A friend received a mail-out this week, obviously part of a mass mailing. It advertised a new church start up in a community a few miles from where I live. Actually, it’s a church that’s been around for a little while—the name isn’t important—but has recently partnered with a Texas mega-church to become one of their satellite campuses. What this means is that the new church will have its own congregation, band, campus pastor and ministries. But the main pastor back in Texas will bring the sermon each week, broadcast live via the Internet. They won’t be an independent local church anymore but instead will be a part of […]

 2012 saw an upheaval in religious events across the world. In the United States, the Presidential election spun off several events that will affect religion in America in the coming years. Internationally, Islam continues to move in a more political direction—with dire consequences for many Christians. And at least one notable death occurred this year that brings into sharp relief the church’s calling in caring for the forgotten people of the world. It’s always dangerous to put together a top ten list, especially of religious stories, since everyone has a different opinion. But from my vantage point as a local church pastor, these are the ten that will impact the […]

When I first heard the news of the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, I had the same feelings in my gut as everyone else. First, an overwhelming sense of pity for the twenty precious children who died. They were perfectly innocent yet in an instant their lives were snatched away by a monster. Second, grief for the parents of the murdered children. No family should have to endure what those families are going through. Third, a feeling of fear for our nation. As the list of school shootings grows—Stockton, California; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Littleton, Colorado; Blacksburg, Virginia; Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, to name a few—it’s clear that something’s terribly wrong. Every region […]

Over a century ago the English social critic G.K. Chesterton accurately predicted the end result of atheism. “When people stop believing in God,” he said, “they don’t believe in nothing—they believe in anything.” Recent events are proving him more prescient than he would have imagined. People across the world are now awaiting the end of the world on December 21. Why? Because the ancient Mayan calendar predicted the looming apocalypse over 1500 years ago. In France—perhaps to distract the French from the real apocalypse unfolding in their national economy—a mountain in the Pyrenees is hiding an alien spaceship inside, waiting for the magic day to zoom back into space. Some […]

One of America’s best known and best loved public speakers, Zig Ziglar, died last week at age 86, in Plano, Texas. There’s no shortage of salesman-turned-motivational speakers in our nation, but Ziglar’s life is worth thinking about for a number of reasons. Not the least of which is that he was among the last of a particular breed able to communicate both passionate faith and professional success in such winsome ways that untold millions were affected by his life. On news of his death, even rapper LL Cool J tweeted, “Zig Ziglar rest in peace. Your life inspired us. Thank you.” Ziglar was born in 1926 in Yazoo City, Mississippi, […]

It’s almost Christmas, and at my house we’re about to unpack the boxes in the attic full of special decorations we only use this time of year. Down through the years my wife and have accumulated loads of stuff. The Christmas tree decorations are my particular favorites—everything from the first bauble we bought as a newly married couple over thirty years ago to the set of loopy ceramic penguins that always presides over our home from the most visible position on the tree. Then there are the manger scenes (maybe a half dozen), lights, seasonal candles, table runners, china and various knick-knacks we’d never show in public any other time […]

I got obsessed with Duck Dynasty while channel surfing one Friday night. A group of long-haired, scruffily dressed bearded guys was playing golf, sort of. What they were really doing was goofing off.  I watched as they discovered a pond full of frogs. The golf match forgotten, the three of them grew more and more excited. Then one of them—I learned later his name was Jase—spoke up. The only thing I want from frawgs is to eat more of ‘em, he said. He had me at hello. “Duck Dynasty” is the A&E Network’s brainchild, a reality show following the Robertson family from West Monroe, Louisiana in their family business and […]