preaching through the book of James. This Sunday evening I tackle James 2:14-26 -- faith and deeds areContinue reading "Sermon Prep is a lot like Dental Work"

You ask your average person to think about how God views them, and you'll likely get three answers. First, people may answer, "Well, sorry to say it, but I think God is pretty disappointed in me." Another may say that God is an inspector, always checking him out to see if he's towing the line.Continue reading "What does God think of YOU?"

The last two Sundays (June 20 and 27) I have met with about 60 men of our church in the prayer house southeast of the building. These groups (I called them focus groups) gave me a good sense of where the men of our church are. Very fascinating to listen to men talk about theirContinue reading "Focus groups for men"

Have you ever given thought to how you actually read the Bible and do your own personal Bible study? A couple of weeks ago I was in Austin, TX, at the Southwest Vineyard regional conference. Michael Palandro, Vineyard pastor from Houston, TX, did an outstanding workshop on Lectio Divina -- basically divine reading. I haveContinue reading "Spiritual Reading"