Blog

Tom just left his classic red Buick Electra convertible. Actually, when he died he left everything … and so will you! “Are you ready to die today?” That’s the question that often grips me every morning. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:4, “A wise person thinks a lot...

I once built a fence with my father-in-law. We lived on a corner lot with three active little kids. So even though money was extremely tight, I scraped enough together to buy the lumber and build a sturdy fence to keep our rambunctious ones in the yard. It took a few...

FOMO - “Fear of Missing Out” is a serious problem for me and a real addiction for many. Years ago our German exchange student, Olli, had a near panic attack one Friday night when he had no party or opportunity to entertain him. We thought it was kind of funny, but...

Every time I celebrate another birthday I’m happy to say that most days I honestly feel 20 years younger - this year I’m saying I feel like I’m 54 with 20 years of experience! It’s been said that no wise man would ever wish to be younger. However, what I know to be...

When our church faced a severe financial crisis, some wondered whether our ministry would even survive. Even though we were solidly in the mega-church category at the time, we were engulfed in a mega million dollar difficulty. We had just opened a 20 million dollar...

It’s been said that nothing is more dangerous than trafficking in unfelt truth. I know. Early in my ministry I was stressed by vacation prep and borrowed a sermon title and more without giving any credit. After the service the oldest member of our tiny church greeted...

True confession, I need my wife more than my wife needs me! Now that’s not so unusual; most honest men would probably admit the same thing, but it’s still a bit embarrassing. Truth be told, if I got hit by the ice cream truck, Linda would be able to manage well...

Loneliness is a perpetual problem among pastors, and it only has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to two experts who specialize in care for pastors. “I don’t know of a single pastor whose life has not been put into the crisis continuum on some level...

When I was younger I often struggled with the question of being good enough, and even now that I’m older the same is sadly sometimes still true. As a skinny, insecure kid growing up in Chicago, I never felt like I quite measured up. I was never good enough to make the...

A single sentence in a fireside chat can suddenly inspire us! That certainly happened for a Swiss psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Tournier. He tells the story in his book, A Place for You. It was the first book in my soul care journey and begins with a simple account that...

“Who can say, I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin?” Proverbs 20:9 NLT The topic of temptation, particularly sexual temptation, has been described as “every man’s battle.” In my in-depth conversations many men have admitted that my struggle has also...