It’s Our Son

I’m in South America sitting across the table from a couple who are Pastors in Paraguay.  I have known them for many years but something has changed.  Besides the dark circles under their eyes and shoulders that seem to hang down, there’s a marked heaviness in their voices.  

He tries to make small talk with me, but looks off and totally disengages.  She looks at me and says nothing, but something screamed, “Help!!!”  “Is everything alright?” I asked her.  

“It’s our son…” 

As she replied her eyes filled with tears.  Hearing what she said, the husband turned and started another conversation with someone else who was in our group. 

She went on to tell me about their 14-year-old son who was becoming more and more distant and difficult.  “He and his father don’t talk to each other, and when they do they just yell.” Suddenly the husband turned and leaned across the table toward me, “I love my son! I just don’t know what to do!”
I knew exactly what this couple was feeling because I had lived it for over 25 years.

Memories flooded through my mind.  Painful dark places and seasons that my wife and I had been through.  Frustration, confusion, brokenness, and doubt were very familiar waters to us.  Then having God speak to us, standing on His promises, and having our faith built up again and again were survival tactics we also knew well.

More than just words began to pour from my lips to this couple.  There was a power attached to what I shared that can only come from a person who’s been in the same place and seen what God can do.  The recollections of the pain, breakthrough and healing that have occurred in our family caused them to smile.  They we’re getting a second wind of hope.

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (2 Corinthians 1:4, NLT)

While I would never want to face again the painful situation that my wife and I went through, when I see how God can use it to stir hope and faith in others, I actually feel honored.  

I also feel confidant.  

Confidant enough to look across the table into the eyes of crushed hope, and say, “I know it’s heartbreaking. I know it’s painful.  But I also know that it’s going to be all right. God showed me.”

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Barf On Dad’s Sweater

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It was quite a while after my dad passed away that I finally got enough nerve to go look through his stuff. There were lots of things. It might have seemed like junk to most people, but it was treasure to me.  Books.  Records.  Size 7½ shoes.  Colorful socks.  And a whole case of those collapsible hoses (he could never say no to telemarketers).  

But it was a sweater that caught my attention the most.

The sweater was one that I had bought for my dad quite a few years ago.  It was a dark plum color cashmere V-neck that looked amazing on him.  What made it even better was that he loved it, and wore it a lot.  

I grabbed it.

When I got home I noticed the sweater had something all over the front of it.  Immediately I knew what it was. In his last few months, dad would get sick and his stomach would get the best of him.  One of these times he was wearing this sweater.

I thought about trying to rub the stain out with soap and water, but it was too big.  Then I thought about running the sweater through the washing machine, but I was afraid that would destroy it.  I decided to take it to the cleaners who are professionals at stain removal.

The sweater came back totally clean


If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8–9)

All of us have sin in our lives.  It marks us.  It’s like the barf on my dad’s sweater. We have received a beautiful gift, but sin dirties it. 

Some people think a little eyedropper of God’s Word, and maybe some soap from going to church every now and then, is enough to clean them up.

Some people try to deal with sin themselves.  They work hard at trying to do better and trying to stay clean, only to find themselves right back in the same old dirty ruts.

But some people have discovered that there is a professional sin stain remover, who is not only capable, but actually lives to clean people up.  He’s looks through the stuff that death leaves behind.  Silly things.  Worthless things. Gross and disgusting to anyone else, but they are treasure to him.  

He’s grabbed our lives, barf and all, and has brought us to his home.  And he doesn’t just clean us up, but makes us totally new.

Black Bart’s Still Around

Black Bart was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot.

The moniker, “Black Bart” was given to him because he wore a black hood that hid his face. And it was this image of a bandit wearing a black hood that caused people to be seized with fear. His sinister presence was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard.  He would simply command people from behind his veiled face and they did what he said.

Black Bart isn’t the only one who uses fear to paralyze his victims…

Satan uses fear in the same way to rob from us of our spiritual power and potential.  As a result many of us live way beneath the level that God intends for us.  Satan’s method for using fear is multifaceted: 

• He uses our past sins and failures
• He uses the potential of more sin and failure
• He uses the certainty of rejection

But when Hell’s Black Bart confronts us, we do not have to roll over and give up.  Instead, we can renounce that foul attack, not because of who we are, but because of whose we are!

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)

“Abba” means, “papa.”  It’s an endearing term for your father, in this case Father God.  When Satan lurks behind the next bend, keep moving, don’t stop, look over at your divine stagecoach guard and say, “Get ‘em papa God!”  And he’s got bullets made from nails of Calvary’s cross.

Home, School, Church…Partners in Christian Education

Here’s a sentence that can end a trillion different ways but basically starts the same…  


“We need to get back to…”

“Back” to whatever the person feels represents a better time or better way of doing things.  It’s heard in literally every circle of discussion and dialogue.  While this can be born of legitimate concern, generally it bespeaks frustration and a longing for the “good ol’ days.”  The trouble is, the good ol’ days weren’t always that good.  Case in point: education. 

Teaching the “3 Rs” has worked for years, and still does.  But we live in an era when traditional approaches to education are being retooled in the form of homeschooling, charter schools, independent study, online learning, etc.  The notion of being loyal to a particular school and/or program is becoming less important to modern families.

Contrary to the so-called “outcome-based” educational philosophy, there has to be criterion for evaluating and identifying a student’s strengths and weaknesses. However, students who have struggled with one or more areas of learning can be neglected, or shoved through the system, or worse, singled out as stupid. 

Our School
16 years ago, as the new Superintendent of Escondido Christian School (ECS), I made a decision to make our school a place where no child would be beyond our reach.  Whether it was learning gaps, social insecurity, behavioral or family issues, or spiritual problems, ECS would be a place for help and healing, as well as academic excellence and success. I believe this fulfills our mission statement…


Home, School, Church…Partners in Christian Education

There have been lots of steps and answered prayers that have made this possible, but one of the greatest keys to ECS’s success is our incredible faculty.  From our Principal Pat Haag, to every teacher, staff member, and aide, God has fulfilled his words to Jeremiah,

I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3:15)

We welcome Matt Conway back to ECS!!!
One of the current answers to prayer is the return of Matt Conway.  Matt taught at our school before moving to Florida and was beloved by all.  Recently Matt and his wife Jennifer felt the Lord leading them to return to Escondido.  We are excited to announce Matt’s appointment as our Vice Principal!  Matt will be bringing his leadership to our entire program, as well as spearheading our new high school program.

With the addition of our fully accredited Infant-Toddler Center, under the leadership of Jodi LeDuc, ECS now has something for all ages.   If you have children, or know someone who does, get them to our school ASAP! They will be educated, strengthened, and reminded regularly that they are loved by God and us. Enrollment is taking place now. http://www.ecslions.org/es-admissions.cfm

Go Lions!!!

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“I was wondering how we get things going?”

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The room was filled with young bible college students.  They were assembled for their weekly chapel service.  It was 1972 and the “Charismatic Renewal” was in full gear.  The president of the college felt he needed to address the excesses and errors of the so-called revival.

He gave detailed instructions on how to handle public services that would assure anything from getting out of control.  As the president stressed over and over again the danger of “just letting the spirit move,” one of the students lifted his hand.  He allowed the student to speak. The young man humbly stood and shyly spoke,

President [Smith], I am so thankful you’ve taken the time to instruct us in this area.  And I think I can speak for all of us in that we would never want to be a part of any errors or excesses. But…but…

He paused.  The President, who was flattered by the student’s comments, said, “It’s alright son.  Go ahead.  What is it?”

Well sir, I appreciate you telling us how to stop things before they get out of hand.  But what I was wondering is if you could tell us how to get things going in the first place?

That’s still a legitimate question.  Not, how do we put a lid on things, but how do we stimulate and release a move of God’s Spirit?  How do we stir up God’s people in way that when we are assembled something happens?

The necessity of knowing God’s Word cannot be stressed enough. It is the infallible, inherent, and inspired Word of God. Unfortunately, in a majority of American churches there is such a huge emphasis placed on the studying, teaching, and preaching of the Bible, there’s no time or want for allowing and experiencing a move of the Holy Spirit.

No one would argue that the idea that the Holy Spirit is living inside every Believer.  No one would even argue with the fact that the Holy Spirit is still at work. But anything that moves into the supernatural, the miraculous, or God forbid the spontaneous, is totally off-limits.

We have a church culture in American evangelicalism that is afraid of anything “too spiritual.”  We’ve honed the art of church down to songs that everybody likes and preaching that isn’t too long.  Experts, who know exactly what to do and how to do it, are in charge of the weekly gatherings.

But listen to the way Paul talked,

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1–5) 

Weakness?  Fear?  Trembling? Paul was an expert in theology, but when it came to ministry he was completely unconfident in his own abilities, and completely dependent on the Holy Spirit.  And wherever he went the Holy Spirit moved in the lives of people. 

That’s how you get things going!

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He Was Laying In The Gutter

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It was difficult to find him.  The place we were looking was dark and not the safest place for two gringos.  

My friend and I were looking for a homeless Hispanic man who we had met early. He had accepted our invitation to our church’s Spanish service happening later that evening.  We offered to pick him up and give him a ride.

We were at the location he told us to meet him at, but he wasn’t there.  We were just about to leave when we spotted what look like someone laying in the gutter.  It was him.

He was drunk, but smiled and said, “Gracias, amigos. Gracias!”  We were able to help him into the car.  And that night he gave his life to Christ.  We could see the change on his face.  His eyes were filled with tears as he told us in broken English, “Jesus has took my sins and thrown them in the ocean!”

That night he was arrested and deported.  We never saw him again.

About 200 miles south of the Mexican border in Baja, there’s a little seaside fishing town named Vicente Guerrero.  In the middle of this town there is a huge tree with dozens of benches around it.  

It’s a church.  

Every Sunday those benches fill with people. There are no worship teams, no children’s ministries or youth programs, no ushers, no greeters.  Just hundreds of people listening to a man named “Hermano Alfredo” preach.  And he preaches the same sermon every week.  In fact, he only knows one verse, and has it memorized


He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19)

Brother Alfredo is stuck with this one verse, not by choice, but because he can’t read.  However, he’s content because he knows the power of this verse.  He’s watched God use it to bring hundred’s of people to Christ.  

And it was this verse that God used to capture Brother Alfredo’s heart.  He’ll never forget the night when he’d first heard it, because his life was changed forever.  

He’s probably forgot the two gringos who had pulled him out of a ditch that night and brought him to church, but the gringos won’t.

Center Church

Our church is called Escondido Christian Center.  For short we call it, the Center Church.  I like that.  Being a center for people to gather.  Being a center for ministry.  Being a center for God’s work to be accomplished.  

The Center also implies balance. I especially like that.

Staying balanced is very important to me.  I try to achieve it in all areas of my life.  And when it comes to my responsibility of leading a ministry I feel it is imperative. There are so many pendulum swings that can occur. Staying balanced between the Word and the Spirit is key.

This is why I am so proud to be a part of the Foursquare Church.

The vision, the inception, even the name “Foursquare” was, and is, totally about balance.  It flows from an insight that the Holy Spirit gave the founder, Aimee Semple McPherson, in July 1922, while she was leading revival meetings in Oakland, CA.  Here’s what she wrote…

In Luke 5:18 and Mark 2:3 we read of a man who was sick of the palsy.  Four men let the man down into the midst of the assembled multitude where Jesus was. Four cords were used in lowering him to the place where he might feel the touch of the Masters hands. 

These four cords might be likened unto Salvation, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, Divine Healing, and the Coming of the Lord.

(1) These cords are strong enough to support the life of person.
(2) We need all four of them if we are ever to lower this suffering and needy world to the humble and blessed place of mercy at the Masters feet.
(3) If we cut or drop one of these cords, we are likely to spill the man off.
(4) All four should be used together, and the man may be lowered with perfect safety and surety.

In letting down the poor old world into the presence of Jesus, every rope should be kept even; that is, the Gospel should be preached foursquare.

Preach salvation only and, though you are reaching the unconverted, the Christian will be starving for deeper truths whereon he must feed to grow in grace.

Over-emphasize the baptism with the Holy Ghost, slack up on the other cords, and, in spite of yourself, you will spill the sick man.

Preach nothing but divine healing, devote the major part of your time to ministering to the physical instead of the spiritual needs of man, and you are in danger of tilting him off; for his bed has become unbalanced.

Preach nothing but the pre-millenial coming of the Lord Jesus, and a laying aside of all work of evangelism must one go forth before we meet Him and again the balance is lost. Occupy till He comes and the conversion of the sinner is lost sight of, and before you know it, the man is slipping perilously near the edge in that direction. 

The four cords must be equally divided. The weight upon each must be equally distributed. If not, the people will become discouraged or fall off. Then, instead of having a blessing, you have a wreck on your hands. Lord, help us to have poise, and equilibrium, and to preach a well-balanced Foursquare Gospel.

To be Foursquare means facing an issue directly, preaching the truth in an unflinching way. It means that we shall never be lopsided.

I pray the Lord will never allow us to become “lopsided” in any area, except in our love for Him!

You’re Getting Shorter?

Sometimes growth seems to take forever: learning a new language…getting your first driver’s license…breaking old habits…saving enough money to buy your first house.

Sometimes growth seems to go by in a nanosecond: those extra inches added to the waistline…the cost of living…another birthday…my granddaughter’s already walking!

Marks on the wall were a high priority for Kathie and me with our four children.  We would regularly check their growth and celebrate each little increment upward.  It seems like yesterday our kids were standing as tall as possible with their backs against the wall. We would carefully make a mark, then let them turn around to see it, and then celebrate their growth.


“Look, you’ve grown almost a half an inch!”

Imagine how weird would it have been if after carefully making the mark, Kathie and I shook our heads as our kids turned around, and said,


“Sorry honey, you’ve actually gotten shorter.”

When it comes to spiritual growth there are times when great strides are made.  We are bounding forward in our understanding and applying of God’s word.  We can’t get enough time in worship and fellowship.  We are getting stronger in all areas.

But then there are times when our spiritual growth can not only slow down, but stop, and then actually start to go backwards.  We aren’t reading God’s word, in fact we have forgotten what it says.  Our passion for worship and fellowship is now put into other things.  We are getting weaker in all areas. 

Spiritual growth happens with the help and power of the Holy Spirit. 


But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

For Christians, this kind of growth essential, but it’s not automatic. It can be hindered. Instead of progressing and moving forward, there can be “backsliding.” Listen to this…


…you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:11–14) 

By reason of use

It’s possible for someone to be “dull of hearing” become like baby who can only drink milk.  But it’s also possible for someone “to have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Becoming “skilled” in the word, and having a hunger for the meat of the word.  

There’s a wall in heaven with marks on it, dates on it, and your name on it.  Jesus is looking at it with you.  Where’s the last mark?

There’s A Reason It Says, “Poisonous”

Duke was one of the best dogs we’d ever had.  He was a German Shepherd who had won our family’s heart.  We got Duke as a puppy and watched him grow up with our kids.

One day Duke started acting strange.  He was drooling excessively and shaking.  We attended to him quickly and were about to take him to the Vet, when suddenly he heaved over and died.

We were completely blindsided.  We didn’t know what had happened to Duke.  We began searching for clues.  We found some harmless looking little pieces of a green wax-like substance on the patio.  Then more by the fence.  Then more on the other side of the fence.

Duke had eaten rat poison from the neighbor’s backyard.

I’ll never forget my 9 year old son’s shoulders shaking as he wept while he and I wrapped up Duke in a blanket, dug a hole, and buried him.

This is a brutal way for me to relate something to you.  I don’t like reliving it.  But it’s very important that you hear this.  Obviously if you love your pets, you need to keep them away from poison.  

But there’s a poison that can kill you, and yours

One of the greatest strategies of Satan is to subvert truth.  It’s what he did in Eden.  It’s what he did in the beginning days of the Church.  And it’s what he’s still doing right now.

Like rat poison, Satan introduces little thoughts in our minds that, left alone, begin to take us off track from what God has said in His Word.  These thoughts lead to ideas, which lead to conversations, which lead to error. Deadly error.
Paul warned Timothy about this…

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. (2 Timothy 2:15–18, NKJV)

Profane and idle babblings seem innocuous enough, but they spread like cancer, and can ultimately derail someone’s faith—poisoning the very thing that allowed them to know God in the first place.  Killing the trust and understanding of God’s Word.

There’s a reason it says, “poisonous” on a box of rat poison.  We’re to stay clear of it…it’s dangerous!  And there’s a reason we’re to stay clear of anything that would cause us to stray from the God’s truth…it’s deadly!

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It Does Matter

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One of the greatest examples of Christian love in the twentieth century was without a doubt Mother Theresa.  Born in Macedonia, to Albanian parents, she felt a call to ministry at the age of 12, and six years later joined the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. 

In 1948 Mother Teresa, in what she described as “the call within the call,” left the convent to go live among the poor in Calcutta, India.  She helped found a new community called the Missionaries of Charity.  When interviewed about what the mission of this new organization was, Mother Theresa astounded the interviewer by answering, 

“To care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

Later in her life, after years of such incredible impact that made her name a household word, Mother Theresa revealed a significant insight when she said, 

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

It’s small things

Jesus said “Anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name does it unto to me.”  In saying this Jesus shows that it is not just the big things that we do which count, but also the small things.  Jesus does not forget the small gestures of kindness and love, giving a cup of water, an act of acceptance, a kind word, a smile, taking time to bake someone a cake or write a card, sitting with someone who is unwell, so many little things which in themselves may not seem much, but which make a difference and which God notices. 

The prophet Zechariah wrote,  


Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand. (Zechariah 4:10)

It tends to be the big gestures that get recognized and celebrated, but God says “Do not despise the small things.”  Just as a house is built from lots of small bricks, so the small things we do matter, because they build into something much bigger.

Things that we do unto the Lord are never wasted. They always make a difference.  No act of kindness is too small. The gift of kindness may start as a small ripple that over time can turn into a tidal wave affecting the lives of many.

It wasn’t a small thing when…

When the boy gave the five loaves and two fish.  Even though they were so small compared with the great need of the 5,000 men that had to be fed. His lunch paled in comparison to the need, but in the hands of the Lord it was blessed and was made it more than enough.

When Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with the costly oil of spikenard.  It seemed like a frivolous and wasteful thing to do in the eyes of Judas Iscariot, but it was making provision for Jesus’ burial. This simple act became an example of the kind of worshipper the Lord is seeking.

When the widow trusted God to provide for her after she put all of her living into the offering.  Although her gift was the smallest gift that day, the faith that it took to give it, the Lord regarded it as the biggest.

When Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.”  Although is was a small statement, it gives us the answer for the most important question all of us must answer, “Who do you say Jesus is?”

It does matter!