We have all seen examples of good leaders and bad leaders. We can typically determine quickly with which kind we are dealing. People who are in leadership positions may or may not be qualified for their position of power and influence. In fact, for some, they are mostly motivated by power and position rather than a sincere desire to serve the people under their leadership. Leadership is about serving others as opposed to being served. Though God instructs us to honor and respect our duly elected or appointment leaders, righteous leadership is actually a humble position of service. We sometimes hear a leader say, “I am humbled by…….” but that is a misuse of the word humble. What they should say is “I am ...

Why are we here? For what reason are we alive? Why are we on planet earth for 80+ years? Some might say to live a long life. Here’s what the Bible says about long life. “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years’ “(Genesis 6:3). Remember this statement was spoken by God pre-flood when men lived significantly longer. Nowadays if we live a long life it’s between 80 and 100 years. Abraham died at 175 and he died at a “ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life” (Genesis 25:8). The reality is “our times are in His hands.” We can take all the safety precautions we choose ...

In June 1996 for five consecutive nights over 70,000 people/night packed into the Metrodome in Minneapolis to hear the Reverend Billy Graham. Each night an additional 25,000 people watched on jumbotrons in the Metrodome parking lot! As a pastor, I was selected to be one of several supervisors of the counseling team and was trained weeks in advance of the crusade. My job at the Billy Graham Crusade was to match all who came forward at Dr. Graham’s invitation with a counselor. I was given materials, the two most important being a blue paddle and a pink paddle. The blue paddle was to alert the counselors that a male counselor was needed and the pink paddle a female counselor. When the invitation was given supervisors and counselors stood...

You’ve probably heard the old joke, “How many counselors does it take to change a light bulb?” The answer is only one but the light bulb has got to really want to change. True for light bulbs and true for clients in counseling. If a client does not want to change it doesn’t matter how many counselors they see they will still stay stuck in their same destructive patterns. Counselors cannot change anybody! Let me say that again, counselors cannot change anybody! Change only comes through God and the client. Counselors can counsel, advise, strategize, teach, encourage, pray for, and admonish clients but they cannot change them.

So how do clients change? Change starts when the light bulb goes on (no pun intended) for ...