Yesterday our family spent some time going to the Pistons game. I was able to get some $10 tickets – God always provides 🙂 It was quite an experience for the kids! With all the lights, music and crazy giveaways, the kids were soaking it all up. When Josiah was younger, I took him to […]
Excellence in Everything
I sent out an article to the executive team of our church about the topic of excellence. Then I received an e-mail from one of the leaders in response. Here is a portion of the e-mail (I normally don’t do post other people’s e-mail but I thought it was pretty significant… and I received permission […]
Countdown to Season 6
I was just thinking… The Encarta World English Dictionary defines, “anticipation” as, “the feeling of looking forward, usually excitedly or eagerly, to something that is going to happen.” Mondays will be packed with action again – watch the trailer Why does the world know how to build anticipation better than the Church? What would happen […]
It’s More Than A Race
Awhile back, I shared about a father-son relationship that inspired me. Rick Hoyt, who has cerebral palsy, with his dad, Dick Hoyt ran nearly 1,000 marathons and triathlons over 27 years. Wow! You have to read their testimony for yourself… click here
Kapsowar’s Project Update 2
I got an update from Dr. Steve regarding the mortuary project and I wanted to share it with all of you. It seems like things are on track. If they can have it built by the time our married couples’ missions team goes out in December, then it will be an extra blessing. Once again, […]
A Disruptive Idea?
I had breakfast with one of the members this morning. We were talking about various topics but one phrase that caught my attention was “disruptive technology.” The internet is a “disruptive technology” because it changed the way we live. The iPod (which is celebrating it 5th year anniversary) is a “disruptive technology” – it has […]
God at Work in Chicago
Yesterday, we had one of our largest attended Sunday Celebration since the inaugural service. The word is spreading and God is moving. We really sensed the Holy Spirit ministering to the people. As we have been covering the “Kingdom Living” series, both in AA and Chicago, I am reminded again about the importance of Ac […]
Membership in Chicago
We had our Experiencing Membership class this past Saturday at HMCC of Chicago. Since we don’t have our own facilities, we ended up renting out the downstairs of a cafĂ© near the Northwestern campus (a blessing in disguise). It brought a great atmosphere for this class. We had an open tab for people to get […]
Exaltation in Chicago
I will be heading out to Chicago today to do part 4 of our 5-part ACCESS series called, “Training for Transformation.” I will be talking about “Exaltation.” The more I thought about it, I realized that worship is a vital part of the HMCC experience. It is not just in our praise time but how […]
Family Portrait
Yesterday we took our family portrait. The last time we took one was when Josiah was about a year old. Oh, how things have changed. It is in these family portraits that you begin to see how quickly time flies. The kids are growing up, and Christina and I look a bit older. I think […]
Opportunities to be the CBTW
CBTW? The Church Beyond the Walls. This is what we have been talking about for a year and a half in our church. In order for us to be a missional church, we have to go to where the people are and also consider finding ways to bring the Gospel to the people in fresh […]
Leadership Principle: It starts at the top
“Everything rises and falls with leadership”… this is a principle even lived out in the sports world. When a team fails, do they fire the players or the coach? It is usually the latter. We found this out this week… read here. What should we do in the church? In sports they fight for millions […]
Staying Connected
Yesterday, I met up with an African-American pastor here in the local area. In the last 6 years we have developed a strong relationship with one another. It is kind of weird because he is 20+ years my elder, but for some reason we connected from day one and we have developed a good friendship […]
Courting Memories
This past Monday, I spent the whole day with Christina. It is easy to go through married life on cruise control because there are so many constants – the kids, the schedules, the activities, the routine, etc. Before you know it, your lives are going parallel rather than intersecting together. Therefore, we decided to spend […]