With all due respect to Dr. Suess, who wrote a book with this exact title, I feel this statement describes how I think about my life! As a boy born to an unwed mother in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I have been blessed beyond measure, and God has allowed me to do things I could never have imagined and to have gone places that would have never entered my mind. God’s…
Read MoreDr. Kenneth T. Jewell
I first met Dr. Jewell in 1996 when I became pastor at Indy Westside. He had served as interim pastor. The church had gone through a challenging period. Longtime pastor Dr. J.K. Warrick had left to accept the call to be the pastor at Olathe College Church. The pastor who followed him lasted 16 months. Somewhere between 200 and 250 people had left the church, attendance, finances, and morale were…
Read MoreFinally I reach the Highlands!
Mt Hagen is the third largest city in Papua New Guinea, with over 50,000 residents. Hagen is the capital of the Western Highlands Province, located in the fertile Wahgi valley in the central part of the country. It is 5500 feet above sea level, compared to Indianapolis which is less than 1000 feet above sea level. Hagen is in the central part of Papua New Guinea where the…
Read MoreFrom Point A to Point….
In consultation with Jeff Myers missionary serving in Papua New Guinea, I was directed to a travel agent that has made numerous travel arrangements for people traveling to that part of the world. I contacted Jan, and she began working on my flight itinerary. When it was in place, I would fly 11 legs on an airplane from Indianapolis back to Indianapolis. It would actually end…
Read MoreFrom Indianapolis to Papua New Guinea and Fiji and back to the USA
Reflecting on the past couple of months: I wrote impressions, diary-type entries and conversations and events I did not want to forget. For the next few weeks, I will be sharing some of my experiences, the people I met and observations from my sabbatical season. After I decided that I would go to Papua New Guinea for my sabbatical to teach at Melanesia Nazarene Bible College and visit…
Read MoreThe Road Less Travelled
In a few days I will be leaving for the South Pacific. I will be stopping albeit briefly at an airport a couple of times in Australia. I will be spending the bulk of time in Papua New Guinea and then a few days in Fiji, and then a few days in my country trying to get a little rest as well. I am taking a sabbatical.…
Read MoreA Sunday Lesson at Cross-Way
Today I was able to worship with and preach at one of our new start churches. Pastor Mark and Kelli Ramsey are the pastors of our Cross-Way church in Beech Grove. My assessment of this congregation: Four years ago this church did not exist. There were infants all the way to Senior adults in attendance. There were young adults in attendance Cross-Way is a genuinely…
Read MoreA Little Toy Piano
A preschool girl who was adored by her parents was so excited as they had finished their dinner for she knew what came next. Her parents had bought her a little toy piano for Christmas. On a cold wintry night after dinner, her father asked her to go and get her piano and play him a tune. The toddler went into the other room and picked up her…
Read MoreI Used To Live Here!
Last night we began our pastor and spouse retreat in Middlebury Indiana in the heart of Amish country. The fellowship, the preaching from my friend Pastor Dave Engbrecht of the Nappanee Indiana Missionary Church has been uplifting, the special music from Justin Wells has been outstanding, the meals unbelievable. Today Susanne and I took a journey down Memory Lane. In March of 1984, we moved from Corpus Christi, Texas…
Read MoreThe World is Large Yet In Some Ways Smaller
Life is lived daily. Like you, I have a family, responsibilities, things to do, places to go and activities to pursue. In the midst of life we become consumed with the boundaries of our to-do-lists. There is no complete remedy for this, because for all daily happens every twenty-four hours. Each new day brings challenges and opportunities, from bills to pay and problems solved to children…
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