By Dr. Tom Barnette

A Question to Consider: Why do so many people get stuck in a ditch and not seem to be able to climb out to save their life?

Well, technology came first, but man, being naturally lazy, invented ditch technology.

Ditc ...

By Joel Engle
There is no doubt that 2010 was a year of tribulation for my family and me. Dealing with the loss of my best friend and then my father-in-law was a very tough time.
Honestly, the suddenness of my best friend Thomas' death nearly derailed me from minis ...

By Sara Mitchell

I remember when I first woke up. Freshman year of college, in the middle of a night with wild and very cold air - a Honduran, a guitarist, and I had just watch ...

By James Castellano
Read Part One and/or Part Two
The final two pieces of VALID leadership are not as concrete as the first three. They are i ...

By Dr. Darrell Horn
"Literary theft." Simply stated, "Plagiarism occurs when a writer duplicates another writer's language or ideas and then calls the work his or her own. Copyright laws protect writers' words as their legal property. To avoid the charge of plagiar ...

By Phil Longmire
When I received my first call to plant a church, many moons ago, I was directed by a church planting organization to take a spiritual gift assessment. What was alarming to me was the result of the test, and I have to admit I was extremely emb ...

By James Castellano
Read Part One
The first three pieces of the Valid Leadership concept are essential to becoming an effective leader. There are no substitutes. These are your extern ...

By Dr. Darrell Horn
Read Part One :: Read Part Two
...

Read Part One
By Dr. Darrell Horn
There are at least three basic principles of any good strategy pl ...

By Ed Chinn
Do you realize that you have never seen yourself?
You've only seen a flat image of your likeness in a mirror, photograph, or video. But, apart from those human inventions, you would have no idea what you even look like.
Surely our Cre ...

By Darlene D. Stern
I have always had a special place in my heart for "... every nation, tribe and tongue..." For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to travel the world. In the past several years, I've had several opportunities to travel overseas on short-term ministry ...

By Dr. Darrell Horn
There are at least three basic principles of any good mission and/or ministry strategy plan. We will avoid many pitfalls of mission and ministry work when we are guided by these basic principles.
In short, the three principles are N. I. R....

By Ed Chinn
In November of 2005 - courtesy of the US Navy's "Tiger Cruise" program - I rode the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, from Honolulu to San Diego.
From the moment you step aboard the ship, you quickly become immersed in the environmen ...

By Jennifer Crouse
Hospitality: another favorite topic of mine.
I've probably said every chapter of Lauren Winner's Mudhouse Sabbath is my favorite so far. Let the pattern continue.

The Hebrew word is "hachassat orchim" and literally ...

By Justin Hyde
Many people ask me, "What do 'family devotions' look like at your house?" or, "How do you pastor your family?" or even more simply, "Do you pray or read the Bible with your wife and children?" Here is one attempt to answer those questions.
...

By Mitch Chase
At the end of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gave His followers the famous Great Commission: "make disciples of all nations" (Matt 28:19-20). Believers must embrace these words as binding on the church today. The church of Jesus Christ must see that His commi ...

By J.R. Dodson, Ouachita Baptist University
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the ...

By Wendy Paine Miller
Sometimes we have a word that defines our current focus. My word lately is time. I’m wise to manage it, to be a good steward of it. Quite simply, I need to ...

By Merritt Johnston
Vincent Van Gogh once said, "Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it." You see, Van Gogh was a gifted artist, yet he was a tormented soul governed all too easily by his emotions....

By Stephen Miller
Douglas and Marvin awoke today to the frantic shuffling of their mother and aunt dragging their bed across the dirt floor of their 8'X10' home in the rain forest of El Salvador. As water cascaded across the floor, now mud, they desperately t ...

By Mike Skinner
I had the privilege of serving as a counselor at Sky Ranch Christian Summer Camp during the summer of 2007. It was an experience that I will never forget, as it has shaped and molded me beyond explanation. It was during my time at Sky Ranch that I le ...

By David Wallace
The human digestive system works on a simple principle. Food goes in, waste goes out. Along the way, the body is nourished. Sometimes, though, something goes wrong and constipation results. Food goes in, nothing comes out. Along the way, the body ...

By David Pillen
We've most likely all heard it before. The story about the young rich man and how...
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in ...

By Dr. J. B. Hixson
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have receiv ...