Category Archives: Uncategorized

This week I’m up in Elk Rapids, Michigan, a small town 20 miles north of Traverse City and along the east side of Grand Traverse Bay. This is one of those old fishing and logging towns that happens to be dotted with several churches that are nearly 100 years old. It’s fun to go exploring.Here’sContinueContinue reading “Praying up in Northern Michigan”

Journalist Doug LeBlanc writes a well-balanced piece on John Eldredge for the August 2004 issue of “Christianity today” (CT) magazine. Eldredge and a small team of men head up Eldredge’s enormously popular ministry called Ransomed Heart.Eldredge’s book Wild at Heart has sold more than one million copies, and Eldredge wannabes are popping up all overContinueContinue reading “John Eldredge and his wild heart”

Preparing to preach for this weekend, I read Irresistible Evangelism — Natural Ways to Open Others to Jesus by Steve Sjogren, Dave Ping and Doug Pollock. Maybe what I liked most about the book is that the authors insist — and I mean absolutely insist — that you be who you are and not somethingContinueContinue reading “Irresistible Evangelism”

Silverton, CO, is one of those idyllic vacation spots where you see lots of SUVs, expensive moutain bikes and young families in designer hiking boots. I traveled to Silverton (300+ miles southwest of Denver) this past weekend to officiate at the wedding of my youngest brother. Today, Silverton has about 500 permanent residents, most ofContinueContinue reading “Walk up the Hill”

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 startingContinueContinue 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 saysContinueContinue 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)ContinueContinue 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 denigrateContinueContinue reading “Faith and Works are Inseparable”