As my church grew bigger my heart grew smaller You could have heard a pin drop as pastor Denny Wilson shared those thoughts. We all recall how Solomon taught us to guard our heart. We can develop compelling vision and excellent ministries strategies, but without a broken spirit and a contrite hea...

It was a remarkable day. We took the Aspen Team and speakers out to dinner then to Starbucks for more great conversation. My brain hurts after 12 hours with Mel McGowan, Will Mancini, Jim Sheppard, Bill & Jim Couchenour, Brad Eisenmann, and pastor Denny Wilson. I got back to the hotel around ...

Many of us probably don’t think we share much in common with mega-church pastor, mega-celebrity, mega-author Rob Bell. We may be wrong. Bell spoke recently at the National Pastor’s Conference about the “million little paper cutsâ€� of criticism. He used that common pastoral experie...

An encouraging recent Barna study revealed that many churches have attempted to help their congregations understand and responsibly address the current financial challenges in the U.S. 78% noted that their churches are providing special prayer support for those who are struggling financially. 52% of...

Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.� Last year, SMITH Magazine asked readers for their own six-word memoirs. Stories came in droves, and they got everything from bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, ...

What personal kingdoms do we carefully protect? We were challenged with that question last night at church. We know the humble manger story about a king with no kingdom. We remember a mad Herod who killed thousands for fear this baby wanted his. It’s rare to find leaders who see beyond what th...

The people at the Washington Post Magazine decided to conduct an experiment. They had Joshua Bell, one of the world’s leading violinists, set up as a street performer at the entrance of a Washington, D.C., Metro station and start playing his violin. Would people notice? Would he be showered with m...

There was a man who went to the wailing wall to pray twice a day for 25 years. A friend asked, “What do you pray for so diligently?” The man replied, “In the A.M. I pray for world peace and the brotherhood of man. In the P.M. I pray for the eradication of all illnesses and disease....

“Everyone wants to know if they ‘have it’. And every person has to be tested to find out. A real battle tests you and shows you what you’ve got! And young people can’t ‘find it,’ because they’ve never been tested.” These are the words of Johnny W...

When I think of the great men names like Abraham, David, John the Baptist, and Paul come to mind. I doubt this guy named Jethro makes anyones list. But he should. Without Jethro, we may have lost the Jews and with them, Jesus! And, if he was alive today he may have written the book “Simple Chu...