People have strong opinions about money. As a matter of fact, I believe that many people actually love money. But when money and faith or money and the church combine in discussion, I have found over the years that people get nervous, angry, or opinionated. Personally, I have have intentionally worked to make sure…
I recently heard that Facebook is going to be getting a new overhaul. I have personally noticed that Facebook has been on the decline and there are fewer friends on there now than there were even a couple of years ago. In a culture of over-sharing, maybe there is a corrective movement toward more…
My oldest son has suddenly become a senior. He has three more weeks of classes. And in a whirlwind Memorial Day weekend he will graduate, have his Open House, and move to Camp Barakel for a summer of ministry there before he goes to Cornerstone University as a freshman next year. Time goes by so…
10 years ago today I posted on Facebook “Don is calling tomorrow a pivotal day in his personal history.” I did not know then, just how true that statement would be. But I did NOT know just how misguidedly narrow that statement would prove to be. That first meeting of ReCAST Church has proven to…
I am currently auditing a seminary class that is covering the way that the church should interface with a post-Christian culture. It has been helpful to consider the role that the church should play, in a culture that is increasingly marginalizing the church as a primary influence. We live in a very divided culture right…
I was born and raised in Michigan. The seasons no longer surprise me. It snows in the winter and gets cold. It gets hot in the summer. The leaves turn and fall in the Autumn. And the flowers bloom in the Spring rains. Each transition from one season to another brings anticipation to my heart.…
Monday February 25, 2019 will go down as a day of ghastly and reprehensible actions by the senate of the United States of America. It makes precious little difference if you are a Democrat or Republican. On this day, Senate Bill 311 (aka: The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act) was voted down in the senate…
Today is the day of love. St. Valentine, the patron saint of love, called up Hallmark and they arrived at a marketing deal. Thus began the annual cycles of profits for all manufacturers of heart shaped containers, chocolatiers, florist, card makers, and writers of short quips to put on those terrible tasting candy hearts…
I feel like God works on me in specific seasons and cycles. Last year, I would’ve called the the year of prayer. My prayer life increased and I have made a more concerted effort to be mindful of God throughout the day as well as spending some more concerted effort at a prayer time…
I am grateful for a furnace. My home is warmer than the weather outside. It only takes a shift in the weather to remind us just how little we actually are in control of our daily lives. The winds pick up, or the temperature plummets, or the water rises . . . And our…
Can a wall be immoral? Not exactly, because walls have no will. They merely sit there, stoic and lonely, giving in to the ravages of time and entropy. Poor walls. But I would like to just quickly weigh in on the hyped up rhetoric that is currently swirling around in our culture that may have…
2019 will contain the 10th birthday of ReCAST Church. The time has gone by in the spirit of the proverbial “the days are long but the years are short.” So I will kick off this anniversary year by sharing five observations from ten years of being a lead pastor. 1. Preaching creates a rhythm. My…
