Group Life and Personal Evangelism

I’m currently working with Ed Stetzer on a new book, Transformational Groups. In the book we will share some significant lessons learned from a massive research project conducted on small groups. Ed and I recently sat down with Micah Fries, the Director of Ministry Development at LifeWay, to discuss some of the insights we’re gleaning from […]

Longing for Dad

Adrian Greiner is best known for playing Vince on the HBO series Entourage. Growing up in Brooklyn, Adrian struggled with the void of a fatherless home. In his early twenties he produced a documentary entitled A Shot in the Dark chronicling his search for his father. HBO aired the documentary in 2007, presenting the intense […]

His Name Is His Character

In the Jewish culture and thought, naming something was not done casually. A name was much more than a word or a combination of sounds. The name was intended to convey the nature and the essence of the thing or the person being named. Thus Jesus was given the name Jesus “because He will save […]

His Name Is His Mission

Each time Kaye and I discovered we were having a kid, the naming process began. Each time, we picked out a girl name and a guy name so that we would be prepared regardless. We talked about middle names, put the initials together to see what would be spelled, and sounded out the whole name. […]

For His Name

In Psalm 23:3, David declares that the Lord leads us in paths of righteousness for His own name. He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Everything God does, He does for His own glory, for His own name. Many people stumble over this truth, in part, because we can’t stand that character trait in […]

Sequoia Tree Faith

A few years ago, I took my wife to San Francisco and we drove up to Muir Woods just north of the city. Muir Woods is filled with sequoia trees, many of them 1,500-2,000 years old. And they are huge. The highest sequoia trees in the world average over 250 feet high. That’s almost as […]

Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart

The Lord rescued me the summer before I turned 18. As I was new in my faith, I struggled with the security of the salvation the Lord had graciously provided for me. Some of my friends believed you could “lose your salvation.” And because I still sinned a bunch, I struggled with the fear of […]

Creature of the Word

I have been honored to team up with Matt Chandler and Josh Patterson on our new book, Creature of the Word. Prayerfully, we believe the book will encourage and challenge church leaders and be a blessing to local churches. Frankly, many churches have a gospel-centered doctrine without a gospel-centered culture. The Reformers, however, viewed the […]

God’s Work of Art

Frank Gasparro was an artist with very little name recognition, yet his artwork has been held by millions of people. You have owned one of his works. Frank designed the images on the penny. All pennies from 1959 through 2008 have his initials on them. If you look at the lower right of the Lincoln […]

God and Synergy

Every time a great group of individual players come together on the same team, fans and commentators raise the question of synergy. Will the players be able to play well together? Will there be chemistry? As a Heat fan, I desire synergy from Lebron, Wade, and Bosh, but my hope is that the new Lakers […]