Rick

Recently I visited my dad’s grave in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Whenever I do this I always walk a very short distance and pay my respects to others I have known who are buried near my dad. I’d like to take a minute here and (more…)

Today I visited the grave where my dad is buried. I’ve done this for years whenever I visit my hometown of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. I have wondered why I feel compelled to do this when I’m here. (more…)

…he is to bring an unblemished male. – Leviticus 1:3b (HCSB)

We know very little about Jesus’ childhood. We can speculate, however, based on what we know about the world in which he grew up. The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah by Alfred Edersheim is a classic and certainly  (more…)

I wrote the following article with Dr. Ross McLaren while I was the Adult Sunday School Director at LifeWay Christian Resources. It was published in a leader training book we produced for Bible teachers of adults called Teaching Adults: A Guide for Transformational Teaching. The book is still available, but I doubt if LifeWay is still referencing it in any way. Still, I believe the content of this article is relevant and reflects how people develop a unique worldview. This article is actually just a small piece of a longer chapter. Other segments will be posted as separate articles. And yes, I got permission to use this content for personal purposes. 🙂 (more…)

I do not require pre-marital counseling for weddings I conduct. That’s not because I don’t think it’s important, but because most couples already possess the basic relational elements that will either make for a good start or destine the marriage for failure before it even begins. Counseling can help, but only to a degree. (more…)

The following article was written for and published in YouthWorker Journal in March of 2006. It’s also posted on YouthWorker.com. And while it’s written to youth ministers, it’s also relevant to all ministries that utilize “technology”.

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Technology is cool. Really cool. And rightly so. Technology has been here since the beginning. According to Genesis, the only thing older than technology is the Godhead itself.

Think about it. Creation is the single most cataclysmic technological event in the history of the universe. Theologians tell us that God created all that exists “ex nihilo” — out of nothing. Talk about a technological marvel! (more…)