Painting or Palette? Thoughts on Suicide and the Meaning of Life

NASHVILLE—A few years ago, when my youngest son Jonathan was in high school, I came home and found him painting in our garage. As usual, he was covered in paint, as were several large canvases. I noticed a smaller one that looked like an abstract painting. The colors...

The Pain of Prophetic Preaching

NASHVILLE—Because I live in two nations, I get to be part of two local churches, one in Manila and one in Nashville. For obvious reasons, Victory Manila is 99% Filipino. For reasons that are not as obvious, Bethel is approximately 55% black (African American and...

Whoever Strikes First

LONDON—Deborah and I are in London this week for our annual Every Nation International Apostolic Team (IAT) meeting and Every Nation's Build Conference for Europe. Every year, our regional team leaders from every region of the world gather together to fellowship,...

Should the Church be More Inclusive or Exclusive?

NASHVILLE—One of the biggest challenges that Christians face today is reconciling the seemingly exclusive claims of Jesus with the postmodern cultural value of inclusivity. Whether you are at a Starbucks or a law firm, a university campus or a preschool, inclusivity...

The Necessity of the Cross

NASHVILLE — For almost a month, I have been blogging about the importance of preaching (and singing) the cross. But as we begin Holy Week, I want to take a closer look at the importance of the cross itself. When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, just a few hours...

Singing the Cross

MANILA — A few days ago, I retweeted this quote from theologian and New Testament scholar Gordon Fee: “Show me a church’s music, and I’ll show you their theology.” The sobering implication is this: your church’s theology will more closely mirror the music you sing...

How to Preach the Cross

MANILA—Last week, I wrote about the importance of preaching the cross. We must continually emphasize the cross because it is something that most people (religious or secular) don’t want to hear—and it’s something that most preachers (evangelical or otherwise) don’t...

Preaching the Cross

MANILA—When I was growing up, my family did not go to church every Sunday, but we never missed Christmas Eve or Easter. This image of the "Christmas-and Easter-only” churchgoer is always in the back of my mind when I prepare to preach in the weeks leading up to Easter...

Looking for Leaders vs Seeing Leaders

TAGAYTAY, PHILIPPINES—I am enjoying a few days in beautiful Tagaytay for our annual Every Nation Asian Leadership Team (ALT) meeting. The last time Deborah and I were here, it was for my son James's wedding. Whenever I gather with our leaders from Asia and hear the...

Four Lessons From the Life of Billy Graham

MANILA—Earlier today, Billy Graham, perhaps the most influential religious figure of the twentieth century, died in his home in North Carolina at the age of ninety-nine. Right now, religious and political leaders all over the world are mourning his death and...

God’s Will and Our Will

DUBAI—This past weekend, Deborah and I stopped in Singapore on our way to Every Nation's 2018 Build Conference in Dubai. On Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching at Every Nation Church Singapore. The church is going through a series in Genesis, and I was asked to...

God, Where Are You? A Four-Year-Old’s Theology on Prayer

NASHVILLE — A few days ago, I was walking through a parking garage with my granddaughter Josephine, and out of nowhere, she started shouting these words: “God, are you there? God, where are you?” Her questions echoed through the parking garage as we walked toward the...

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