New Heroes
One of the best things about the growing diversity in the Southern Baptist Convention is the inclusion of new heroes. There have been pioneers among Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic, and Romanian Southern Baptists (and many other groups as well). The groups listed here are particularly significant for me because of personal relationships with the founders […]
Resiliency
We are kicking off another semester at Gateway this week. Since most of our students live in California (even in an online or video-classroom world), maintaining academic programs and organizational operations is challenging. Our COVID infection and death rates in Southern California are still very high. Several of our faculty and many students have had […]
Making It Work
Over this past weekend, I attended a men’s ministry meeting at my current church and a worship service at my former church. Being at these church events reminded me it has been more than a decade since I have been a racial or cultural majority member of a church. Our former church was a multiracial, […]
A Crisis Gospel
Events last week in Washington, D.C. were historic in all the wrong ways. For those of us who train leaders, it was a case study in leadership failures culminating in disgustingly seditious acts. For Christians, it was embarrassing as Capitol invaders carried symbols of our faith, appropriated our language, and referenced God as being on […]
Why Plan for the Future
A pastor recently shared an observation and a dilemma all leaders face. He told me about his strategic plan for 2020, and how it disintegrated and had to be recreated in a very different form in March 2020 when the COVID pandemic emerged as the defining cultural event for last year. His observation: our best-laid […]
Apologetics: Five Ways to Equip Yourself for Tough Questions
A common fear of Bible teachers and small group leaders is being asked tough questions for which you do not have an answer. No one wants to feel embarrassed, unprepared, or unqualified. Sadly, this common fear keeps some otherwise willing and able Christians from serving as teachers and group leaders. My goal is to help […]
When I Don’t Feel Like Teaching
You are working from home due to the quarantine. It just seems harder to get anything done. Preparation time for your Bible study has been hard to find, and you are frustrated at the lack of excitement and participation when you get your class together on Zoom. When you don’t feel like teaching, what do […]
Teaching “Deep” Bible Study – Part Three
Deep Bible study causes learners to contemplate the truths of God’s word. But, Bible study that only leads to understanding and does not affect transformation can’t really be called “deep.” Deep Bible study is transformational. It leads people to life change. How do we teach for life change? Here are some suggestions: Depend on the […]
Teaching “Deep” Bible Study – Part Two
Sometimes Bible teachers confuse their own deep Bible study with deep Bible study for their group members. It is true that you cannot lead learners to deep Bible study if you have not dug deeply into the passage yourself. (It’s hard to lead someone to a place you haven’t been to.) But, your deep study […]
Teaching “Deep” Bible Study – Part One
Many Bible teachers want to know how to make their Bible study “deeper.” Too many Bible studies teach familiar passages in the same old ways. The concepts addressed by learners may seem moralistic (“just try to be a good person”) or simplistic (“Jesus will help you with your problem”), and leave people hungry for something […]