Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) went with friends to the German circus and was mesmerized as he watched the Flying Rodleighs perform their high-wire trapeze act. He returned to the circus and introduced himself to these trapeze artists as one of their big...
Robert Harkness (1880-1961) was the music director for the evangelist R.C. Torrey in the early 1900's. They were conducting evangelistic services in Toronto in 1906. Robert met with a new convert after a service, struggling with the thought of...
John Wesley (1701-1791) sought for years to earn favor with God by means of good works. He wrestled with how many good deeds are needed to achieve favor with God. Try as he might, John lacked the assurance that God had accepted him. He had just...
By all accounts, they were rodeo megastars with their own television show and a massive fan base. He was known as "the Singing Cowboy," she was called "Queen of the West." Their stage names were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Leonard Franklin Slye and...
I've long been an admirer of G. K. Chesterton's wit and humor. Consider his whimsical remark in his book Orthodox, "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. Never forget that the devil falls by force of gravity." Excessive weight drags...
Did Jesus have a sense of humor? There's no record in the gospels that Jesus ever laughed or cracked a smile, yet he was a master at employing irony in his teaching parables. The very idea of removing a speck from your neighbor's eye while you have...
The Roman Catholic Church published a list of books considered theologically dangerous and immoral in the sixteenth century. Any book that appeared in the Index of Forbidden Subjects was considered taboo for Catholics to print or read. The list was...
We romanticize the past. We tend to view historical events and periods through the lens of nostalgia and sentimentality. With this thought in mind, I am tempted to idealize the early church in my quest to find old prayers. My overly optimistic view...
Busyness has become a coveted status symbol in our time. It's now chic and trendy to be busy. Busy has become the default response to the customary "How are you doing?" question. I suspect we talk about busyness so much because it gives us some...
Johann Arndt (1555-1621) labored in obscurity in a small church in Germany. When his book True Christianity was published, he became something of a celebrity. His book was widely circulated throughout Europe, and some reformed colleagues became...
Gerhard Tersteegen (1697-1769) qualifies as a holy man. He lived in a small town along the Rhine River in Germany, eking out a modest living as a weaver. His only visitor was a girl who came daily to wind silk thread for him. He was, for five...
It was Easter 1695, and August Hermann Francke (1663-1727) gathered the money that was left in the church collection boxes. He counted seven guldens, the equivalent of $2.80. He said to himself, "I will build a school for the poor with it." He...
When I first came upon Betty Stam's (1906-1934) prayer, it seemed too good to be true. I was put in my place when I learned the real story of Betty's life and her willingness to put this prayer to the ultimate test.Betty grew up in China, where her...
Conversion stories fascinate me. Paul was knocked off his horse by a blinding vision on his way to persecute Christians. Lydia, the first convert in Asia, opened her heart to Christ after listening to Paul's testimony. Augustine came to faith after...
Anne Lamott (1954-) was a thirty-year-old moderately successful fiction writer who worked an assortment of odd jobs to pay the rent. She was also a down-and-out drunk with an eating disorder. She was walking one Sunday morning through a flea market...
Michel Quoist (1921-1997) was born into a working-class Catholic family in France. He went to work at age fourteen after his father's death and later returned to school to become a Catholic priest. His first assignment was working with youth in a...
Thomas De Witt (T. T.) Talmage (1832-1902) accepted a call to pastor a church in Brooklyn, New York, in 1869. His offer letter was signed by seventeen people, the total number of members of this dying urban church. He preached to a cavernous...
Charles How (1661-1742) served as a courtier in King Charles II's court, nicknamed the "Merry Monarch" for his pleasure-seeking approach to the English throne. When Charles II died, his brother, King James II, took over and assigned the courtier...