My first encounters with faith came about the time I was a Boy Scout, at about 14 or 15. I made the logical deduction that they operate the same way; I treated my faith like earning a merit badge, and everything about Christianity was about earning merit badges.

The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.

Baptism is bowing before the Father and letting him do his work.

Want to learn to forgive? Then consider how you've been forgiven.

I really believe the purpose of Scripture is to give us this authoritative handbook.

The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you'll ever get to God.

All preaching should be as creative as we can make it. We've been entrusted with such a treasure. To have anywhere from 50 to 5000 people who give us 30 minutes of their time to hear whatever we want to say - I think they deserve all the creativity that we can give.