If I am fully prepared, a test is not a frightful experience for me. Then again, if I’ve not studied, I might panic a bit. Life is fertile soil for testing.  The Old Testament character, Job, faced a challenging test; a test for which he was not fully prepared. The test: “If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!” Job 23:3 (NIV) Job confesses that he is bitter and powerless before a God who seems to be in hiding while Job is suffering. C.S. Lewis, while grieving the loss of his wife, wrote in A Grief Observed: “When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense...

Someone asked me the other day, “What do you read and listen to?”  So I thought maybe others would like to know.  Well… if you did or didn’t, the following  answers questions you might not of asked but  want to know anyway. Current Reading: De-Railed, Tim Irwin, Ph.D. Everyone Communicates Few Connects ,  John Maxwell Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God, Mark Galli Leadership Beyond Reason, Dr. John Townsend Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion,Wayne Cordeiro Making Room For Leadership, MaryKate Morse Missional Map-making...

This came across my desk the other day. I thought it was hilarious. 10. To be able to eat a whole candy bar (alone) and drink a Coke without any “floaters.” 9. To have a 14-year-old answer a question without rolling her eyes in that “Why is this person my mother?” way. 8. Five pounds of chocolate that won’t add twenty. 7. A shower without a child peeking through the curtain with a “Hi ya, Mom!” just as I put razor to my ankle. 6. A full-time cleaning person who looks like Brad Pitt. 5. For a teenager to announce, “Hey, Mom! I got a full scholarship...

This coming weekend we will be looking at another portrait of Jesus by John.  In John 5, Jesus had an interesting exchange with a disabled man at the Pool of Bethesda.  The man had been there, knocked down, alone, and broken for 38 years, or to put it into perspective 13,870 days.  That’s a long time to suffer!  When Jesus saw him… (I love that observation by John), Jesus saw and knew this man had been ill for a long time.  The story of this man’s healing is a remarkable story, and the question Jesus asks reveals there is much more in it than meets the eye.  Jesus asked this...

Over the past weeks I’ve written that in order to cope with all the changes we face, it is important to know the things that do not change.  God’s love never changes and God’s word will never change.  Today I want to add a third unchanging essential.   GOD’S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE WILL NEVER CHANGE. Have you notice that our plans often get changed? Why?  One of the reasons is we cannot see the future.  Several years ago Elli and I had made plans for a three day get-a-away.  It didn’t happen because something  prevented us from leaving town.   Circumstances beyond our control...

Have you read something that is already out-of-date?  When human beings write things they often get out of date very quickly.  Our society is changing so fast: we’re making such breakthroughs in technology, medicine, and science.   If you read an issue of Psychology Today from 1980 and compared it to an issue in 2010 you  would discover shifts of theories and therapies. You might be asking, “What’s your point Dave?”   If you build you life on things that change, you’ve got a shaky foundation.  Look at Psalms 119:152 (NLT) “I have known from my earliest days that your laws will...

I just read an article entitled What’s Changing—and What’s Not, by Marian V. Liautaud. Marian is the editor for Your Church Resources at Christianity Today International. Her position includes serving as editor for a variety of books, publications, websites, and e-newsletters. In the article I read she points to Dave Travis, Managing Director of Leadership Network, who is a sought after commentator on the issues facing American churches. One of the things that is changing is Social media. Senior pastors under 40 who are leading large churches all use social media. Well I’m not under...

Tiger Woods confirms his return to golf at the Masters. I really enjoy the game of golf and have watched Tiger’s story unfold with great interest. April 5-11 will be one of, if not the biggest, media spectacles in recent memory. Why? Obviously, one could list a myriad of reasons; allow me to attach one for your consideration. Maybe we, in America, have blurred the line between athletic competences and personal character. Many have made the mistake to believe that because someone excels in one area of life, they must excel in others as well. Tiger made this statement, “I have undergone...

Proverbs 3:21-23 (TLB) 21 Have two goals: wisdom—that is, knowing and doing right—and common sense. Don’t let them slip away, 22 for they fill you with living energy and bring you honor and respect. 23 They keep you safe from defeat and disaster and from stumbling off the trail. Life’s greatest challenge is not the choice between the good and the bad, but the choice between the good and the best. I believe this wholeheartly. Still I have been wrestling with taking it to another level. One aspect of character growth and maturity is the ability to lose the good, in order to gain the better. Living...

My grandson, Lukis, called me last week to say happy birthday. After saying happy birthday, he asked me two questions, “Papa, how old are you?” I answered, “Fifty-four.” Without hesitation, he asked, “Are you going to have an old papa birthday party? Life goes so fast. I can remember as if it were yesterday when my son, Levi, was my grandson’s age. That season in my life was unquestionably one of the most precious gifts and privileges in life, and yet, I was young, inexperienced, and consequently missed savoring some of those special moments. I have learned a...