What do we need?

January 29, 2021

It was in early 1965 that Jackie DeShannon recorded the hit song… What the world needs now is love. Burt Bacharach and Hal David had cowritten this musical masterpiece. The song was planted in fertile soil during a season of controversy over the Vietnam War and the escalating Civil Rights push. A year later, Dionne […]

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Leave them…

January 22, 2021

A week from Saturday I will walk up to a virtual podium and deliver what will likely be my last official sermon to the broadest YFC USA family as the President of the organization. Like a weighted blanket, the topic and reality have rested on me… not in a suffocating way, but as a righteous […]

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Published in 1807 and Still On Display

January 15, 2021

A picture. A puzzle. One thousand pieces. We received two for Christmas. One is complete, another is beckoning for attention. But what if, without my knowledge, the packers of the puzzles withheld pieces? What if it wasn’t just a piece or two, but many? What if the package showed a beautiful picture with the promise […]

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Dough-Time

January 8, 2021

Some non-Zoom focused days over Christmas afforded me a unique opportunity. I’ll call them “dough-times”. I grew up in a house where the smell of fresh bread often wafted about. My mother was a master. She mixed hymn singing with her bread making, and the results were heavenly, and worth every carbohydrate ingested. So over […]

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From Wuhan to Bethlehem

December 28, 2020

In late April I felt inspired to write the following content. Because of the relevance to Christmas, I thought we would run it again. Yes… Christ came. And it changed everything. 6900 miles. That’s how far it is from Wuhan, China to Denver. 6900 miles from the genesis of a global disease. A genesis that […]

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Malia is 13…

December 18, 2020

Saturday was a night of celebration. Malia, our oldest granddaughter turned 13. A teenager. A beautiful young woman. Her own voice. Her own gifts. Malia. So it wasn’t surprising that on a subsequent night, in the middle of my sleep, I awoke with Malia on my mind. But what hovered over my restless night were […]

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No Buddies in Bethlehem

December 11, 2020

Road trip! But not in the back of a minivan. This trip was on foot. Roughly 65 miles to be exact. Nazareth to Jerusalem. This was Passover. An annual celebration of God’s protective hand. Liberty. Freedom. Passover. Jesus, at 12. A boy… emerging as a young man. No doubt familiar communities collected in Jerusalem. A […]

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Shame on Mary

December 4, 2020

Before the miracles, gossip. Before the cross, whispers. Before an empty tomb, rumors. Before the swaddling clothes, a pregnant, unmarried teenager. Before glorious praise, scandal. Before Magi worship, neighborhood humiliation. Before confidence, doubt. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Gabriel“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit […]

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Danny… The Expanded Story of Grace

November 20, 2020

19. Still a teenager, but with enough pain, brokenness, confusion and trauma to cover a lifetime. Drugs, alcohol, violence were the white noise of Danny’s existence. Then, desperation, a weapon, and an unsuspecting victim. At gun point Danny held up a man who confessed to having none of the cash that Danny hoped to retrieve. […]

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Then Danny…

November 13, 2020

It started with an invitation to share a bit of your personal story. A dozen of us. My YFC USA Cabinet. Some with stories that mirror mine… Then Danny… In the early days of Youth For Christ, it was Billy. Passionate. Powerful. Focused. Vigilant. Fierce. Humble. Gentle. Billy. Then Danny… New York City, not Charlotte. […]

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