I was planning to write a blog this morning regarding the foundational  nature of the Image of God in humanity.  This is a bedrock doctrine which can be demonstrated by how frequently it has been attacked by evil and the evil one throughout the centuries.  I have not spent much time considering the way that…

  Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations”   I once was a church planter, and now I am a pastor.  Technically, I was both from the beginning, but…

I grew up in between the GARBC and the IFCA.  Christians, like the military, love their acronyms and insider speak.  Those both stand for General Association of Regular Baptist Churches and the Independent Fundamental Churches of America.  Both are loose associations.  Both pride themselves in their independence from a larger ecclesiastical accountability.  And both would…

I have commented over the years that I grew up in a town that was very similar to Mattawan.  Middleville even starts with an “M”. Just a couple of traffic lights, no McDonald’s, huge school district, quality education, farming community that was growing into a bedroom community for a larger city a few miles away.…

I have spent some time the past couple of weeks praying for the revival or awakening or really long chapel service at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky.  I have prayed for revival off and on over the years, but I have never really given much thought to what it actually IS that  I was praying for.…

Last Friday, Linda and I returned from an 11 day Caribbean Cruise.  She took me on this cruise as a celebration of a pretty significant milestone as far as birthdays go. (I’ll be 50 next week!) Now that we have two cruises under our belt, I think I can more knowingly say that I DO…

I like to wrap up the year by sharing some highlights from my reading in the past year.  I will not comment on every book, but will skip across the titles worthy of mention.  I read or listened to 35 books this year. 1. Providence (by John Piper) John Piper has a way of writing…

I have learned two things in nearly 20 years of pastoral ministry. 1.  I need a personal time in the Bible on a routine basis. I remember when I was younger, I would think that spending time each day in the Bible would make my DAY go better.  I will have a better morning, a…

Throwback from 2019! How much glory was obscured in that manger?  Who was this baby, that came to us in such strange circumstances? This week I will be preaching from Matthew 17:1-13 to identify just how much Jesus was hiding.  I believe that many of us drift off theologically this time of the year.  We…

Throwback Blog from 2016! This blog is not written to make you feel guilty. It is more of a confession that I will let you all in on with the hopes that it moves us all along further down the road to gratitude. So let me state at the outset, that I can be a…

Way back in early 2020 we began a movement to institute a more routine opportunity for people to come forward at the end of the church services at ReCAST for prayer.  It may be that there is a unique difficulty, a particular struggle, a poignant movement of conviction, or even a unique praise that needs…

I am a reluctant follower.  My past experience and upbringing without a father, quite distant mother, and way too much freedom has made it hard for me to overcome a radical independence.  And I have a nearly lethal measure of confidence.  (Remember that pride is a sin and sin leads to death…) Eugene Peterson has…