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 younger men as...

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 time our family was...

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 have become the...