More than a decade ago I sat on the edge of my seat as I listened to an aged pastor tell the remarkable story of his experience leading a church in Washington, D.C. In vivid detail he described each phase of the church's fifty-year journey, remembering like it was yesterday each daring, faith-filled step of this small, yet courageous

“It is the Word that prunes the Christian. It is the truth that purges him.” That's how C.H. Spurgeon described the Bible's transformative impact on our lives. The Word of God is such an incredible gift! The message of the Bible is a life-giving force for those who follow Christ. It sets spiritual expectations and provides a

Last month I was on the edge of my seat as our founder's grandson, Paul Palmer, Jr., told me how the Chesapeake Lodge came to be — it's a story only God could write! It was the mid-1980s, and Sandy Cove, as rich in faith as it had ever been, was preparing for one of its most ambitious projects to date: the creation of a retreat and

In my last post, we talked about the irreducible minimums of discipleship: allegiance, obedience, and trust. Today we'll explore the heart of discipleship, the soil out of which allegiance, obedience, and trust emerge. It all starts with a question Jesus posed to Peter not long after His resurrection: “Simon, son of John, do you truly

Throughout the Gospels, discipleship emerges as the primary catalyst for spiritual formation in the lives of those who follow Jesus. It's no different today. We can't grow spiritually if we're not keeping company with Jesus, if we're not connected to the Vine (John 15:5). Neither can we grow spiritually if we're not connected to other people

  Einstein was right when he said, “No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word.” Jesus has a certain kind of magnetism, an appeal that goes beyond human charisma, and whenever I interact with the Gospels I'm reminded of this. Open up Matthew, Mark, Luke, or

I seem to respond so much better to praise than I do to criticism. I suspect most of us do. I can still remember receiving a beautiful card from a couple who had been following Jesus for longer than I'd been alive. Written inside were these words, among others: “We thank you for bringing Jesus so deep into our hearts...Your leadership

Nearly a decade ago I was in a situation I had never been in before. A church in another state was talking to me about becoming their next pastor. Part of that process included providing a detailed history of my pastoral leadership experiences. I can still remember looking at the questionnaire they sent me and wondering where to begin, mainly

  I am not a perfect man. Unlike Jesus, I don't always do the right thing. Because of this, it has become increasingly important for me to rely on the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-27). Over the years, the Holy Spirit is someone I've grown to appreciate more and more as my sin and shortcomings, my chronic imperfection, become more readily