Webster defines culture as the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time.Culture is a social system created by man. Culture can be good, bad or indifferent.Case in point is the culture we have created around Easter, which includes...

Two years ago I had a great job at a good church. I had served in children’s ministry for 30 years and was making a good salary at an influential church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I had helped the church grow from 1,000 people to over 5,000 members. At 52, I should...

One of the most satisfying things in the world is to fulfill a dream that has been in your heart for years.Three things the Bible says about dreams:1) Dreams come from the Lord. I will pour out my spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your...

Last year, on Christmas Sunday I was visiting a new thriving church in the Twin Cities.I was surprised to see Santa in the lobby. Kids were waiting in line to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas and to get their picture taken. I have never seen Santa at...

Many people are not living. Yes they are alive, but they are like the walking dead. They are just going through the motions without any passion. They have stopped dreaming. Most of us have two lives. The life we live and the unlived life within us. Steven...

I recently updated my Facebook status to say, “I’m thinking about getting a tattoo. What do you think?”This started a very lively discussion with over 145 comments. By far, more comments than I have ever received on any status update. I found out that people have...

One day I asked for a show if hands in children’s church.“How many of you read the Bible every day or your parents read the Bible to you?”Out of 200 kids in my class only 30 hands went up. This was not good news. When I am having an 85% failure rate I can’t blame...

As leaders, we have to do more than make a list of sins to avoid.I was flying back from a meeting one night, changing planes in Chicago. Waiting at the gate for my plane, I soon realized that the Vikings had just played the Chicago Bears in Chicago. The plane that...

For if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged.(1 Cor. 11:31) Have you ever felt judged by somebody? Let’s face it, nobody likes to be judged. The good news is that you have the option of judging yourself. The bad news is that judging yourself is really...

Life will not give me a do-over, but I can share with you about my parenting failures in the hopes that you may not make the same mistakes that I made.You may not think very highly of me after reading this blog, but I’m willing to take the risk. It’s hard to talk...

One of the greatest things you can do for families is to teach kids to honor their parents. Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to do this.Whenever I am a guest speaker at a church I pray, “Lord, show me how to increase the love between this Pastor and his...