• A Christmas Eve Disaster
  ’Twas the night before Christmas, and the scene of the crime was Savannah, Georgia. The year was 1989. Our oldest son was three and a half. Our second son was one and a half. The third was still...»
• A Follower of Jesus
  Many years ago, when I was pastoring in the States, our church sponsored an evangelistic concert featuring a then popular Christian recording artist. After a couple of songs the singer introduced...»
• A Friend of Sinners
  Several times each year, I receive a letter from the editor of Evangelicals Today magazine assigning me deadlines and topics. During the many years I have been a...»
• A Job Description for Life
  It was December 31, several years ago during our New Year’s Eve service. The whole congregation was passionately worshipping God, except me. I was being crushed under the weight of too much ministry...»
• A Matter of Life and Death
  Walking with God means, among other things, holding to His promises no matter what we face. Abraham held to the promise of a son for twenty-five years before he saw an answer. Some of us hold on...»
• Bitter or Better?
  A few months ago, I took one of my sons to watch the South East Asia Games tennis finals at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila. At least 95% of the crowd packed into center court were...»
• Building a Ministry or Ministering to People?
  Several years ago, in my endless quest to figure out how to grow a big church, I visited one of the largest churches in America. It seemed to have all the contemporary earmarks of a modern...»
• Catchin' Birds and Fishin' for Men
  I was making a routine call home to talk to my wife. I expected her to answer the phone, but was surprised to hear the voice of my seven-year-old. Hello, this is...»
• Crashing Planes and Crushing Myths
  September 11, 2001. As always, I phoned my dad to wish him a happy birthday. I was getting ready for bed in Manila. He was getting ready for work in Mississippi. After a brief discussion...»
• "Daddy, I Disobeyed"
  I was thousands of miles away ministering at a men’s retreat near Seattle, Washington. My wife and three sons were in Atlanta, Georgia. I was making a routine phone call to let them know...»
• Defeating the Three-Eyed Monster
  Have you ever had that dream where you are being chased by a monster? Not just any dime-store monster, but a big, ugly, stinky monster, worse than anything Frodo and Sam ever faced. You know...»
• Does God Really Forgive and Forget?
  It was Saturday night and James, my eight-year-old, was completing his daily ritual of writing in his journal before bedtime. His brothers were asleep, so I tiptoed into the room...»
• Empty Hands on Empty Heads
  A simple man from deep in the backwoods took his family to the big city for the first time. He and his son wandered into the lobby of a fancy hotel. They watched an old, ragged cleaning lady limp...»
• Exaggeration
  There have been times when I was speaking abroad, and my hosts exaggerated my introduction so much that I was not sure I was the one being introduced. Should I correct the faulty info or...»
• Fallen and Injured, but Determined to Finish
  1988 summer Olympics. Seoul, South Korea. Eight men started the race. Only seven finished. British 400-meter runner Derek Redmond had to quit because of an injury to his...»
• Freedom from the Stomach God
  “I’ve been set free! This book has set me free!� This was the first sign of life Roberto had shown since our pastor had encouraged our church to join the multi-denominational nation-wide three days of prayer...»
• Full-time is Not a Calling
  “Pastor, I want to be full-time.� I had no idea what he wanted when he set the appointment with me, but I certainly was not expecting this. “Full-time what?� I asked...»
• God Told Me
  A few years ago when our church was meeting in the Shangri-La Mall, we had all kinds of drop-in visitors. They ranged from the famous to the infamous: celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, socialites, wannabes...»
• Hard Work and the Grace of God
  Several years ago after “talent day� at Faith Academy, a couple of moms told Deborah and I how impressed they were with one of our son’s piano playing. According to them, he was light-years ahead...»
• Hold the Ropes
  The date was January 19. The year: 1888. The place: Toronto, Canada. The old, historic Knox Church was filled to capacity. Excitement was in air. The young man and his new bride were...»
• Honorable Mention or Dishonorable Discharge?
  Growing up in a typical American sports-crazed family, I remember going to awards banquets at the end of every football, basketball, and baseball season and watching as the coach recognized the best players with...»
• If You Were in My Shoes
  Several years ago, I was in the States eating Mexican food with an old friend who was trying to start a new church. After months of prayer and hard work, the church was...»
• Image is Nothing, Integrity is Everything
  I recently received a letter addressed to "Apostle Steve Murrel." The name on the return address didn't ring a bell. The address, some unheard of town in Florida, was as unfamiliar to me as...»
• Leadership, Big Brothers, and Big Faith
  "I’ll only go if James goes." Jonathan, my five-year old, absolutely refused to go to children’s church alone...»
• Lessons From My Fish Tank
  One of our pastors recently gave me an aquarium for my birthday. Because I knew nothing about pet fish, it remained empty in the corner of my office for several weeks. Eventually a fish-loving church member felt sorry for me and...»
• Lessons From the Pope
  I was in Auckland, New Zealand teaching pastors, missionaries, and campus ministers about discipleship, leadership, and church growth. I am rarely late for a meeting, but this time I was having a hard time...»
• Making Disciples or Discipling Nations?
  The modern Evangelical church tends to celebrate the “Great Commission� of making disciples of individuals while ignoring the “Cultural Mandate� to disciple nations. One reason for the neglect is our gross ignorance of history...»
• Money and Ministry
  Several years ago it seemed like every pastor in this nation was preaching about the Philippines’ destiny as a mighty missionary sending nation. I believe it. I’ve preached it and prayed it....»
• Never Too Young
  Several years ago I went on a scouting trip to the campus of the world's largest high school, located less than two kilometers from my church office in Manila. Two things happened as I walked around Rizal High School and...»
• Parenting Tips from Forrest Gump
  It does not take a genius to be successful at home. Forrest Gump was not a smart man, but he had a pretty good grip on parenting. In the last scene of the Gump movie, when Little Forrest was getting on the bus for his...»
• Parking Lots and Church-Growth
  The pastor who picked me up at the San Francisco airport had recently returned from a church growth conference led by the pastor of one of the "fastest growing churches in America." Never mind that there...»
• Position or Power?
  In one of my all-time favorite movie scenes, Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart sums up real leadership while addressing the self-centered cowardly Scottish nobles: “You think the people of this country exist to...»
• Separation of Church and State
  First of all I want to make it clear that I will not vote for any of the candidates running for president in the upcoming Philippine election. It is not because none of the candidates are qualified. It is because I am not...»
• Succeeding at Church, Failing at Home
  Before me stood a man I had respected and admired for years. I had read his books. I had been inspired by his powerful church and challenged by his passionate preaching. His prayer life was exemplary...»
• Thanks, Dad . . . See You in Heaven
  On January 28, 2002 at 9 PM, my dad breathed his last breath and slipped from time into eternity. He was seventy-four years old. He had been in and out of the hospital several times since...»
• The Born (Again) Identity
  In the opening scene of the Hollywood blockbuster, “The Bourne Identity,� a fisherman spots actor Matt Damon floating in the ocean and pulls him into his boat. He soon finds that half-dead Matt has...»
• The Lost Art of Friendship
  Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play professional major league baseball in America, has become an international sports icon. He is recognized as one of the all-time best to ever play...»
• The Meaning of Life
  While at my favorite beach in the Philippines, I overheard the following conversation. “Come on, Daddy. Come down the slide with me.� Splash! “It’s fun . . . and see, the water’s not too cold...»
• The Next Generation
  The year was 1924. The Olympic Games were staged in Paris, France. These were the same Olympics immortalized in the film "Chariots of Fire" that traced the dreams and internal struggles of two Olympic champions...»
• The Not-So-Spiritual Side of Church Growth
  Sometimes churches grow then get stuck. I have a friend whose church has been stuck at 700 members for five years. That is already a big church, but my friend has a vision to reach many more...»
• The Problem with Preacher's Kids
  "Why are you misbehaving in my class? You should not act like this since your father is a pastor." Comments like this, from the mouths of frustrated teachers, are quite common at Christian schools. But, why is it...»
• The Spirit is Willing, but the Wallet is Weak
  "Daddy, I got a great idea," my five-year old was beaming with joy. "What’s your great idea, Jonathan?" "We could all go to America for Christmas this year. Then, we could play...»
• The Ultimate Goal
  It was early Sunday morning. I was at my desk with my Bible wide open and my eyes half-closed. I could feel myself slipping into a trance, or was it a nap, as I put the finishing touches on my first sermon of...»
• Tsismis and the Danger of One-sided Stories
  I received an urgent phone call recently from a Christian businessman asking my counsel about a business deal with another Christian that was going sour. Some associates were advising him to file a...»
• Why Me?
  I had just said the last “amen,� dismissing the second morning worship service. People were still crowding the altar. Some requested prayer for healing, some for salvation. Others just needed a little encouragement...»
• World Vision and Diet Coke
  "We will see that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coke for five cents, wherever he is in the world and no matter how much it costs us." This vision was stated by Robert Woodruff, then president of Coca-Cola...»