A Diamond in the Rough
Many years ago, there was found in an African mine the most magnificent diamond in the history of the world. It was presented to the king of England in hopes it could be displayed in his crown. The king sent it to one of the most skilled diamond cutters in Amsterdam. Once it was in
Thoughts Along the Way
I’m traveling a lot during 2009. Already, I’ve been to Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri, mostly speaking to pastors and seminary students. Plus, I’ve been to Oklahoma to speak at the Heartland Bible Conference at FBC Edmond, then returned to Tennessee for our annual ReFRESHTM in the Smokies Conference, followed by ten days in the Holy
K Is for Kindness (Part 1)
When the Lord calls me to my heavenly home, i want to look up a Scottish Presbyterian preacher named John Watson who ministered in Scotland and England from 1874 to 1905 and wrote a shelf of popular books under the pen name “Ian Maclaren.” Why look him up? Because he successfully followed a motto that
Discovered by God
Recently, I came across a beautiful story of a handicapped boy who was celebrating his ninth birthday. His father and mother held a birthday party in his honor. Many of the family and friends were not sure what to buy the boy as a gift because he was handicapped. So, they gave the little boy
Emerging Adulthood
It is no secret by now that there is a completely new stage of development among American adulthood—“extended adolescence” or what is coming to be known more respectfully as “emerging adulthood.” In the 20th century, we saw the new stage “adolescence” or “teenager” emerge—an extended period between childhood and adulthood, roughly from age 13 through
An Amazing Month
The past month has been a whirlwind and a blessing. In the last 30 days, I’ve spoken at a conference on revival in Edmond, Oklahoma, and the annual ReFRESH™ Conference in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Plus, I’ve taken a week for study and traveled for ten days to Israel. I’m both exhausted and exhilarated! This is
A Is for Ambition (Part 2)
Godly AmbitionIn your personal Bible study, have you ever noticed that the Lord called busy people to serve Him? Moses was caring for his father-in-law’s sheep when his call came, and Gideon was threshing wheat when God commissioned him to be a general. David was tending his father’s sheep when Samuel summoned him and anointed
Does Love Constrain You?
A story was once written about a woman married to a man whom she did not love. He was very demanding of her life and her time. She was made to arise before daybreak to prepare his breakfast, the house was to be kept neat and spotless, all of his clothes had to be ironed,
What’s Wrong with the Church?
Earlier this year I described the Five Stages of a Generational Revolution as Bad, Add, Keep, Build and Protect. I observed emergents were still in the “Bad” stage of their revolution—they were mostly complaining about what’s wrong with the church they are inheriting. Boomers were mostly in the “Protect” stage of their own revolution, I
Blessed Be the Tie that Binds
When I served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference in 2008, I told the twelve men on the program to preach in “what they were comfortable with.” In other words, I wanted them to preach however they normally preached in their congregation or as they traveled the country. Some preached in slacks
A Is for Ambition (Part 1)
“I would have all lazy students drummed out of the college, and all lazy ministers out of the Assembly…I would have laziness held to be the one unpardonable sin in all our students and in all our ministers” (The Life of Alexander Whyte, by G. F. Barbour, p. 282). So spoke the esteemed Scottish preacher
The Lord Thinks of Us
Some time ago, I read the story about a man and wife who were celebrating fifty years of marriage. They had spent most of the day with family and friends who had come to honor them, but were completely worn out from the festivities. Once they made it home, they decided to share a snack