A few weeks ago, I pulled out a bit of history. And this bit pulled back. It happened one day during our annual missionary candidates’ Briefing Course, held every summer during the month of June. I was leading a Bible … (read more)
In the first full week of June, our missionary staff, inquirers and candidates, together with a few members of our governing Council, gathered in retreat at a family resort near Balsam Lake, Wisconsin. We gathered to pray for the evangelization … (read more)
Over the past few months we have considered Martin Luther’s counsel regarding prayer. In 1535, he wrote a booklet on the topic. This month we conclude with a final bit of Luther’s profound and practical advice. When you pray, Luther … (read more)
“How should I pray effectively?” asked Peter Beskendorf centuries ago. Peter was a friend of Martin Luther – the Great Reformer’s barber. Luther responded with a little booklet, published in 1535. “How one should pray,” he called it helpfully. Over … (read more)
Last month we introduced a little booklet written by Martin Luther for his friend and barber, Peter Beskendorf. The booklet is titled simply, How One Should Pray, for Master Peter the Barber. Luther presents prayer as a discipline – as … (read more)
In 1535, an old friend of Martin Luther – his barber, in fact, a man named Peter Beskendorf – asked Luther for counsel concerning prayer. How could he deepen his prayer life? How could he pray effectively, and keep things … (read more)
It is sometimes said that you can travel the world over “on your knees” – as in, “If you can’t get to the nations on your own two feet, you can surely get there on your knees.” The imagery is, … (read more)
In this wonderful season of the year, one of my favorite characters is Simeon (cf. Luke 2:22-35). I love this old man. The rhythm of his life, it seems to me, captures the rhythm of the season, as it flows … (read more)
On the way to the office earlier this week, while listening to the radio, I heard report of an interesting study in human psychology. The study examined our innate sense of directionality – or, as it turns out, our utter … (read more)
Like many of you, I am sure, I have been mesmerized by the stories emerging from “Camp Hope” in the mountains of Chile over the past few weeks. The entire world, it seems, has followed these dramatic events. You may … (read more)