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Seven Hopes for the 2016 Christian Citizen I am writing this blog entry on the eve of the most contentious, controversial, and dramatic election of my lifetime. Watching the narrative that is this “campaign” season seems more like, at times, a bad reality show instead of the greatest country on earth exercising the beautiful gift […]

Did you know more than 100 million Christians are persecuted for their faith? Can you imagine how isolating it must be for some believers in countries where they might only know one other Christian? As many of you have heard me share, last year I have the opportunity to travel with Open Doors to meet […]

In just over twenty years, Student Leadership University’s ministry has grown from 50 students and one conference to a now comprehensive and holistic leadership development journey. Our programs now consist of Student Leadership University 101, 201, 301 and 401, Youth Pastor Summit conferences in 6 states, and twenty-three stops on The Lift Tour. In recent […]

By now the new-car-smell on all the back to school gear is beginning to dissipate as the routine of another semester settles in. Many of you have no doubt re-mastered the art of hitting the snooze button on your phone or clock just the right amount of times and still able to ensure an on-time […]

It’s 4:30 AM and JFK International Airport is moving at a slow-crawl type of pace. People are deplaning their red-eye flights wondering what time zone they are in, and others are thinking that the first flight of the day option of the ticket they purchased two months ago would have been a much wiser choice. […]

Is it possible to be a fan of the new year while simultaneously hating the month of January?!? In any case, this is my mindset. I’m looking forward to all the possibilities a new year can bring, but feel like the first month doesn’t quite live up to the hype. January feels like a promised […]

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is stroll on over to the Epcot theme park that is part of Walt Disney World and enjoy the Candlelight Processional. If you know anything about this particular theme park, then you are aware that a significant portion of the park is the World Showcase. The […]

As I think back on that night at Epcot, I don’t know if it was the clear starry night, the massive choir, the 50-piece orchestra, the narrator reading from the Scriptures, or the fact that I was sitting with my family, but these were my thoughts. I came home, and began to scribble and type […]

small enough…BIG ENOUGH   Each year it seems like Christmas comes rushing at us like the Polar Express. Before we were ever able to focus on its true meaning and significance, it is gone and we are off to another year. In an effort to guard my own heart from the white noise of what […]

The Advent season is a time to anticipate and prepare for the first coming or birth of our Savior Jesus. Mary would give birth while she and Joseph were in Bethlehem fulfilling an imperial edict that everyone under Roman rule, which certainly included the Jews, register in their ancestral home for the purpose of accurately […]