A few months ago I blogged about what God may be doing through the sexual scandals in the news almost every day now. We can complain about the Hollywood and Washington sex scandals at the coffee shop and on the job, but how can Christian men or women actually begin making a difference right in our own families? I think it begins with courtesy and respect. Paul reminds us of God's standard. "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat yo

Decades ago, after the Holy Spirit lit my fire for God and evangelism, I intentionally began hanging out with non-Christians. Once I was on a very large boat owned by a man I'd known from childhood who had a terrible reputation. We were coming through a channel out into Lake Michigan and wouldn't you know it but my mother-in-law and a group of her church friends watched, stunned as l passed them, not 100 feet away, out on the deck, with a drink in hand! Of course the next ti

I was listening to a podcast by my good friend Preston Sprinkle on the topic of civility. He quoted Arthur Brookes, who said, “ Americans don’t have an anger problem. They have a contempt problem.” He went on to explain that a growing number of people in the United States don’t just disagree with others including members of their own family on political, or social issues, and then change subjects and finish an enjoyable dinner together. Too many people they disagree with hav

I get asked this question a lot: How do you start conversations with non-Christians that will hopefully lead to spiritual things? Carefully and thoughtfully is my short answer. Christians have a bad reputation of dumping the whole truckload on total strangers or new friends in "Christianese," language that we understand but means something completely different to others. Therefore, the first thing I need to say is – go slow. Get to know them first. Be transparent. Share your

When I think of Christian denominations I think of them as religious franchises. It's the nature of franchises to allow investors (Franchisees) to open a business that offers the same products, foods, or services as every other franchisee. Think McDonald's, or Pizza Hut. No matter where you go when you enter into one of their restaurants you can get the same food as every other restaurant in the world that uses that name. Quality control, a uniform look and a common experienc

Have you ever had a family member or close friend come to you repeatedly needing just one more, “temporary loan”? It seems that almost every family has a brother, daughter, cousin or someone who always seems to be "a little short." I’m not talking about a generally responsible person who’s fallen on some hard times due to a job loss, divorce, long term illness or underwater mortgage. That can happen to anyone. I’m talking about a generally irresponsible, lazy or simply foolis

The Importance Of The First Few Exploratory Meetings Set some dates for the first few meetings and make it clear that at this stage no one is agreeing to be an accountability partner yet, but you want to meet for a few weeks to get to know each other better and discuss everyone's expectations. Unless everyone knows each other well, I'd suggest everyone take 15-30 minutes to give the group a brief summary about themselves including the type of family they grew up in, education

Last week my blog encouraged you to write a Personal Mission Statement. Have you ever attended a weekend seminar that was really helpful, took tons of notes but come Monday morning life got crazy and almost all the good intentions you had are forgotten in the rush of life? Why is that? Because you're not actually accountable to anyone so the "tyranny of the urgent" often robs us of our good intentions. To whom you are accountable spiritually? Have you ever really thought abou

Decades ago I felt like my life was out of control. I was busy in ministry, we were raising six children, trying to keep our marriage fresh and I felt like I was not doing any of them well. Life was a blur. So, I signed up for a time management course. I thought that was how I would find more balance: just be more efficient. The first words out of the seminar presenter’s mouth were two questions and then a quote. “How many of you have a written Personal Mission Statement?” T