Author Archives: Steve

What it takes to be “a good man”

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As we celebrated Fathers’ Day, most of us took a moment to recall our fathers. My father was like many – he had lots of good character qualities. And he had some areas of his life where he could have improved. Patience was not one of his strengths. That’s probably why I never became a fisherman. But one of the strengths my father had was that he was a good man.

Some time ago that phrase, “he’s a good man” entered my daughter’s vocabulary. She would talk about professors at college and say, “Dad – you’d really like him. He’s a good man.” One day she was talking about Jim Bell and she said, “He’s a good man.” Then it happened….

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Guarding Against “Attachment Disorder”

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Last fall, I read an article in a Christian magazine about Eastern European children who have been adopted by American couples. The author noted that many such children have great difficulty clinging to their new parents. It seems that, in many cases, the abandonment they experience in the early years of their development causes them to have a problem trusting anyone – including the new parents. Their lives can be marked by hostility, inability to form close relationships, and distrust of people, particularly authority figures. These children can become self-destructive, highly sensitive to rejection and anger, and blame everyone close to them for the problems in their lives. Psychologists call this syndrome Attachment Disorder.

As I read it, I immediately realized that it’s not just Eastern European children who struggle with Attachment Disorder. Continue reading →

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Taking Spiritual Inventory

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Recently, our son, Tim headed out on his own. Not for good, but almost for good. He took the Tahoe and loaded it up to spend his last college summer in Indianapolis working as an intern for a high-tech engineering company.

He started packing on Wednesday – preparing to spend the summer in a house with Mike, a guy he doesn’t even know – and left on Saturday. We’ve given him all we can to help him take on the world. To buy his own groceries. To find his own church. To make his own friends. Such a transition is a serious challenge. It reminds us that any challenge takes some thoughtful preparation. Like many of you, as parents, Laurel and I worked hard to make sure he was prepared – to ensure that he had all he needed.

When you’re taking on a significant challenge, it is wise to put together an inventory of what will be needed.

Completing the Great Commission is a serious challenge. Have you taken inventory, recently?

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