Signs & Wonders Blog

Thirty years ago this month, I got serious about soul-winning. Starting in June 1994, I went out street witnessing with Living Word Christian Center almost every Monday night. I was assigned to a team of usually three people. Within a few months, I felt ready to be a team leader. However, a few more weeks passed before Pastor Nick Kinn ’s assistant asked me to start leading evangelism teams. A year later, I went to work for Billy Graham ’s film ministry World Wide Pictures. I was often the top salesperson of the week. My team leader even suggested our co-workers study my telemarketing techniques. At one point, another team leader position opened that would result in higher pay. I was disappointed the promotion went to someone else. Perhaps the reason was my supervisor knew I would leave in a few months to go back on the mission field (he previously made me agree to stay on the job for one year after I temporarily left to live in Toronto for a season). In the world, individuals wil...

One of my Facebook friends recently posted a meme with this prayer: “Lord, empty me of me so I can be filled of You.” Technically, this is impossible. We are all unique individuals with talents, hopes, and dreams. God didn’t create us to be robots. A Christian can pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit and then obey His promptings instead of fulfilling selfish desires.  A personal example that comes to my mind happened over twenty years ago. While walking around my neighborhood, I saw five boys playing football in a church parking lot. A thought crossed my mind that when their football landed by me, that would be a sign to witness to them. Seconds later, the football bounced my way when one of the boys made a bad punt. However, I wanted to be by myself and went straight home. God kept telling me to go back. So I put my shoes on and hurried to the parking lot where the boys were still playing. After one of them scored a touchdown, I asked the boys to take a time-out. All five got b...

People called to full-time ministry often face the temptation of making things happen by the arm of the flesh. I’ve heard stories about messes ministers created when trying to expand their ministries ahead of God’s timing. Jesus said in Luke 14:11, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” I’m willing to help a brother or sister advance in their calling if the Lord leads me to. Romans 12:10 talks about “giving preference to one another.” Still, I find it annoying when preachers promote their ministries on my web pages without asking first. A few individuals had frequently done this on my Facebook Wall despite my asking them to stop. That prompted me to change my account settings so people could only write comments in response to my articles and praise reports. Then one pastor started posting announcements ( irrelevant to my writings) about various endeavors he was involved in. The first two times I simply removed his posts. A...

Back in 1995, I became friends with another serious soul winner who was part of the evangelism ministry at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Leonard Micklin led hundreds to the Lord apart from the church’s scheduled outings. Often when I arrived prior to an outreach or service, Leonard was sitting in the sanctuary confessing the word. I admired his faith in God meeting his needs without having a job or car. Leonard didn’t seek to promote himself but the gospel. He often wore a baseball cap with the name of Jesus on it and sang praise songs after leading someone to salvation. During one outing in downtown Minneapolis, I was the leader but perceived the Lord wanted Leonard to lead our team for a while. Leonard was reluctant but agreed to do so. Later I learned the heads of the evangelism ministry were already nudging Leonard to become a team leader. Not long after I started working for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Leonard often said, “Say ...

Church should be a safe place for believers. Unfortunately, no fellowship is perfect. Even pastors can sometimes get in the flesh and act in ways inconsistent with Scripture. A friend told me about one church he went to where the congregation took turns giving a short sermon since the pastor wasn’t there that particular Sunday. My friend didn’t have time to complete his message but the handouts he gave revealed a doctrine the leadership disagreed with. A couple of weeks later when my friend returned to this church, the pastor instructed him not to come back there again. Assuming my friend told this story accurately, I thought the pastor acted too hastily. He could have privately discussed the matter with my friend before possibly excommunicating him. In Matthew 18, Jesus taught us the right way to confront someone in error... 15 “ Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But i...

I enjoy watching football and baseball games on TV…especially if the Vikings and Twins are playing well.   But one thing I loathe is the increasing number of sporting events and stadiums named after businesses.   During the 1980’s, organizers of college bowl games started giving corporate sponsors “naming rights .”   All these games used to have simple names like the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl.   Now we have games such as the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas .   What’s really confusing is many of these games change their name every few years.   For example, this year’s Belk Bowl (to be played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina) was previously called the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the Continental Tire Bowl, and before that the Queen City Bowl. Nowadays, most major league teams play in venues named after a corporate sponsor.   In 1990 when the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves announced th...