Photo by HMCC-AA Publication Team I am so excited to start a whole new sermon series on the Book of Colossians throughout the months of May through August. It has been awhile since we have systematically studied a whole book together on Sundays. But the more I began to pray through […]
The Pomp, Pageantry, and Preparation?
TIME Magazine Cover It is that time of the year again – the weather gets warmer, the flowers start to bloom, and the winter clothes are put away. This is when you know the spring season has officially arrived in Michigan (people in Michigan have been conditioned not to think it […]
Leadership Lessons from a Navy SEAL
Photo from Courtesy Company There was a point in my life where I would daydream about being part of the Navy SEALs or even part of the Delta Force. There was always something about war movies or even documentaries on war that fascinated me. I think it was the sense of […]
Reflections on Easter 2011
Photo from Widescreen Wallpapers Now that the craziness of this past weekend is all over, I had some time to just sit down and reflect on everything that God accomplished. First of all, my heart is filled with thankfulness. The longer I do ministry, the more I am reminded that we […]
Innovators, Idealists, and Influencers (Pt 2)
I have been greatly encouraged to see God placing many future innovators and influencers in our church. As soon as I posted my entry on “Innovators, Idealists, and Influencers” (I3) yesterday, I received an e-mail with a video link. As I was watching it, I was reminded of several more things: 1) I3’s are […]
Innovators, Idealists, and Influencers
Photo from www.smithsonianmag.com I have an insatiable appetite for information. Couple that with a hunger and fascination with history and you get a person who is constantly reading, discovering, and asking questions. Sometimes my curiosity frustrates people (sorry); and it is often times misunderstood for my knack of “cornering people” to […]
Strategy for Planting Churches
Created by Paul Bulter, an intern at Facebook Recently, there have been an increasing number of people asking me, “How do we, as a church, decide which city or campus to plant a church in?” I think in light of our 2020 Vision, we are trying to come up with some […]
Another Run for the Bulls
In the 1980’s, I grew up watching the Chicago Bulls. After being drafted third overall by the Bulls in 1984, Michael Jordan stormed the NBA. The 1990’s was a special era for the Bulls. Not only did they achieve the best single season record in the NBA (72 wins), but they had two 3-peats […]
Review of “Transforming Discipleship”
I just recently finished reading Greg Ogden’s book, Transforming Discipleship. I was given this book for free to provide a review; therefore, since I enjoy reading and the topic is something that I am passionate about (anything with the word “transform” has my attention [smile]), I decided to write some things […]
Same Song but a Different Time
One of our church members forwarded me a music video of the 25th Anniversary of the song, “We are the World.” The original song was released on March 1985 which was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie; and it was produced by the legendary Quincy Jones. In hopes of bringing awareness and also […]
Jesus Is…
Designed by HMCC Publications All the HMCC churches try to do at least two sermon series together within a year in order to have unity across all the different sites. Several months ago, the global pastors and I spent some time trying to decide on our Easter sermon series. The more […]
Asia Update #5 – 3.2011
Here are some final thoughts and reflections from my 8 days out here in Asia. The journey started in Hong Kong and ended in Jakarta with an incredible stop in between to Singapore. God is definitely doing some extraordinary things out here. God is on the move and He is challenging us to follow Him […]
Asia Update #4 – 3.2011
As I am concluding my trip to Indonesia, there are a flurry of thoughts running through my mind. I was in Karawaci for only a day and a half and in Yogjakarta for another 1.5 days. Though my trip out to Indonesia was very short, I was able to see many things that reaffirmed […]
Asia Update #3 – 3.2011
Right now, it is hard to describe everything that I am feeling and to put it in words. All I know is that my trip to Singapore this time around has been probably one of the best trips for me in the last 4-5 years. There was something about this trip that was […]