Signs & Wonders Blog

While I grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota, homosexuality was something my classmates in school joked about. Back then, I couldn’t believe anyone would seriously want a sexual relationship with a person of the same gender. Since becoming an evangelist, I’ve been mindful to  speak the truth in love  when  encountering individuals who identify as LGBT. This past Tuesday while sightseeing in Tucson, Arizona, I noticed a young couple goofing around at the streetcar station where I waited for a ride. The boy kept singing the old Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive.” I told him that was a favorite of mine, and I was around his age when that song was a hit. (This young man happened to be 14 years old - I was 14 when “Stayin’ Alive” was the #1 song in the nation). Toby and Lily eventually prayed with me to receive salvation. After giving them gospels of John, I played on my iPhone an ApologetiX parody of “Stayin’ Alive” called “ Stay in the Light .” Just before the streetcar arrived, Tob...

Like many God-fearing Americans, I was grateful to see Donald Trump return to the White House last Monday. I watched the inauguration at Rodney Howard-Browne ’s church (which played on the video screens during their Winter Campmeeting). I was happy to hear the president declare, “We will not forget our God.” However, some clergy aren’t happy about this. Among them is Episcopal bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who oversees 86 churches across D.C., and Maryland, with 38,000 members. She previously made critical remarks about the president during his first term in office. On the day after Trump's second inauguration, Budde delivered the homily at an interfaith prayer service held at the Washington National Cathedral. The final part of her sermon was directed at President Trump who sat in the front row. Here are portions of what she said:  “Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our ...

Even before committing my life to the Lord, I knew homosexuality was wrong. The thought of same-sex couples having intimate relations repulsed me. Nevertheless, I grew up around at least two guys who I discovered years later were homosexuals. One was a neighbor who lived two houses away from   my childhood home   in Moorhead, Minnesota. David was a bit eccentric. He had tall plants growing in his front yard that looked like a jungle. A year after I moved to Minneapolis, David died of AIDS. My parents told me he had admitted to them of being gay. Another was a junior high classmate whose locker was next to mine. Thomas seemed popular with the girls and even became class president. So it surprised me when I eventually learned of him becoming a homosexual. In 2011, Thomas died unexpectedly of a heart attack at 46. Although he wasn’t friendly toward me at school, I still hate to think of this guy being in hell. Three years before his death, Thomas got “married” to his long-time pa...

Shortly after giving my life to the Lord in 1991, I got involved with Toastmasters. This organization helps individuals develop their public speaking skills. One talk I created for a humorous speech contest was titled “Crap Music.” It was inspired by a coworker who jokingly talked of mixing country music with rap. That speech came to my remembrance after reading about a rapper claiming to embrace Christianity. Lil Nas X burst onto the national scene with a huge hit in 2019. “Old Town Road” set an all-time record by logging 19 consecutive weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. That song combined elements of country and rap, plus featured an appearance by Billy Ray Cyrus (of “Achy Breaky Heart” fame). Lil Nas X also gained notoriety for coming out as gay and creating “Satan shoes.” Now the rapper claims to have entered his “Christian Era.” In a teaser clip for a yet-to-be released song, he sang these lyrics: Father stretch my hands The lonely road seems to last the longest Help me...

During the history of America, four presidents were assassinated. One of which happened on this day in 1881. James Garfield got shot inside a railroad station (but died weeks later) where the National Gallery of Art now sits. I’ve walked by there during my numerous visits to Washington, DC. I’ve been to the other spots where an assassin’s bullet struck the president. Abraham Lincoln got gunned down in DC at Ford’s Theater. I went in there once to explore a museum honoring Lincoln. Last year in Buffalo, New York, I visited a monument marking the spot where William McKinley got shot. A few years before in Dallas, I walked through the Dealey Plaza area where a sniper killed John F. Kennedy. Three other presidents have died in office due to health issues. The United States currently has a man I’ve been reluctant to label as my president. Because of his declining mental state, many Americans are concerned about Joe Biden ’s capability to serve in the White House. I don’t believe he legit...

Dear Amy, I’m an evangelist who appreciates your contributions to Contemporary Christian Music. When I used to program an Internet radio station , your songs were on my playlist. I also saw you perform at a Billy Graham crusade in Minneapolis. Years before, your music planted seeds that later resulted in my salvation. In 1984, my sister bought a copy of “Straight Ahead” after seeing you in concert. I wrote a mostly positive review of your album for my college newspaper and predicted you would hit the Top 40 in a couple of years. The following year, I got excited when “Find a Way” debuted on “ American Top 40 .” Six years after that, I found The Way (John 14:6). It’s sad when religious folk become judgmental of us. I remember you got criticized when you started recording more secular songs such as “Baby Baby” (which hit #1 a month after I got saved). I can also relate to the flak you received for getting divorced and remarried. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of going through ...

The mainstream media makes a big fuss when a celebrity “comes out” as gay or transgender . A few years ago, actor Zach Quinto publicly proclaimed he was a homosexual. That inspired one national TV news anchorman to do the same while reporting the story. After Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner identified as a different gender, he was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award by ESPN. If homosexuals and transgender people can openly display behaviors that the Bible calls shameful (Romans 1:27), then believers should unashamedly proclaim their allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible has many verses regarding that… “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” - Mark 8:38 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” - Romans 1:16 ...

I saw many Walt Disney movies in theaters and on TV during my childhood. My family and I often watched “The Wonderful World of Disney” on Sunday nights (I also remember my dad doing a great Donald Duck imitation). Although some Disney productions such as “Fantasia” and “Escape to Witch Mountain” had occult themes, they mostly promoted family values.  Sadly, the Walt Disney Company has drifted into endorsing ungodly lifestyles. In 2005, a friend of mine briefly worked at Disney World in Orlando. He told me about “Gay Days” hosted by the amusement park. In a company-wide Zoom call this past Monday, a Disney executive said they must be more “inclusive” by increasing the number of LGBTQIA characters. Karey Burke claimed, “I am here as a mother of two queer children – one transgender child and one pansexual child.” Not surprisingly, this moral decline has shown up in their productions. Four years ago, Walt Disney Studios released an R-rated flick called “Eighth Grade”, which feature...

I will continue using Facebook as a ministry platform despite them force-feeding us propaganda (including added links about COVID-19 that  I do not approve of ). Earlier this week, a sponsored ad from singer Carole King came up in my News Feed in which she thanked Dolly Parton “for inspiring me to record my own vaccination song.” I had no interest in hearing the song. When I clicked on the ellipsis, nothing happened. I couldn’t hide the ad. The only way to prevent it from coming up again on my News Feed was to block Carole King’s Facebook page. I’ve also been doing this with Facebook ads “celebrating” pride month. This year several of them have appeared in my News Feed. One by iHeart Radio claimed you “can’t cancel pride.” I did so by blocking their page. James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 both say,  “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  To anyone wanting to label me a hater, I need to clarify something. I do not hate homosexuals. By His grace, I love them as...

Dear Mr. Biden, I’m a minister who is thankful to be an American. I don’t take for granted the freedom and prosperity our nation has enjoyed for over two centuries. Since becoming an adult in the early 1980s, I’ve always voted Republican . That party’s platform has been more in line with the Judeo-Christian values this nation was founded upon. Therefore, I wasn’t happy when Bill Clinton and Barack Obama won their presidential elections but prayed for them as commanded in 1 Timothy 2:1-2… “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” Now that you occupy the Oval Office, I will pray for you as well. But if allowed to meet with you, I wouldn’t feel comfortable addressing you as “Mr. President.” I’m not convinced that you legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. I knew the increase of mail...