Category: 2018 Column

You have heard the familiar adage that you have to keep the camel’s nose out of the tent if you want to keep the camel out. But what if the camel is the creator? And what if the camel’s nose is the belief that the world was created by God? I am amazed at the … Continue reading Keeping the Camel Out of the Tent

I was in line at a wedding reception several years ago when a man asked if I remembered what happened at his big day nearly 16 years earlier. I started laughing. The picture is etched in my mind of the two of us who were officiating the wedding standing in front of the two being … Continue reading Get the Leaving Part Right

I love summertime. I have always loved it. It brings back some of my best memories of childhood, which includes, at the very top of the list, trips to Surfside Beach. Every summer my family would rent a small cottage down near the beach and spend a week there. Dad was always a little less … Continue reading This Nourished My Soul

I just learned last week that a longtime ministry partner, Simon Mkolo, has died. Simon was 81 years old and left behind six children and a wife. I met Simon in Zimbabwe, where he lived, in 1999. I had the privilege to go back in 2007, at Simon’s invitation, to speak to a church leaders … Continue reading Zimbabwe Needs the Rock of Ages

Every living thing grows. That’s why we have to keep our grass mowed in the summertime, lest we lose small children in the backyard. God created the earth and started civilization in a garden, one that was already growing when man was created. You plant seeds in your garden, and you water them with the … Continue reading God Hard-Wired Us for Growth

By now everybody has heard the news: 12 soccer players from Thailand, and their coach, were rescued in heroic fashion from a cave. I heard one radio commentator say that this was one of those rare news stories, where the whole world rejoiced in the outcome. I think he’s right. There were no protests outside … Continue reading This was a Heroic Rescue