Nothing seems stable. How can a person plan in times like these? Our governor may open things wide open based on the data or she may close everything back down next week based on the same data. There are charts and graphs that support every opinion and course of action. And I don’t know if…
We need good news. Every direction I turn, there is negativity, division, fear, and worry. And for this reason I continue to point to Jesus. I cannot think of a more stereotypical Christian cliche than “Jesus is the answer.” Whenever I hear that phrase, my mind hopes that the question wasn’t “what is 8×4?” But…
Linda and I have had the joy of hosting a friend for the week. We have known Ben Glupker as long as we have known each other. All three of us counseled at Camp Barakel back in the mid-90’s. He is that kind of friend that has kept in touch over the years. He visited…
As I sit here at the local coffee shop, I have the privilege of having my daughter sitting beside me. She is listening to music on her phone and texting friends while I have been studying and writing this blog. She is now in high school. She is a freshman. Every glance in the proverbial,…
I could never imagine when I became a pastor, that I would be called upon to declare my personal stance on murder. Nor could I conceive of a cultural climate in which I would be pressed to verbalize my opposition to racism. These are two things that have felt so self-evident to me that I…
I must confess that I keep up with social media. And over the course of this lock-down I have observed phases of online content. There was the initial light-hearted phase where every other post had something to do with Corona Beer. Staying humorous, but getting more serious we went through the shopping and acquiring toilet…
It didn’t take long to figure out that Mattawan Consolidated School is the heartbeat of this small community. Back in 2009 I moved my family here from Portage with the goal of planting a new church that would be centered in the Bible as the Word of God, and motivated to give love and blessing…
Rather than add more content to an expanding body of opinions and speculation, I have decided to blog about 5 random points of gratitude that have nothing to do with COVID-19. 1. The Snow Drops are Up in the Woods by My House This is always the first sign of Spring around my house. The…
This week will be my 42nd and final sermon in the book of Romans. I have been committed to preaching through books of the Bible since I began my role as the church-planter and lead pastor of ReCAST Church over 10 years ago. Since the start, we have been through the books of Genesis, Joshua,…
I watched enough of the democratic national debate yesterday to know that it wasn’t anything new. I confess that I enjoy political debates and have an interest in the direction of our government. If I had to guess, I would say that I follow politics more than the average person. But from what I see…
Any conversation about Bible translation has the potential to bring up a lot of emotions. People who grew up in the church have likely become accustomed to a particular translation and they develop loyalties. Further clouding the issue is the way we naturally associate a favorite translation with people along the way. “Grandma loved that…
We can tend to think that Jesus only ever came to give encouragement. He would always leave his people with gladness and joy. Many churches have turned the church service into a pep talk. The implication would be that if we have connected with God and Jesus we would surely leave with good feelings. But…
