In his book The Jesus Revolution, pastor and author Leith Anderson shares a story about the tension that sometimes comes between obeying God and obeying the law of the land. A number of years ago, he and three others were traveling to a Communist country where Christians were regularly being persecuted. They did not have a direct flight to their destination, so they had to stay in a neighboring country ...

In a sermon entitled "Courage," pastor and author Mark Buchanan shares a funny story that reminds us how our courage—or lack thereof—can cast God in a positive or negative light to others:

A few years ago at a Willow Creek Summit, Jack Groppel, who works with leaders to hone optimum performance, showed two video clips. The first video was of a group of NFL linebackers. When they showed ...

My grandparents lived in Salem, Arkansas, which was an all-white community in the Ozark foothills. One day in the early 1960s, Grandpa was strolling across the town square on his lunch break from his job at the post office. As he walked by the bus depot, a friendly voice called out to him. …

Glancing to his left, Grandpa found himself looking into the face of a man he hadn't seen for almost ...

My son Caleb has been watching other children climb a tree, crawl out on a limb, and jump into the river 30 feet below. Now our Hawaii vacation would remain incomplete until he demonstrated his courage by conquering this obstacle. I watched him swim across the river, climb the tree, wait his turn, shimmy out to the end of the branch—and freeze.

"It's okay, sweetie," my wife, Pam, called out. ...

My goal, as a Stanford University student, was to start a Bible study in the Sigma Chi fraternity house. For over a year I could get nothing going. Then came my "God-given opportunity disguised as a hassle."

I was rushing to the campus post office to mail some packages before the morning classes let out. A man on the free-speech platform was pointing out specific sins in the lives of people he'd never ...

We can actually learn a lot about some of Satan's strategies in spiritual warfare by studying the military strategies of some of the warriors of old. In his book Head Game, author Tim Downs writes:

Psy-ops stands for Psychological Operations, a form of warfare as old as the art of war itself. An early example of this can be found in the battle strategies of Alexander the Great. On one occasion when ...

People come to the Christian faith via many different highways, but the eventual crossroad is always an encounter with Jesus. I wonder if my attempts to keep my witness non-threatening and accessible sometimes end up shielding the un-churched people around me from their own crossroad. Jesus can certainly meet them without my assistance. But I would rather be a help than a hindrance.

I was definitely ...

Our church is in the heart of the city, so along with the great opportunities come some challenges. For example, our church building has been "tagged" a number of times—spray painted with local gang signs or the initials of the culprits involved.

A few years ago our worship leader, Bob Olson, was in his office at the back of the sanctuary when he heard strange noises in the alley. Tired of having ...

The problem with looking to Hollywood for the image of masculinity (even those true-to-life stories of courage) is that it feeds my desire for glory. Courage isn't only in the big accomplishments. It's in the small acts, too.

When I leave the theater and scratch the car door next to me getting into my car, my decisions about whether or not to leave a note admitting my mistake isn't glorious. Nobody ...

When I attended graduate school for English, there were many occasions when my fellow students openly ridiculed the name of Christ. To my great detriment, I stayed silent. I was quite vocal about my belief in Christ at church and with my friends, but I was terrified of what might happen to my reputation if the people at my school found out I believed in Jesus. … Most of them were just ignorant ...