As I write these thoughts, I am flying home from Seattle where our youngest son, Matthew, was just married. My heart is thrilled to think of how God has blessed him with a new bride. I am excited to know that they are going to serve the Lord with their lives in the days ahead.

While I am glad that each of our four children is married to a godly spouse, I must admit I am a little sad at the passing of time. As I look back over the years of raising our children, I certainly can think of areas in which we could have done better. But I also thank the Lord that our four children went to the wedding altar in purity and with a dedication for the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I was thinking about why I should be glad, twenty-three reasons came to my mind: (more…)

The past twenty-four hours have been a vital time of training for our staff. It’s been thrilling for me to share the goals the Lord has placed on my heart for the coming year with a group of like-minded servants. We’ve all been encouraged and greatly challenged also by the teaching of Dr. David Gibbs and his assistant, Brother Steve Kluth. I’m thankful they would give of their time to us.

In these hours, I’ve shared much in the way of philosophies and implementing strategy, but during the lunch break today, I saw what captures the heart of our entire time of training. A group of staff members were gathered around a large map of the Antelope Valley that we’ve yearly displayed. They were identifying the areas their adult classes are given to reach with the Gospel and were, no doubt, praying for the Lord to give a harvest of souls. Even with binders full of notes, ideas, and lists, their focus was on reaching the lost. (more…)

This week was filled with unexpected challenges. Although these challenges were unexpected by us, they were, of course, known to our sovereign and loving God.

Our son, Larry, preached a powerful message at Coastline Baptist Church Sunday morning, where my brother Steve pastors. After the service, Larry became extremely ill and for the next thirty-six hours was in intense pain. After meeting with the doctors, they felt that Larry would need to have emergency surgery for what appeared to be an obstruction in his bowels, perhaps related to his previous surgeries.

We made the very difficult drive back down to Los Angeles to one of the major hospitals of our HMO. After spending twelve or thirteen hours in the emergency room, we met with surgeons, and through various therapies, they were able to avert the need for emergency surgery. (more…)

Have you ever considered the basic convictions that motivate a soulwinner to be faithful? Convictions are the spark plugs that keep the engine of faith going forward. And biblical convictions regarding the eternal souls of men and women move us forward in reaching the lost for Christ. (more…)

If you were to advertise in the classified section of a newspaper in search of a  leader, what qualifications would you ask for? Knowledge? People skills? Ability to assume and maintain control?

One person suggested the following classifieds ad:

HELP WANTED: SERVANT—Someone to do the often undesirable work for the sake of others. Needs strong sense of [worth] in God’s eyes and true compassion for others. Must be personally acquainted with the greatest Servant of all in order to continue his training. Work requires being on call 24 hours a day to meet needs of family, friends, and even strangers. Must be willing to give up his rights—no experience necessary—job begins today, right where you are.

Yes, leaders must continually grow in a wide variety of skills, but the baseline of spiritual leadership is a servant’s heart. Without it, no other skills will produce eternal fruit.

Our tendency is to want to be served far more than wanting to serve others. Yet Jesus Himself said, “…the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

Could you answer an ad for a servant?