Who would have thought that the Confessions and my visits with servants of Jesus around the district would teach me this profound truth: “This little Gospel light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine!” The preface to the Book
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In 1955, Rev. Harry Fricke composed these words: “In fervent gratitude for the Savior’s dying love and His blood-bought gift of redemption we dedicate ourselves to Him with all that we are and have; and in obedience to His call for workers in the harvest fields, we pledge Him our
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Nearly 200,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey, nearly 100,000 in the Houston metro area alone. Something had to be done. So three congregations took the lead in providing long-term aid and relief for those deeply affected by the hurricane and its significant flooding. The rainfall that totaled
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One week of adventure traversing the great state of Texas has taught me something about our Texas District: Every ministry is a story of the Gospel; every person can be Jesus’ story of grace. My visits reminded me of the faith “hall of fame” in Hebrews chapter 11: “And what
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What is striking fear in your heart these days? You may remember Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew chapter 25: A wealthy business owner entrusted his employees with treasure. Two of the employees invested the treasure, but one was filled with fear and buried the treasure in order to
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The Apostle Paul encourages Timothy saying, “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry,” 2 Tim. 4:5 Even though all Christians are to be witnesses to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, not all are given the gift of the evangelist. The
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God is good! When we began a new ministry called Salem Church Online 20 months ago, we didn’t know what to expect. We trusted that God would use the technology to change lives, but what that looked like was anyone’s guess. Now, several months later, we have a Facebook group
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In a previous blog, I asked the question, “What’s your platform?” (You can read it here) Another important question is: “How will you use your platform?” How will you steward the place and the influence God has given you? Your first reaction may be, “But wait, I’m not a public
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No doubt, you’ve heard the depressing statistics: church attendance is dropping, millennials are staying away from organized religion, and there is a rising number of people unaffiliated with any church. Headlines remind us about the aging of the American church and the cultural divide of congregations around the nation. Too
Continue readingFrom 2004 to 2017, 122 new LCMS churches were started in the Texas District. We praise God for this blessing and the thousands of people who are now hearing the Good News of Jesus through these congregations. But now, it’s 2018. What’s next? Around the world, the Lutheran Church is
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