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May, 03, 2021 0
Are you a person of influence? I understand hesitation here. You may not want to say “yes” or believe that you, an ordinary person, might be influential. All too easily, we think of influence as something that pertains only to the super-elite—the gifted communicators, the dynamic leaders, the…
May, 03, 2021 0
Rosa and Peter, of Peruvian heritage, live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with their young sons. In March of 2020, Peter travelled to Peru for a family wedding. His flight was scheduled to return three days later. When Argentina shut its borders due to COVID-19, the government promised that flights…
May, 01, 2021 0
When was the last time you told someone your story? When was the last time you prayed about sharing your story? When was the last time you practiced the delivery of your story? Do those closest to you (friends, family, neighbors, co-workers) know what Christ has done for you personally?
Think…
May, 01, 2021 0
“How would you feel about the merger of First Church and Trinity?” One rarely knows what to expect when meeting a new district superintendent (DS). I certainly did not expect to hear that question during the very first meeting and meal with our newly arrived DS in the fall of 2012. While the…
May, 01, 2021 0
“I don’t smoke; I don’t chew; don’t hang out with folks who do.” This was a common saying while growing up—it describes my life before I was a Christian. I was raised in a Christian family, attended a conservative church, had friends who stayed out of trouble, and was known as a “goody-two-shoes”…
May, 01, 2021 0
In a church building in the heart of Monrovia, Liberia, a small group of women gathered over the course of a few days to talk about their hopes and those of the other women in their neighborhoods. The phrase they repeated over and over was “become somebody.” They wanted to have the opportunity to…
May, 01, 2021 0
On September 12, 2012, I made the longest walk of an addict’s life—the walk from the parking lot into my first 12-step recovery meeting. I was 44, and I had a golden calf residing in my heart—alcohol. I was an ordained pastor who knew that God had placed a special calling upon my life but never…
May, 01, 2021 0
In 1985, when Shepherd Community Center first began to offer hope and support for people trapped in the cycle of poverty, Google didn’t exist—neither did Amazon nor Facebook. Much has changed in the past 35 years as Shepherd Community has learned, adapted, and grown in serving its neighbors on the…
May, 01, 2021 0
“God is on the Move” is the name of a song, yes, but for my wife, Terri, and me, it became an anthem. As the lead pastor at Connect Church in a small community of Northern Oklahoma, I’m glad I can tell this story.
On July 11, 1999, my wife and I moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma. We were both only a…
May, 01, 2021 0
Beyond a sliding metal gate is a basketball court, converted from its former life as a driveway. Past the basketball hoops is a new play structure, and to the right of both is a two-story brick house surrounded by brightly painted walls. Joshua,* 18, helped paint a horse on one of the walls, and…