Ideas for Celebrating Thanksgiving
As you celebrate Thanksgiving this week, here are five practical ideas for demonstrating your gratitude to God.1. Count your blessings. Literally. Number a paper from 1 to 20 and don’t stop until you have written 20 things that are gifts from God.2. Memorize Psalm 106:1 and repeat it each day for a week. “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever.” You could say it all together before your Thanksgiving feast.3. Call or e-mail a friend and tell that pers

Podcast: It'll All Work Out

What Gives You Hope?
Attention aspiring writers. Here is the essence of a good story. 1. Somebody wants something.2. They try to get it, but keep running into obstacles.3. Finally, they get it (or they don't, if you're writing tragedy).That's it. Every story from Pride and Prejudice to Ernest Goes to Camp can be reduced that formula. Everybody's life--including yours--is a story of setbacks, challenges, and frustrations.Though we might define it differently, each

Can a Church Be Both High-Tech and High-Touch?
Last week I blogged about changes I’d like to see in the worship space at Fall Creek Wesleyan Church. Some of the comments posted in response mention a concern that is often expressed as churches grow, which is the fear that a sense of community will disappear as a church grows larger. That concern is sometimes heard in comments like these—I hope w

Seven Things That Will Improve Our Worship Space
When I became pastor at Fall Creek Wesleyan Church earlier this year, I knew that one of our challenges would be to make enhancements to the room we use for worship. We’re fortunate to have this beautiful facility here on some of the most visible real estate in one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Yet the building is 10 years old and in need of some improvement. And the worship center, as we call it, was