Proverbs 22:6

6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Never before has this simple proverb been more significant and more difficult.  Today's young Christians seem to be walking away from their faith in droves.  Years of studying various...

 Deuteronomy 6:6-9

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind th...

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,30 saying, ‘This person began to build and...

This is a mature Dandelion. These simple weeds produce pretty little yellow flowers in my yard, and then after some time become these little fuzzy globes.  My daughters love them. They love to pick the flower and of course blow the little seeds into the air. I bet that all of us at one...

 
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people"

Mark 1:17

According the the gospel of Mark, this is the first thing Jesus said to his disciples.  We see in Mark that he first called Andrew and his brother Simon (we know as Peter), and just a few verses later...

Who are the 3 people who you are most invested/investing in?  If you’re married, one of these people is likely your spouse, and appropriately so.  If you have children it is also likely that you are investing yourself into your children.  Today, I am going to ask you, who are the two a...

Family on Mission is a concept that is foundational to making disciple makers.  What does it mean?  How do we define family?  How do we then invite that family to join us on mission?  How does this concept inform the tools we employ and the metrics we use to gauge success?...

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 

John 12:24

Funny question: Have you ever seen a wheat plant?  Have you ever seen just one all alone in a field?  No of course not. Typicall...

 Jesus Command #2:  Be Baptized

One of the most difficult things for new believers is to immediately begin obeying the simple Commands of Jesus.  As I wrote in my last post, we begin our relationship with Jesus by repenting of all of the wrong things we have done, did, and do.  We b...

The gospel of Mark says in it's first chapter in verse 15, "Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!".  It marked the beginning of Jesus ministry.  He began going through the villages of Galilee making this proclamation!  This, before he called any of his disciples by the sea.  It seem...

Jesus famously calls his first disciples early in Mark using this command, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men!" - Mark 1:17-20.  No doubt most of us have heard many sermons on this topic, and you may know that this is one of the foundations of modern Christian Living....

If you are like me, last week's post hits pretty hard.  What do you do when you realize that what you are doing/have been doing, is so complex it is almost impossible to train others how to do it?  There are many responses.  Some may start by ignoring this realization with thoughts or c...

So last week some co-workers and I were in India for tourism.  We visited a number of incredible sights, like the Taj Mahal, and Bohd Gaya.  People were incredible nice and welcoming.  We were blessed to come across some gifted followers of Jesus and had a few days to get to know them....

For any of us that work full time, this is one of those topics that often raises some levels of stress!  Who enjoys annual "performance evaluations".  For any leader this idea means critique, honesty, compassion, confrontation, and often discomfort.  It should also mean encouragement an...

In Matt 10 and Luke 10 we find powerful stories of Jesus engaging his followers with a specific task that has a multiplying effect of his ministry in many towns and villages of Israel.  We summarize this task and the instruction around it as the Person of Peace.  Sometimes people say “f...