A recent news report acknowledged that more than 100,000 domestic flights had been canceled by U.S airlines this past year. Having been victimized by such cancellations in the past, I rejoiced I was no longer in a lifestyle that subjected me to such abuse. Somewhere along the way air travel had become the bane of my existence. When we first took off on those periodic flights to the orient, flying was an exotic experience for our family. But the glorified uniqueness of air travel rapidly diminished; it now conjures up images of childhood days of riding a crowded uncomfortable school bus or cows being herded on a crowded cattle car at the railway yard.

Traveling around Asia as area director …

I have just returned from the Global Korean Young Adult Mission Festival (GKYM) held this year in Rochester, New York. I was not able to accept invitations to speak at this conference previously, so this was my first time to gather with more than 3,000 second-generation Koreans, primarily from the U.S. and Canada for this end-of-the-year event. Seldom had I been at a conference that reflected such intense passion and commitment for evangelizing a lost world.

It reminded me of one of my earlier experiences of seeing how God is moving among Korean youth. The first GCOWE (Global Consultation on World Evangelization) was held in Seoul, Korea in 1995. It was a gathering of evangelical denominations and mission agencies from …

In all the festivity that surrounds the season it is easy to ignore the fact that at the heart of Christmas is the mission of God. Buying presents, decorating our homes, enjoying music we listen to only at this time of year and indulging in goodies we would not otherwise eat, obscure the significance of what we celebrate. Oh, we keep the birth of Christ central in the midst of all the commercialization, but do we ignore why this event occurred?

More than one pastor has been confronted by a puzzled church member, wondering why we emphasize missions at this time of year when everyone’s agenda is overwhelmed by shopping, choir presentations, Christmas parties and travel to family reunions. Other …

Several years ago the International Mission Board encouraged churches to give more generously to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering by using the theme, “Is Lottie Moon Starving Again?” The promotion generated a backlash from many who considered this disrespectful of Lottie Moon who literally starved to death. She was a pioneer missionary to China in the 19th century and challenged the Woman’s Missionary Union to take an offering at Christmas to send more missionaries. Eventually this annual mission offering, begun in 1888, was named for Lottie Moon and has raised almost four billion dollars for missions.

More than 50% of the budget of the International Mission Board comes from this voluntary annual offering. Contrary to the perception of some, none …

It has been fascinating to read reports of record spending on Black Friday in the midst of a depressed economy. $52 billion was supposedly spent on retail purchases by shoppers during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend followed by record online spending last Monday. The question in my mind is, “Whose money?”

Americans have developed a pattern of spending money they don’t have. We live in a society which feels entitled to the material things of life, and credit cards entice us to get it now and pay later. The problem is that most are unable to pay so the interest on unpaid balances continues to accumulate at 18% and higher. Not realizing if we are unable to pay now we will …

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite seasons of the year. Unlike other holidays, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of hassle and activity involved. It is a down time after a busy fall  when school and work accelerate the pace of life. Now most schools are dismissed for the week, but for others it is a long holiday weekend of gathering with family, feasting and enjoying a refreshing chill in the air.

For many it means heading to the woods for hunting while others look forward to attending the big game climaxing the football season, or hitting the malls to launch the Christmas shopping frenzy. Others, like me, will become couch potatoes indulging in the constant diet of televised …

Character, morals, integrity, values–does anyone know what these are anymore? You would think those in high profile public positions would especially be conscientious about life-style decisions and behavior. Can people really separate their private life from their public image and accountability?

It has been beyond disappointing to see allegations of sexual harassment leveled at presidential candidate, Herman Cain, and to find a formerly respected football coach indicted for pedophilia. Equally disturbing is the tendency for many to dismiss such incidents as past mistakes and poor judgment without recognizing they are the fruit of inherently flawed character.

Society has been in a moral slide for a long time. Once any standard of ethics and moral values are rejected–such as the teachings …

I would be surprised if anyone failed to note the news blurb that the worldʼs population reached seven billion people last month. That announcement probably was received with a passing yawn as insignificant trivia. Once numbers get so large they become meaningless. When we hear of budget deficits in the trillions of dollar, or stars billions of miles away, it is really impossible to comprehend such numbers.

A startling reality that helped me put our global population in perspective is the fact that barely one billion minutes have passed in time since Jesus walked upon the earth– thatʼs 60 minutes every hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for almost 2,000 years! Other comparisons and illustrations simply boggle …

Did you see game six in the World Series last Thursday night? Commentators call it the most phenomenal play-off game in history. Being in the eastern time zone in Richmond it was almost 1:00 am when David Freeseʼs homerun snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat for the St. Louis Cardinals who went on to win the Series the next night.

It began as an unbelievably sloppy game. There had been only three errors in the first five games, but five errors in the early innings cost runs for both teams. The Texas Rangers were one strike away winning the World Series twice, but the Cardinals came back from two runs down with two outs twice to tie the …

Another massive earthquake has occurred, this time in Eastern Turkey, only to be followed by one in Northern India. In spite of these isolated locations in restricted access countries, Baptist Global Response is there. BGR serves the International Mission Board and Southern Baptists as a humanitarian organization, recognized by governments around the world. With the donations of Southern Baptists BGR is able to mobilize workers and volunteers to make an immediate impact on relief efforts. Check it out at www.gobgr.org.

It seems earthquakes are becoming more frequent and more destructive. The greatest national disaster in modern history occurred in 2004 when an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered a tsunami that claimed 230,000 lives in eight …