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Russel Cornwell used to tell the story of a Persian named Ali Hafed. He was a wealthy farmer who had fertile lands with orchards, grain fields and gardens that yielded faithfully year after year. Hafed was a contented man, known throughout his region as having it all. Then a traveler from the east began to talk to him of the value of diamonds. He said, “If you owned a diamond the size of your thumb, you could purchase the whole county. If you owned a diamond mine, you could b

I made a decision almost three decades ago that has taken the difficulty out of a lot of other decisions since. I decided to marry Linda. Since that decision, most of my other decisions in and around the house are pretty well taken care off. I only need to ask myself, what would be better for our marriage?     So even though my desk is usually pretty cluttered at work, I’m neat, clean, and organized at home. Why? Because Linda doesn’t really care what my desk at work looks li

There are times in your life when you come across a need that appears to be so overwhelming, so deep, so devastating, and so pervasive, that you would rather turn a blind eye to it and ignore the enormity of the problem altogether. Sometimes an issue can appear so massive that our meager efforts seem pointless, like aiming a squirt gun at a forest fire.     27,000,000 slaves being trafficked worldwide. Are my efforts really going to do any good?     25,000 girls in the Chicag

What to do with this huge block of stone? It took months to cut it out and move it from the quarry to it’s current resting place. Now after two of the finest sculptures in the world attempted to make it look like something meaningful, they gave up. It was now thought to be flawed, useless, and an eyesore in the public square. It sat that way, unused, unfinished, unsightly, for nearly a hundred years.     Then a young man, still a virtual nobody in the art world, saw something

Deadlines are important. Having been in ministry for nearly thirty years, working with volunteers and overseeing staff, and being a dad now for 25 years, I’ve learned that some people need deadlines to get things done. If I say, “Please have it done by 3p on Friday,” they have something to shoot for and they get it done. But with the same people, if I say, “Please get this done right away,” without a specific time or day, it often gets put off indefinitely. Deadlines can serv

It’s hard for me to believe this is still going on.     I’m writing this during a break while attending a conference in Chicago on human trafficking and forced labor/sex slavery in Cook County. I knew it was happening in other parts of the world, and I’d heard that it is here in the states, but I’m shocked as to the degree of the problem right here in our backyard. It’s quite an eye-opening experience to hear an African American speak passionately about the problem of slavery

Last Saturday, Linda and I, along with Erica and Brock, made the short trip to Starved Rock on the Illinois River. Besides a lot of Indian legends and French explorer/trader stories, the place is known for its habitat of Bald Eagles. They nest in the high trees atop rocky cliffs along the river. There is something inspirational about seeing eagles in the wild. Seeing them on top of their nests is an extra thrill.     But while I’ve seen eagles’ nests in the wild from below, I

Lots of disturbing things on the news this week. It’s hard to read the paper, follow online headlines, or watch the evening news. At least this week it was.     There is the whole middle east thing going on, now in several countries. More and more, groups that hate Christianity and want to exterminate Jews are gaining power in their respective countries. There was the suicide bomber in Bulgaria who blew up a bus full of Jewish teenagers. Many of us have been praying for the t

Mark Twain said, “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure."     What? When does knowledge get in the way of success?     Well, obviously, Twain as a satirist, wasn’t speaking of real and/or complete knowledge on any given subject. He was talking about having confidence and not knowing the things that might keep you from launching out into an endeavor, as well as thinking that you know so much that you are unable to learn what you will need

In our Life Apps series at this summer, we are taking questions via texting and answering them with a panel. Because we could not get to all of the questions this last week, I am blogging to respond to some of the submitted questions that were not addressed in the service. Last week's message was, "Good Sex, Bad Sex," and it helped with a Biblical understanding on the subject. You can watch the sermon and panel here . Below is one more question we weren't able

In our Life Apps series at this summer, we are taking questions via texting and answering them with a panel. Because we could not get to all of the questions this last week, I am blogging to respond to some of the submitted questions that were not addressed in the service. Last week's message was, "Good Sex, Bad Sex" and it helped gain a Biblical understanding on the subject. You can watch the sermon and panel here .     The term comes from Hebrews 13:4 – (ESV).

Five years ago today I was installed as the Lead Pastor at Des Plaines Bible Church, now, The Bridge. The installation service began with it’s typical worship sequence with Doug Daube leading. Then, our elder chairman, Scott Olson, asked me a series of four questions in front of the congregation of which I answered, “I do with the help of God,” or “I will with the help of God.” I meant it.     Following my commitments, the congregation was in turn asked similar questions and