If you haven't seen this famous video of "psychologist" Bob Newhart yet, you'll want to. Obviously, not all fears and phobias can be erased by an act of the will. My fear of snakes won't just go away instantly if I "just stop it!" But, the reason that video "works" is because we all know many of our bad habits or sins can "stop" – must stop! But here's the crux of the problem: The primary reason believers continue to sin is because we've not decided to stop! Here's why: Most

The invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1436 was as revolutionary then as the internet is today. But books were still scarce and expensive and therefore unavailable to the masses. Then, 70 years after its invention, Luther nailed his 95 Theses on a Wittenberg church door and the protestant reformation began. Soon copies of his 95 Theses and other short writings were being printed by the tens of thousands, inexpensively and the ideas in them went viral! People had

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