Talking with my friend Clyde the other day, I was reminded how much evangelism has evolved in a generation. Clyde cut his teeth with Campus Crusade back in the 70’s, when ‘confrontational evangelism’ was the norm, and the word radical on the lips of everyone. There’s good evidence to suggest that the swell of revival…

Early morning, rain threatening. I leave the apartment and head for the high school track down the street. Hobbled by a sore hamstring, head down, I inch along avoiding cars, piles from pets, and others walking to the subway. Suddenly, off to the right I spot a brilliant pulse of light. But wait, there’s nothing…

I met him sitting on a park bench. The star on his cheek was the first thing I noticed. It made me curious, and so began our conversation. It turned out that he had gotten stoned one night and woke up inked. The mark changed his life, brought him out of the main, and into…

“Can I tell you a story?” The students around me nodded their heads, gave me permission to hold church in the courtyard, under the shadow of their school. I began by recounting the back story of the civil rights movement. How Martin Luther King as a new pastor was contacted about joining a Bus Boycott….

The sixth chapter of Micah verse 8, states, … “the Lord requires of you, to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.” The phrase, ‘to love mercy’ can be overlooked like a middle-child, yet it waddles up to you, surprises you with it’s penetrating gaze, demanding attention. That phrase means…

Who was your first friend crush? Do you remember? Chances are you do. Mine was Chris Helmer, who lived a quarter mile down Flocktown Road, a meandering dirt road that connected larger streets. Our world sat between us, farm land and acres of forest our playground. I still remember the acorn war, which pitted Chris…

It looks like a creature from a sci-fi movie, but it hits people’s gardens unaware every year, eating the foliage off plants in bucket loads. My sister Karen found one recently in her garden. She had seen the damage on the plants, but couldn’t find the beast. Then she spotted it in the cucumbers! The…

My good friend sent me a note this week. He’s in what he says are the darkest days of his life. Then he quoted Abe Lincoln, who confided to a friend, “I’ve got weary that rest can’t reach.” I know a little of how he feels, having gone through a similar stretch. It came on…

I spotted an open chair, splashed in sunlight in the corner of the room where a young man sat scrunched over a newspaper. “Is this taken,” I asked? He gestured for me to sit down. When I got settled I tilted my face toward the beam. “Beautiful day,” I said, mostly to myself, yet the…

For 34 years now, God has wisely and patiently peeled away the skin of Galatians 2:20 for me to apply. The most recent revelation occurred last week as I meditated on the phrase, “the life I now live, I live by faith.” Whether it’s in the day to day, or in face of steep temptation,…

The door opened, and he moved slowly onto the train. As he did so, people moved back, staring at a face marred by a long stapled wound across his cheek, tattoos covering his face and head, piercings through his lips. His look showed disdain like a caged wild animal. He stepped in front of me…

Renewal, the rinsing away of dead things, both personal and traditional, requires from us a resilient strength. God instructed Isaiah, “you who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest.” God is asking some to take seriously the call to be vigilant in waiting upon Him. ‘Those who wait upon…