Pastoral Articles
The Last Time
A few months ago, I observed that my favourite chair in my office, a wingback, was looking tired, to say the least. I have owned this chair for thirty years and, about fifteen years ago, I had it reupholstered. It was time to do so again. When my newly upholstered...
The Gift of Ribs
When our daughter Jessa was young, she loved pork ribs, but she was a bit confused about what to call them. When we would order at a restaurant she would say that she wanted “bones.” I felt a bit embarrassed as the waiter would look at me with an expression of rebuke...
When Elders Fall
A couple of weeks ago, while out of the country on a ministry trip, I slipped on wet tiles stepping out of the shower. As I was going down, I had two instantaneous and simultaneous thoughts: “Old people are susceptible to falling,” and, “Try not to break anything when...
A Minister of Happiness
On a recent trip to Abu Dhabi, I learned that the United Arab Emirates Cabinet has appointed a Minister of Happiness. I googled this parliamentarian portfolio and learned the full title: The Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing. The responsibility is...
Living in a Bubble
I am grateful that, in South Africa, Christians can freely gather to worship our Lord. I am grateful that we can evangelise without threat of imprisonment. I am grateful that we can plant a church in any place we desire. I am grateful that we can carry our Bibles in...
A Weighty Credibility
I keep thinking about Noah and the ark. The credibility of his faith challenges my own, but it also motivates me to persevere as he did. It is not an exaggeration to say that Noah’s persevering and productive faith is weighing on my mind. In fact, as I ran this...
Our Preferred Pronouns
Now that I have your attention, let me talk about corporate prayer. Our Sunday evening prayer meetings have, for decades, been a part of BBC’s congregational life. We have grown from a small handful to a couple of hundred. Our venue moved from what was a small...
Pasop vir die Hond
Upon our arrival in South African in 1990, it didn’t take long to learn the importance of this Afrikaans sentence. And though initially I didn’t understand the language, I could easily decipher its meaning from the attending picture of a vicious dog. Further, being...
Opportunity Cost
Wise Solomon understood the principle of opportunity cost. He realised that, to gain something, you also need to be willing to lose something. He recorded this lesson in Proverbs 14:4: “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the...