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If you’ve read the book of Romans, or even if you never have, you probably know those words from Romans 7:24. In Romans chapter 7 the apostle Paul describes the struggle we face every day. We get it when he writes, “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power withinContinueContinue reading “Choosing this day whom you will serve — over and over and over”

This summer I changed my blog from Pastor-to-Pastor Initiatives to donfollis.com. I decided to put everything together, and make Pastor-to-Pastor Initiatives as one of the tabs. I wanted to let my readers in what I’m doing.

This has been a summer on the go for Don and Jennifer Follis. I thought a some pictures might help me explain it.

We spent the last days of May and much of June traveling with good friends Ruth and Steve Wegman from Champaign, IL, through France, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Quite an adventure!

This week I received another update from the Willow Creek Community Church elders, as I am on their mailing list. It is one of several I have received since a new elder board was installed at the beginning of 2019. There is a lot to the tragic story at the well-known mega-church over the last year-and-a-half. Stories have been splashed across the news, and written about on scores of ministry blogs. So, this is no secret. But it now appears that the current elders, after giving it hundreds of hours of their time and energy, are ready to move on as best they can.

With this July 19, 2019 update, the elders say now they are bringing their part of the discussion to an end. The thrust of the update is their appeal to the Willow Creek family to embrace and strive for reconciliation, whatever it takes.

Part of that challenge, as you can read for yourself, includes their challenge to Bill Hybels, the founder and 40-year leader of Willow Creek Community Church.  The long-time leader resigned in April 2018. It’s evident in this update that the elders have tried hard to get their long-time leader involved in the reconciliation process but to no avail.

The cathedrals in France and Italy are indeed stunning, but none more so than the cathedral in Salamanca, Spain. Salamanca is 80 miles west of Madrid, and the cathedral is part of the University of Salamanca, founded in 1134. At the end of our 24-day southern European trip, travel partners … Ruth & Steve Wegman,ContinueContinue reading “The cathedrals emanate with beauty, history and reverence”

The famous dome in Florence, Italy at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Flower This cathedral pierces the sky in central Florence. Finished around 1500, it was once the largest building in the world. We stood in awe during our early June visit staring at the Duomo, which is how people refer to theContinueContinue reading “Climbing the “Duomo” in Florence, Italy”

One warm June afternoon in Paris, France, I stepped into this behemoth — St. Eustache Church … When I walked in, I couldn’t help but hear organ music bouncing off the walls. Walking toward the music, I saw a petite Asian woman sitting at the organ’s keyboard. The pipes of the Saint Eustache organ WhenContinueContinue reading “All human life is of immeasurable worth”

I just read God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel — How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies by Costi W. Hinn, a young pastor in his mid-30s. Costi is the nephew of famed televangelist Benny Hinn. The 200-page book, a very quick read, was released by Zondervan July 1. In a simple fashion, CostiContinueContinue reading “A young pastor on quite the journey”

When former Columbine High School student Austin Eubanks lost his life last weekend at age 37, my heart sunk. Eubanks was one of the many students wounded back on April 20, 1999, that fateful day when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 12 students, a teacher and wounded many others, including Eubanks. HarrisContinueContinue reading “The tragedy that keeps on taking”