Something very interesting happens when a group of Christians get together.  Inevitably someone gets around to discussing the church; or better, some one starts complaining about the church.   It usually sounds something like this, “the church is too entertainment driven,” or “the church doesn’t look any different than the culture,” or my favorite “the church is filled with hypocritical people.”  It often sounds as though...

I have watched many leaders over the course of my life.  I have been fascinated with some who have impressed me with their ability to lead.  I have been angered with some who have used their positions for illegal and unjust gain.  I have been unimpressed with others who have used their ‘few moments in the sun’ to accomplish their own personal agendas. Personally, I have had the privilege of being trained by good leaders who taught me...

Fasting is hard.  My wife can vouch for me.  When I don’t eat for three or more hours I become something less than Christian. We see in scripture that Jesus fasts.  Remember when he is in the desert for forty days?  On top of being in the desert and not eating, Jesus is also being tempted by Satan.  One of the Satan’s temptations was to make bread out of stone.  Imagine fasting in desert 40 days.  You would be incredibly weak and...

Everyone knows evil.  We can sense it like the coming of a thunderstorm.  From the avowed religious to the strict materialist, we all know evil is part of our world. Now our culture has a difficult time in defining what-is-wrong-with-the-world (evil); thus, our definitions of evil range from poor education to nationalism to economics to chauvinism to anything we want. As Christians we affirm that any one of these isms or societal problems...

A couple of weeks ago I was helping my daughter with her seatbelt when I saw her try to shove something behind her brother’s car seat. I asked her what it was. She hesitated. I looked. A Hershey’s chocolate bar. My heart sank. Trying to give her the benefit of the doubt I asked her if it was a gift from her grandparents whom we had recently visited. She looked down and shook her head. Soon the whole story came sobbing out. In a moment...

Are all Religions the Same? This is a question that is raised all the time, because there are universal similarities to all religions.  In essence, all religions claim to have an answer/solution to THE big problem: evil.  Of course, there isn’t consensus to the definition of evil and thus no consensus to the answer/solution.  To illustrate, modern politicians seek to address issues like poverty, yet there is no consensus on the causes...