The story goes that a goat herder in Ethiopia found that his goats had more energy when they ate the berries of a certain plant, so then the shepherds steeped the berries and found that they were more alert and energetic, and now we can enjoy our large half-calf, sugar-free, caramel latte, with 2%, topped…
I recently was listening to a question and answer podcast by a pastor that I’ve highly respected over the years. And the question posed to him was something along the lines of, “How much should a pastor get into correcting the cultural muck of our times, in the pulpit?” While the pastor answering has a…
God has given some good things to you. I just know that He has. He has been so kind and merciful to me. And I can certainly dive deep into the atonement, His gift of His Son to save me, His adoption of me into His family. The big things deserve big thanks. But what…
Ben, Don, and Trent. These are three guys that share the distinct privilege of being full-time vocational pastors at ReCAST Church. Both Ben and Trent came to ReCAST from working in very different fields. Ben was a teacher at a local Christian school. Trent was full-time military. Both began attending ReCAST before they ever considered…
Do you know what will kill you? Microplastics. Pipe smoke. PFA’s. Chem trails. Terrorists. Pesticides. A tainted food supply. And . . . (add your favorite fear here) I have said before in sermons that we are all dying, and one day a certificate will state in retrospect what it was that finished the job.…
My middle child, Luke, turns 23 today! That sentence seems like someone else should be writing it, since it seems like just yesterday MY Luke was 13. Linda and I have been blessed with three children who are no longer children but adults. While I haven’t been the parent of adult children for super long,…
We can talk about all kinds of issues facing our culture. The news outlets will spew forth a steady stream of political problems, military conflicts, fallen leaders, murderous rampages, weather-related disasters, and dumb things our leadership says! But my heart is heavy this morning with one thing that has been in front of me through…
I wouldn’t wish my experience between the hours of 10 p.m. Saturday evening to 4 a.m. Sunday morning last week on anyone. But without the events that transpired between 10 p.m. and 4am I wouldn’t have had the privilege of seeing what happened between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday. I was so incredibly sick.…
How can I celebrate a national title for my favorite basketball team when the world is at war? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are heavy things going on in the world. It would be reasonable (and maybe even seem very spiritual) to give in to the notion that a believer in Christ…
People have been talking a lot about Israel. For obvious reasons they have been in the news, and opinions swirl. And everyone is ready with an opinion. But as a pastor, I find that Christians seem to be the most easily roped into extreme opinions when it comes to the nation of Israel. Some will…
This past week I spent over six hours listening to podcasts that different people wanted me to check out. They were fairly popular podcasts by men I had heard of before. But I had never listened. The reason they wanted me to listen had to do with their guest, and indeed the guest speaker was…
I was suddenly made aware from multiple directions that there is a new solution to children’s discipleship that is going to fix the next generation and be sure to keep them in the faith. While other kids are growing up to question their faith and leave the church in their 20s, your kids or grandkids…
