Are you ready for some…Golf? April 12, 2012

Each spring for the past several years a group of men has headed south for a time of great fellowship, relationship building, and golf.  Lots of golf.  The group has grown to over 40 this year, and everyone seems to be excited about going.  Remember that word “going.” Back in January our Community Outreach Team [...]

mambo sawa sawa March 22, 2012

I just returned from Nairobi, Kenya, where I spent time training the pastors and management staff of Mission of Hope International.  They believed I was there to teach them. I knew I was there to learn. And I did.  Here are two lessons, gifts really, I was given and am still processing… Every ministry leader [...]

Hungry people are everywhere. February 21, 2012

Hungry people are everywhere. One morning, years ago, I was running tight to leave for work.  I was standing at the kitchen counter drinking my morning protein shake and my five year-old son Elijah walked in from just waking up. “Dad, I want some breakfast.” Renee was still asleep from working late the night before [...]

A microloan can make a big dent December 15, 2011

A couple of months ago, I loaned Juliana Mutheu Matheka 25 dollars. It was easy.  I went to bigdent.org. And I received an email this week that she has now repaid 100% of the loan!  It went on to say… Juliana is grateful to be a part of Missions of Hope and has done an [...]

“The poor will always be with you.” Really? October 20, 2011

The world is going to hell in a handbasket.  The evidence is everywhere: war, violence, poverty, AIDS, hunger, failed schools, high unemployment, corporate greed,  the price of gas.  Fill in the blank with the disaster of the day. But guess what I heard this week?  A vaccine for malaria has been tested and found to cut [...]

Two things that broke my heart today August 18, 2011

Recently, a friend referred to me an article describing a study that has found the number of American women attending church is decreasing. The stats were sad, but not surprising.  What really punched me in the gut were the discussion comments, which included: My religious upbringing was good for 2 things. 1) helping me understand [...]

Introducing Outlook Institute… July 29, 2011

Learning is an important and essential aspect of our development as disciples of Jesus.  The Bible and the Gospel it shares are truth…truth we learn, then know, then obey, then share ourselves. As a congregation we learn many important truths from the sermon on Sunday mornings (I hope ).  We also learn when we open [...]

Tap on the Shoulder June 28, 2011

On Friday, June 17, we took 15 high school students down to Rebuilding the Wall in Indianapolis.  RTW seeks to stabilize families and communities through relationships and home ownership.  We took our students down there to do some painting and gardening, and they learned much more than those skills. While we were there, Chris (Director [...]

What Are You Making Normal? June 7, 2011

We now have a minister who is a Doctor.  Pretty cool, isn’t it?  Rob earned his Doctor of Ministry at Grace Theological Seminary. It took years of study and perseverance to achieve this degree.  He had to drive up to Winona Lake for a week for each class, and there were many.  He had to pay money for those classes.  He [...]

For Japan March 17, 2011

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 4 There is a river whose streams make [...]