In May 2009, it was my privilege to be in Hungary with the European Leadership Forum, an organization dedicated to strengthening the Gospel witness in Europe. Evangelical scholars from various disciplines gathered to teach and train about 400 church leaders how to live out their faith in a secular world. I also taught a few seminars, but I benefited from those days much more than I contributed.
You must understand that Europe is very secular, very self-assured, and, for the most part, very opposed to the Gospel. These countries that have been influenced by …
And so it was that with his hand on Lincoln’s Bible, our new president was sworn in to hold the most powerful office in the world. He assumes the presidency with a soaring approval rating and with the expectation that he will begin a new and significant chapter in American history. Back in 1963 Martin Luther King made his famous “I have a dream” speech to a large crowd on the Washington Mall never thinking that forty-five years later an African American would assume the presidency. No matter …
There will be no Christmas Celebrations in Turkey, this year!
Rebecca and I visited Turkey (Asia Minor) this summer, where Paul spent most of his time planting churches. It is also where the famous Seven Churches of Revelation existed, which his why we toured the country, and when we visited all seven of these sites, we were dismayed at what we saw.
The Seven Churches of Asia Minor no longer exist. I am not talking about church buildings—I’m talking about congregations, the fact that there is no visible Christian presence of any kind in these …
God is purposeful. He has reasons for allowing this recession to come to America. No doubt He has many purposes, but surely one of His primary goals is the spiritual growth of His people. If we miss what He wants to teach us, we will only become cynical and begin to doubt His love and care.
The first lesson is the most obvious: He wants us to learn that He is with us not just during prosperity but also in times of adversity. When there was famine in the land and Isaac …
