“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” Ephesians 1:17 I have found an immense blessing delving into the prayers of Paul. I have always had the conviction that God actually leads our prayers because He […]

The annual North American Mission Leaders conference and meeting of the Evangelical Missiological Society is always a valuable occasion of networking with more than 300 leaders from a wide variety of institutions and mission agencies. This year’s conference being held in Chicago last week gave us the opportunity for a unique travel experience. We often […]

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:2 I have always been incredibly blessed by reading the prayers of the Apostle Paul. In most of his epistles he digresses in what seems to be a spontaneous pouring out of his heart in prayer to God on behalf […]

The passion for church planting in America continues to gain momentum, apparently driven by a zeal to re-create the church to be culturally relevant. I have participated in two local training events focused on church planting, attended by a cadre of young church planters as well as representatives of established churches who are giving renewed […]

Every five years the International Mission Board hosts a “Celebration of Emeriti” at Ridgecrest Baptist Assembly in North Carolina. The conference used to coincide with Foreign Mission Weeks at Ridgecrest and Glorieta, but since those weeks have been discontinued, this massive periodic gathering provides an opportunity for missionaries from the past to fellowship and stay […]

I received a unique gift from my son, Russell, earlier this year for my 70th birthday. It was a promissory note to underwrite a skydiving experience. Knowing my proclivity for adventure and new experiences, he encouraged me by reminding me that former president George H. Bush skydived on his 80th birthday. I tried to be […]

People around here in the South get fanatical about local football and live for hunting season, but nothing creates excitement like an approaching storm. Our town was touched by a fairly destructive tornado last year, and we are close enough to the Gulf Coast to feel the lingering effects of hurricane force winds. So as […]