• Impact

    The Voice of a Father

      Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Christmas. The scent of a beautiful green tree filling the house decorated with colorful balls, shining lights, shimmering tinsel, and topped by an angel. Decorations generously spread from room-to-room, symbols of wonderful family memories passed down from generation-to-generation. I love Christmas and all it represents. One thing I get tired of, though, is pundits who annually quote Bible verses they don’t understand about peace on earth and good will toward men when they have no grasp of how to fill that longing… The human heart cries for deliverance from suicide bombings and ceaseless streams of refugees risking their lives in rickety boats…

  • Impact

    The Sign of Silence

        Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Four-hundred years of silence. Not a sound. Not a word. Not a prophet. Not a spokesman. Not the screeching of a chair or the clearing of the throat as a speaker mounts a rostrum. Nothing. Just silence. And the nation was getting restless. Oh, they had enough through what God had said previously to live with hope and anticipation. They had His covenants and His promises and His faithfulness. He had kept many of His promises already. He had released them from Egypt and returned them to the Promised Land; He had delivered them from Babylon and once again restored them…

  • Impact

    Big Talk, Small Man

        Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken It happened on a Thursday morning many years ago in San Jose, CA. That morning I was involved in a meeting about reaching the world with the Gospel—heady stuff. Following that meeting, I chatted with a pastor friend of mine and soon our conversation centered on what great things we were going to do for God. It could have been an edifying conversation, but it wasn’t, and I knew it wasn’t as soon as I left my friend. I knew what I said was wrong—empty words full of empty ambition. That night I woke up with my arm wrapped around my…

  • Heartprints

    God’s Power Tools – #5

    God has given us a voice to speak forth His written Word. With our voice we are to proclaim the wonder of the Creator. The love of Christ compels us to give voice to the Good News of God’s salvation. Our fifth power tool, our voice, is an old tool but it has an amazing power to capture the interest of those we want to listen. “Until very recently in human history, most people could neither read nor write . . . spoken language was the only practical way to warn someone that there might be a snake in a nearby bush. Perhaps as a result, human hearing and speech…

  • Engage

    The Power of an Expert Speaking as a Fellow Traveler: Phillip Johnson

    When my husband Jack was in seminary he was taught to speak as the expert from a posture of strength. If you talk about weakness, struggle or failure, speak in hindsight from the place of victory won. It’s not always safe to talk about your weaknesses. You don’t want to give your detractors or enemies ammunition. (Especially in churches.)   In today's culture that mindset is changing. But, If you are an expert, why would you want to try to speak as a fellow-traveler? What might be the benefits of exposing your weaknesses, speaking of your struggles, or even failures? In the academy? In churches? Phillip Johnson, the father of…

  • Engage

    When God Shows Off

    For the past several years I’ve been challenged to grow in my understanding of grace. John Ortberg says it’s “the flow of God’s power and presence and favor in your life, moment by moment, that enables you to do whatever it is God has for you to do.” So what does God’s grace look like when it is released in our puny little human lives? I got another taste of it recently. My dear friend Ricky Chelette of Living Hope Ministries and I were privileged to speak at conferences in three Australian cities on a redemptive view of homosexuality, ministering to strugglers, their parents, and ministry workers. The first leg…