Signs & Wonders Blog

Evangelism is a continuing education. As long as we remain teachable, we can always learn new ways to approach people and respond to certain situations. I’ve written a book on the topic, but take time to read those by other evangelists like the one by my mentor Nick Kinn . This past week, I read another book about soul-winning. Last Monday, I went to a church service in Arcade, New York. Guest minister Kevin Riordan had a table filled with copies of his book “Street Fisher: Living on Mission for God.” At the end of the meeting, I asked Kevin if electronic versions are available to download. He offered me a complimentary printed copy. I soon learned from his book that we come from similar backgrounds. Kevin and I were 27 when we committed our lives to the Lord. Both of us received salvation in March (although his conversion happened nine years after mine).  Many tips shared in “Street Fisher” are similar to what I teach in my evangelism seminars. Kevin includes many of his exp...

Some individuals go to ridiculous measures to try discrediting God’s word. In 1992 while living in suburban Minneapolis, I attended a memorable school board meeting. A local atheist tried to get the Bible banned in public schools because it is full of “obscene and offensive passages.” American Center for Law and Justice spokesman Jay Sekulow showed up (along with numerous Christians) and convinced the school board to reject the atheist’s complaint. Once I received an email by someone initially protesting my YouTube video defending the Ten Commandments displayed on public property . After sending a response, this person wrote back saying, “Would you say it’s morally wrong to rape a woman? Nowhere is this mentioned in your commandments.” Look at Deuteronomy 22:25… “But if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die.” Shechem the son of Hamor, a Hivite, raped Dinah (see Genesis 34:2-7), and Amnon raped his sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13...

As a child, I read many books by Theodor Geisel, an author better known by his pen name Dr. Seuss. Some of his stories became animated TV specials. One of which was “Horton Hears a Who” (which also became a motion picture years later). Recently I found that on YouTube and watched it again. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Horton is an elephant who finds a dust speck inhabited by the Whos, a tiny race of people who live in Whoville. Other animals in the jungle think Horton is crazy for talking to beings they cannot see or hear. They tie him up and come close to boiling Whoville in a pot of oil. The Whos cry out in desperation, “We are here!” They weren’t heard by the outside world until a little boy hollered, “Yopp!”  There are spiritual truths that can be gleaned from “Horton Hears a Who.” Sometimes it takes just one person to do something to usher in a move of God. Psalm 8:2 says, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, bec...

For over a decade, one of the most popular books on the Christian market has been “The Shack.” This 2007 novel self-published by Canadian author Wm Paul Young went on to become a best seller. A movie based on the book came out two years ago. While many Christian leaders endorsed “The Shack”, some dismissed it as heresy. One reason is God the Father represented as a woman. I haven’t read “The Shack” for other reasons. One of them is I never felt led to do so. Years ago as a young believer, I devoured many Christian books but have since focused more on reading the Bible. Nowadays, I rarely buy any books. I trust the Lord to provide what He wants me to read. Whenever someone offers to give or loan me a book, I often examine the cover, table of contents and any endorsements before deciding if it’s something to invest my time in. So why this article about a 12-year-old book I haven’t even read? A few days ago, a Facebook friend shared a post that aroused my concerns. A prophetic ...

I always had a knack for writing. During second grade, I was inspired by the TV show “Sesame Street” to create my own stories based on a letter of the alphabet. Apart from class assignments, I dabbled in other writing projects throughout my childhood but didn’t get serious about it until college. I wrote a few Letters to the Editor that got published nationally in Billboard magazine. That inspired me to write a music column called “The Listening Post” for Moorhead State University’s newspaper. Seven years after committing my life to the Lord, I started writing a monthly newsletter that was eventually named “ Signs & Wonders .” During a season when I briefly stopped publishing the newsletter, the Lord spoke to me about resuming it again. Later that same day, I found out someone who got saved as a result of one of my articles died a few months later. That person might have gone to hell if I hadn’t written that newsletter! Other ideas for articles led me to start a weekly blog...

Today is the 38th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. Although I wasn’t a big fan of the singer, I can remember where I was when hearing the news about him passing away. My family and I were at a Neil Sedaka concert in Fargo, North Dakota. Neil announced from the stage Elvis died that afternoon and then sang his composition “Solitaire” (a hit by the Carpenters but also sung by Elvis) as a dedication to the late singer. Elvis was often referred to as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll” or simply “The King,” a title he repeatedly resisted. Having been raised in an Assembly of God church, Elvis often declared there’s only one King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Early in his career, Elvis confessed to his pastor, the Reverend James Hamill: “Pastor, I am the most miserable young man you have ever seen. I have got more money than I can ever spend. I have thousands of fans out there, and I have a lot of people who call themselves my friends, but I am miserable. I am not doing a lot...

How would you feel if you wrote a book, recorded a song, or produced a movie and someone duplicated and distributed copies of your work without permission? I’ve seen Christian artists and ministers respond differently to this. Some don’t mind because they see it as a way to get the gospel out to more people. I like what Mike Bickle says regarding his sermon notes he makes available publicly, “If you’re going to copy it, copy it right.” On the other hand, a friend of mine was recently threatened with legal action by a ministry in response to him posting on YouTube an 18-second clip of theirs included in a video produced by another minister. I can relate to this ministry being protective of their videos made public. Certainly, I wouldn’t like it if someone posted one of my preachings if it was edited in such a way that my intended message was distorted (so-called “watchdog ministries” are notorious for doing this). However, legal action should only be considered as a last resort. ...