A Child’s Prayer

A Child’s Prayer When I left the pastorate to teach at Talbot School of Theology, I had a burden. There were people in the church I pastored who had problems that I did not have adequate answers for. I believed Christ was the answer and truth would set people free,...

The Inquirer’s Responsibility

The Inquirer’s Responsibility God is sovereign and He will faithfully keep His Word, and do all He said he would do. We must assume responsibility for all our beliefs, attitudes and actions. In ministry we also have to differentiate the role relationship between the...

It Was Worth the Trip

It Was Worth the Trip I was conducting a Discipleship Counseling conference in Mexico. After explaining who is responsible for what, I was invited to have lunch with two professional counselors who were husband and wife. He gave me his business card that advertised...

Flat Liners

Flat Liners I believe that God is always present when I attempt to help another, and there is a role that only He can play. He came to set captives free and heal the wounds of the broken-hearted. I can’t do that in another individual, so I need to be dependent upon...

Who is Responsible for What?

Who Is Responsible For What? When the opportunity presents itself to help another Christian, I continuously remind myself that God is omnipresent. I personally acknowledge God’s presence and declare my dependency upon Him. My approach to ministry is misdirected from...

Unanswered Prayer

Unanswered Prayer Knowing what God and only God can do, and what is clearly our responsibility should be intuitively obvious, but for many it is very confusing. Some will pray, asking God to do for them what He has told them to do, and they are disappointed when He...

Sovereignty and Free Will

Sovereignty and Free Will I believe God has drawn a real line that greatly impacts how we relate to Him, how we live, and how we help others. On one side of the line is what God and only God can do. We can be creative by stacking the bricks and smearing the paint, but...

Complete Answer

Complete Answer Is my problem spiritual or is it psychological? Asking that question exposes a false dichotomy that plagues the western world. There is always a spiritual dimension to our struggles. God is always present, and “He upholds the universe by the word of...

It Works

It Works The Evangelical Free Church has a week of training every year for their pastors. Several years ago they asked me to teach four full days. A pastor introduced himself and gave me a card saying “You’ve been His salt in my life. Thanks!” In the card he wrote:...

Discipleship Counseling

Discipleship Counseling In the Forward to my first book, Victory Over the Darkness, I wrote, The focus of my ministry, both as a pastor and seminary professor, has been the inter-related ministries of discipling and Christian counseling. I have been a discipler and a...

9051 Executive Park Drive, Suite 503 • Knoxville, TN 37923 • 865.342.4000