Rewind your mind back 50 years.  Imagine the kind of looks you would get if you made the following statements in that generation:

• Did you get my text message?
• Did you see the latest trending tweets?
• I was tagged in a photo
• My spam folder is full
• Hit me up on Snapchat

Social media has not only redefined our vocabulary, it has revolutionized the way we communicate with one another.  Our great-grandparents would think we have adopted an extraterrestrial language if they could hear the verbiage of this generation.  It’s inescapable, almost.  From the breaking news to the bothersome …

The news in our world has, of late, become increasingly worse.  One can take the Bible, open it up beside the daily paper, and see how the signs of the times are unfolding rapidly.  Wars, terrorism, pestilences, earthquakes, signs in the sky, and signs in the sea are not just coincidental occurrences.

Christ said that men’s hearts would fail them for fear as they looked upon those things that transpire in the earth.  Can you feel it?  Can you sense the global groaning and the public pandemonium?  The cosmos is in historic conflict.  The earth is shaking. The enemy is …

Webster defines the term “blind spot” as an area in which one fails to exercise judgment or discrimination.  It is literally a space in which one’s view is obstructed.  We all have them, and not dealing with them, especially on the road of ministry, can result in a fatal crash.  It’s always dangerous to swerve, but to swerve at the wrong time, into the wrong thing, is deadly.  That’s why we need a clear view, a view that reveals all angles at all times.

Blind spots are treacherous.  They conceal reality.  They fail to warn us, and protect us.  That …

The worst kind of teacher/preacher/spiritual leader is the one who thinks he cannot learn anything else.  Those who feel like they are too old to take notes typically live a boring, stale, and somewhat prideful life.  God has called us to be perpetual, persistent pupils until we see Him in all His power.  The most influential people, the most effective voices in our generation are those who have not “arrived.”  Arrival, in its purest form, simply means to be done, to be finished with the course.  Those who “have arrived” really have nowhere else to go.  Or as John Gardiner …

What an honor it was for me to have Cary Schmidt write the foreword to our latest book, The Joy of Devotion.  Pastor Schmidt is a gifted writer, a dynamic speaker, and a great church builder.  God’s hand is on his life in evident fashion.  I was thrilled when he agreed to invest into our book.  I wanted to share the foreword to give a basic understanding of the book’s intention.  Thanks Cary for your influence, passion, and gracious spirit!

Foreword by Cary Schmidt

When the Christian life is, in any way, drained or sanitized of devotion and love, …