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My friend Matt Hyde lives in Boise, Idaho, a city that is 89 percent white. After he became the pastor of Discovery Church in 2013, he learned that refugees from many countries were living in Boise. They are from Bosnia, Serbia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nepal, Bhutan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Congo, Togo and Sudan. Most of them had fled political oppression or civil war. Many spent time in crude refugee camps before they were granted permission to move to the United States. Almost...
America has been in mourning for days. We’ve cried for the 49 victims of the senseless Orlando shooting. We’ve prayed for the families and friends of the innocent people who died in the Pulse nightclub, and the 53 others who were wounded in the massacre. We’ve shaken our heads in disbelief that the deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11 occurred in a nice town known for its theme parks, palm trees, and carefree attitude. We’ve also listened to countless theories about why Omar Seddique Mateen, the 29-year-old Muslim-...
Just one day before a crazed young gunman killed nine people in Oregon last week, police arrested four males who planned to go on a bloody rampage at their high school in central California. Fortunately those four juveniles are now in custody-but it doesn't lessen the pain of the families who lost loved ones in the Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon. What is happening? Why are so many disturbed young men in the United States carrying out massacres? Consider these...
When the novel Fifty Shades of Grey was published three years ago, critics described it as “dull and poorly written,” “depressing” and “a sad joke.” Yet, it sold 100 million copies. Women were fascinated by the dark tale of a 21-year-old college student, Ana Steele, who falls in love with a handsome but mysterious young billionaire named Christian Grey after she interviews him for a newspaper. The book was accurately dubbed “mommy porn” because it is sexually graphic and full of crude language, and also because Christi...
When I married my wife, Deborah, 30 years ago, I had a tiny salary and no money in the bank, so our honeymoon was a budget affair: four nights in Miami Beach, four nights in Orlando, and then back to work. Deborah didn't complain at all, but I always wanted to make it up to her. So this week for our 30th, we are enjoying an anniversary trip to Hawaii-and thinking a lot about God's faithfulness. How do two people stay in love for 30 years? I don't consider myself a marriage...
In the nation of Colombia, a woman is killed by her husband or partner every four days. The problem is so serious that sociologists have coined a new term for it: femicidio, or femicide. I also know that abuse is very prevalent on many reservations in North America. I've often quoted the statistics about domestic violence, but when I was in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, I saw the scars up close. The emotional pain I encountered while praying with and counseling women...
It’s unfortunate that the last 12 books of the Old Testament are tagged the “minor” prophets. The term was coined because these writings are short, not because they are unimportant. Creator God’s heart is powerfully revealed in the prophecies of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. These 12 short books are anything but minor. If you have never seriously studied them, I challenge you to start digging now. Just as Jesus chose 12 unsophisticated disciples to prea...
