Northwest Bible Church – Dallas, Texas Psalm 112  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.  His children will be honored everywhere; for good men’s children have a special heritage..  Wealth and riches are in his house, and his good deeds will never be forgotten.  When darkness overtakes him, light will come bursting in. He is kind and merciful – and all goes well for the generous man who conducts his business fairly.  Such a man will not be overthrown by evil circumstances; He will have no fear of bad news nor live in dread of what may happen; God’s constant care of…

This has been an interesting year for all of us.  I’ve been giving it extra thought because of three events that happened all at once for me.  First, our daughter, Catherine, was married on July 8th to Terry Jaimes.  Since then, I’ve been trying to learn the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3 about the season of life where you discover there is a time to embrace and a time to refrain.  We learn to let go after a marriage – or we should.  Second, I turned 60 the next morning.  While I blew right past 40 and 50, something was different about 60.  Some of you may have had the same…

In that same essay by Seneca that describes so well the ministry of Tim Keller, the writer says, “Everybody agrees that no one pursuit can be successfully followed by the man who is busied with many things – eloquence cannot, nor the liberal studies – since the mind, when its interests are divided, takes in nothing very deeply.” Unfortunately, Seneca never had the opportunity to meet Andy Crouch. Andy has so many pursuits – music, writing , speaking, leading worship, film – and does them all well. It’s impossible to nail down what he does best or to define him. Just when you think you have him in a category…

Over the last 20 years in my role as President of The Gathering, an international association of individuals, families and foundations giving to Christian ministries around the world, I have had many occasions to talk with people about philanthropy.  Two of the most frequent questions, especially from those new to giving, are: “What is the Biblical way to give?” and “What are the best and most strategic causes to which I should be giving?”  Those are good questions and have been the source of many great discussions.  However, while I have always appreciated the sincerity with which they have been asked, I have wrestled with the value of a simplistic…

I cannot think of a greater honor and responsibility than to be invited to speak a word to my friends this afternoon.  For all of us this is a day to which we have been looking forward for years.  Two people with such grace, wit, talent, generosity and love of life being called together for a new life of purpose.  I like the texts you have chosen..They tell us something about Steve and Polly because they selected them.  I want them to remember these texts for the rest of their lives together because they are pointers to true north.  If you hold to these verses you will not lose your…

As I’ve thought and prayed about what to say to you tonight as we begin, I’ve chosen a short passage from Philippians.  It seems most appropriate because it is Paul’s letter to the church with which he has had a long and deep relationship.  Some have even described it as the church he loved the most.  It was certainly one of the most diverse – an accomplished businesswoman, a redeemed fortune teller and a jailer all in the same congregation.  It reminds me so much of us here tonight as we all come from so many different backgrounds and traditions.  We all have such varied interests and passions and we…

Bill Stagg and I started badly. I heard about Bill before I met him…but just ten seconds before.  It was 1978 and I was a 31 year old novice Dean of Students at Charlotte Christian School.  I was confident, inexperienced and a danger to myself and others.  But worse than that, far worse that that – I had just busted one of Bill’s beloved and three other boys.  For me it was cut and dried, simple justice and only a matter of notifying the parents with a short and courteous reminder of the rules and a clear explanation of the punishment.. One day later the mail arrived at the Staggs…

All of us make purchase choices and decisions on criteria that are not always objective. . Where I come from it is fairly normal behavior to show a preference for doing business with people you know and oftentimes whose values you share. We shop together, our kids are in school together and many of us are in religious and civic organizations together. We buy local when we can because we want to support the people of our community. We still shop online or go to Dallas but we have a mild preference for local merchants. Some of us have the same degree of mild preference for certain services and organizations.…

I want to make the introductions a little differently tonight.  I want to introduce you to Lisa instead of her to you.  You would have had to be living in a place completely isolated from any media to not have had exposure to Lisa this year – but she has never had any exposure to you.  You probably feel you know her and her heart.  But she does not know yours.  Come to think of it many of you do not know much about each other.  For those of you who may be with us for the first time this week-end you probably know very little about The Gathering.  It’s…

In light of the events of this past week, I have decided to focus on Psalm 79. I want you to listen very carefully to what I am saying this morning as I may end up in a place that is different from where you think I am starting. First, let’s read the entire passage: O God, the heathen have invaded your land. They have desecrated your holy Temple and left Jerusalem in ruins. They left the bodies of your people for the vultures, the bodies of your servants for wild animals to eat. They shed your people’s blood like water; Blood flowed like water all through Jerusalem, and no…