5 Tips for Wise Giving
Last week, I confessed my own tendency to throw money at anything that pulls at my heartstrings. (If you missed it, give it a read). Generosity without wisdom can, at minimum, do little good. Often, it can do real damage [...]
God is Able
2017 has been a tough year for me in many ways. Perhaps you’ve felt it too. Some days it seems that the bad news never stops coming, and that the darkness of politics, social divides, violence, fear, and hatred will [...]
Dignity: Our Measuring Stick
we need to change the way we think about being involved in others lives. Too often we leave the poor feeling like they are a project to cross off our to-do lists rather than people we genuinely care about.
Snacks, Security Tags, and Sam’s Club
This blog was originally posted in August 2014. John has added a quick update on Palash and his family at the end of this post. We met Palash, Dawa and their family through Lutheran Social Services in November of 2014. [...]
Jesus in the Face of the Poor
This blog was originally posted on July 30, 2014 A few months ago I was talking to an acquaintance who owns several rental properties in town. He mentioned to me that one of his homes was open and that he [...]
Pray: Refugees
My earliest memory of being aware of refugees even existing simply involves sitting in a living room with a family I couldn’t talk to (because we didn’t speak the same language), and being served my first cup of Turkish coffee [...]
The Local Church
There is undeniable dissatisfaction with church among Christians around the world these days. People leave one local church for another or even stop gathering. The reasons could be worship music, length of sermon, leadership style, facilities…but I believe the underlying [...]
Jehovah Adonai – The Sovereign Lord
This past month I’ve had one of those experiences where one name of God seemed to jump out at me from every direction – when I read my Bible, when our pastor talked on Sunday, when we sang worship songs, [...]
Overcoming the “Me First” Mentality
This blog was originally posted in August 2015. Entry one of a six-part series. “Imagine for a moment how you would feel if you were in their shoes…” It was a phrase I heard many times as a kid. I [...]
Love Your Enemy
Recently, we had friends visiting our place and we had good conversations about ministry and life in general. Somehow the topic of loving your neighbor came up, and one of them said that this is one principle he struggles putting [...]