When I became the pastor, Mountain View Chapel was a tiny church, and I was without pastoral experience.  My training was on-the-job, and I led based on theories I had taken from the Bible.  One of my guiding principles was that you build ministry by managing the giftedness of the people entrusted to you.  What gifts do your people have?  Turn them loose!Initially I naively expected all gifts to g...  Read More

Our church grew to the point of needing two services around 1996.  The church had been saving money to buy land since I came in 1982, and by 1998 we were able to pay cash ($100,000) for the field and woods behind the church (where our present building stands).  It exhausted our savings, but we had room to grow!One of our leaders said, “Now we can start saving for another ten years to get a down pa...  Read More

I once knew a man who pastored a medium-sized traditional church but decided to chart a course toward becoming a megachurch.  Just over half of his people supported the change.  When I asked what he was going to do with the large minority that opposed him, he said, “I will leave them behind.”His response shocked me.  I was sure he would fail.  But he didn’t.  He succeeded – wildly!  Initially he d...  Read More

I have found that some things that used to work in a church can stop working, and when that happens, it’s time to change something.During the first years I was at Mountain View, while the elders handed out the communion elements I would ask for prayer requests and praises, and people freely shared things – even very personal concerns – with the group.  Then I would lead in prayer for the requests,...  Read More

In the late 1980’s a young man offered to lead Maranatha Praise choruses with a guitar, adding them to the hymns in our service.  Thinking it was no big deal, I said yes – and then got serious blowback from people who felt the syncopated music was demonic and dangerous, even if the lyrics were from the Bible.  Ironically, nearly all who complained owned the albums and listened to the praise chorus...  Read More

The most challenging change through which I’ve had to shepherd our church has been in the use of church music.  When I joined evangelicalism in the mid-70’s no one had heard of “worship music”.  We used the hymnal accompanied by piano and/or organ.  Our youth group used more lively choruses with hand motions, but those were strictly used for youth events, not church services.“Christian rock” had o...  Read More

When I first came to Mountain View in 1982, we met in what we now call “the classic building” – built in 1955.  The concrete block walls were two different shades of drab green and the carpet was orange and tearing loose from its backing at several places, bunching up and creating tripping hazards.  Each of the eighty chairs had a removable white seat cushion decorated with American eagles.  Old c...  Read More

My heart’s musing these days often involves looking back over my experiences to see what can be culled from them for the next generation.I have a few thoughts about change.A soul once complained to me, “Our church is no longer the church I came to years ago!”.  My first thought: “Good thing!”.  Churches that never adjust (or change) are usually best described as ‘stagnant’.God Himself doesn’t chan...  Read More

‘Due process’ is a term people use without knowing what it means. Due process is simply whatever legal process is owed you in a given circumstance.  The law itself prescribes what is owed you.  The details of due process differ from case to case.Mark Twain once asked:  “Do women dress more for the eyes of women or for their effect upon men?”  I am always baffled by those who promote ‘natural livin...  Read More

In the time I’ve spent in evangelicalism there’s always been much ado about “the mark of the beast”.  According to Revelation (13.17, 14.9), it’s a mark of some sort on the right hand or forehead related to the name of the beast (Revelation 14.11 – “the mark of its name”) that will indicate your loyalty to the Antichrist.  If you possess the mark, you can buy and sell and live normally in the Anti...  Read More

Let’s talk a little bit about “the antichrist”.  I would note first of all that the Greek preposition anti has two meanings:  in opposition to (or against) AND in place of.  So an antichrist either opposes Christ or tries to take the place of Christ (a counterfeit).  And an antichrist could be both at once!There are only five occurrences of “antichrist” in the Bible, all in the short epistles of J...  Read More

Early in my ministry I was speaking with a missionary about my views of the end times.  He was surprised when I said I believed Christians would go through the tribulation.  I was surprised when he said, “If I believed we could suffer persecution, I would never have gone to the mission field!”“In the world you will have tribulation,” Jesus said.  “But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 1...  Read More