Category: Action

2/25/2025 0 Comments

Crafting Circles Not Cliques

Todd Foreman

My West Point classmate Todd Foreman is the most generous person I know in helping those around him, whether they be friends, coworkers, family, or those who are underprivileged, disabled, neglected, or hurting. Todd has a soft spot in his heart that is bigger than the state of Texas, where he resides. Sometimes, to his detriment, he puts the needs of others before his own needs in keeping with the Apostle Paul’s admonition, “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3,4). Todd is a make-the-circle-bigger kind of leader.

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2/4/2025 1 Comment

Running Away

In Genesis, Jacob (whose name meant heel or supplanter) twice defrauded his brother, Esau. First, he manipulated Esau into giving him his birthright. Second, he stole Esau’s blessing by deceiving his aged and blind father, Isaac, into thinking he was his brother. So, it was ironic that years later, Jacob’s uncle Laban cheated him multiple times—first, by giving away of his daughters as brides, and second, by changing his wages on numerous occasions for rendered work. So, when God told Jacob to return to his own family, he seized the opportunity to leave while his uncle was shearing sheep. He did not give Laban the chance to say goodbye to his daughter and grandchildren, instead secretly fleeing.

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1/7/2025 0 Comments

Not to Do Dumb Stuff

Pastor Brian led the children in a short message at Agape Church. One of his questions for the kids was if they had any New Year’s Resolutions. Several girls and boys shared before one young boy raised his hand and said his New Year’s Resolution was “Not to do dumb stuff.” That elicited quite a chuckle amongst the adults.
Inspired by the young boy’s answer, I called and asked my West Point classmate, Randy, what the dumbest thing he could think of that he’d ever done. It did not take him long to answer. “I got a car, a California customized van, as a Cadet, before it was authorized. I kept it parked off campus but decided to drive it around school one day before graduation.” Unfortunately, someone reported him, and he became a Century Man. This meant that on top of the hours he had already walked for other infractions with his rifle across a cement apron, he would surpass 100 hours of marching.

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12/3/2024 0 Comments

The Seeking Trifecta

Marine Captain Ray Smith, while serving as a military advisor to 250 Vietnamese Marines, was attacked by an overwhelming Viet Cong force while defending a hilltop outpost. The assault was so savage, and the weather was so bad (preventing close air support) that Smith had to lead the remaining 28 Vietnamese Marines to the safety of friendly lines. Because he was carrying a radio, Smith courageously threw himself backward on top of their own booby-trap-infested wire barrier so 28 Marines could move over the crushed wire, stepping on his prostrate body to safety. Despite severe cuts and bruises, Smith successfully fought and led those under his care to safety, winning him a Navy Cross.[1]

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8/16/2024 1 Comment

Valor II

The word valor originates from the Late Latin valorem and means strength or moral worth.[1] In the sense of strength, we think of one’s mind or spirit that enables them to take on danger or engage in acts of bravery and courage. In the sense of moral worth, valor is displayed by an unshakeable commitment to right conduct and virtue. A person who honorably refuses to engage in wrongdoing despite the pressure to do so displays valor.

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5/28/2023 1 Comment

Listening When We Don't Want To

Mike and Robbie boarded the light rail on their way to a Seattle Mariners game. A few feet from their seats sat a dirty, smelly man suffering from an addiction, mental health challenge, or both. Mike was repulsed and cautious toward this man conversing with an imaginary person. Mike noted, “He rearranged his clothing and belongings continuously and removed and replaced a fake mustache.” Mike prayed that he would not attack them or be a problem. The Holy Spirit had another plan. He whispered in Mike’s ear that this was a man with a name, a man loved by Him, and that Mike should approach and talk to him. But that was not something Mike wanted to do, and for most of the train ride, he resisted listening to persistent promptings.

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5/17/2023 0 Comments

Put the Spotlight on Me!

Loren and Ralph Erickson

On Saturday, family and friends gathered to honor and remember Ralph Erickson. Ralph lived a whole life of 90 years, serving as an Army Chaplain, a Clinical Pastor, and a Grief Counselor. Married twice (both of his wives, Joanna and Darlene, passed away), Ralph was a man who loved Jesus and who cared deeply about his family and people. He served as an Army Chaplain for 24 years, with two tours in Vietnam. He received the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Air Medal (a medal for aviators awarded him for the incredible number of hours he spent on helicopters to minister to troops).

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5/11/2023 1 Comment

Repetition

A Russian proverb says, “Repetition is the mother of learning.” Zig Ziglar noted, “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.” Great leaders are masters of repetition and recognize it as a tool for more effective leading.

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10/1/2021 0 Comments

Not By Strength

Zerubbabel by lineage could have been a king of Judah in the line of David. Instead he served as a governor and one who was exalted by God. “‘I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, My servant’—this is the LORD’s declaration—'and make you like My signet ring, for I have chosen you.’ This is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts” (Haggai 2:23b). He was a great leader. Yet God made it clear through the prophet, Zechariah, that it was not Zerubbabel’s human power that accomplished God’ will, but rather God’s Spirit.

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9/14/2021 0 Comments

Disruptive Innovation

Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, coined the term disruptive innovation.[1] Essentially it describes how a product or service begins at market bottom and then inexorably rises in the market until it at some point, displaces well-established competitors. A small, new company that is weak on resources successfully overcomes proven incumbent businesses by offering what the incumbents overlook in providing their more established clientele. An example of this is Microsoft and Apple moving into the computer industry and turning it upside down by providing affordable desktop and laptop computers.

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4/7/2021 1 Comment

Leaving

Meditation
Exodus 13:4—Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.

The month of Abib, (called Nisan in the post-exilic period), extends from March to April. Moses in the passage above was addressing his countrymen at a most historic time. God rescued them from their Egyptian oppressors and now they were headed into what would become a 40-year desert ordeal. They of course did not know that—they were expecting a fairly quick move to Canaan, the Promised Land. Their leaving was done in haste with little preparation and no doubt great anxiety mixed with the joy of liberation.

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9/11/2020 2 Comments

Heroism

On November 18, 1952, LT E. Royce Williams from his ship the USS Oriskany, off the coast of Korea, was given a bombing mission against North Korean targets as part of a strike group. The pilots flew near a river that bordered the Soviet Union. Upon completing their mission, they received information that 7 MIGs were scrambled to intercept them. Williams was ordered to return and provide protection for his ship.

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5/7/2020 0 Comments

Joshua

Meditation
Joshua 14:10-12—"As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these 45 years as He promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then. Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as large fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised.”

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3/16/2020 2 Comments

Corona Virus

The numbers worldwide continue to rise: 181,377 cases, 7119 deaths, 78,085 recoveries.[1] Worldwide reactions are dramatic: airline flights cancelled, large numbers of quarantined populations, countries with closed borders, bans on gatherings over 250 people, schools closed, colleges reverting to online classes, sports leagues cancelled, plummeting stock markets etc. Behold a pandemic! The cause of this chaos is a virus named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes is called “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”).

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9/30/2019 1 Comment

A Charge to PRESS

Recently I spoke at the retirement ceremony of my good friend Chaplain Bruce Sidebotham. Rather than focus on what he did in the military the Lord led me to address his future with a charge. A charge is an exhortation to action to fulfill an intended outcome. As an example, Paul exhorted Timothy, “I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism” (1 Timothy 5:21). My charge to Bruce was a message to all of us attending his celebratory event based on the acrostic PRESS.

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6/30/2018 0 Comments

All Talk and No Action

The Washington Post's Style Invitational asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here were some winners:
*Arachnoleptic fit: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
*Beelzebug: Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at 3 a.m. and cannot be cast out.

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9/25/2016 2 Comments

Six Benefits of Helping the Poor

I want to share with you a moment burned into my mind as a poignant testimony to generosity. My daughter, Sarah and I, experienced this moment in the city of Cerro de Pasco, Peru, in 2002. In the course of ministering to a small church in this town located at the top of the Andean mountains, we met street children who were collecting trash or anything of value they could find on the streets, in order to garner a handful of coins.

Although home to one of the deepest silver mines in the world, Cerro de Pasco’s 70,000 inhabitants are mostly poor. One would think that any money a child could scrape would be zealously guarded and used for food or clothing. But these joyful children tithed from what they had in order to give to missionaries. It was a demonstration of the poorest giving to the poor to honor and expand God’s work. Someday I hope to learn how God blessed them!

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2/29/2016 0 Comments

Leaving Hostility

Meditation
Genesis 26:21,22—Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also, so he named it Hostility. He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Open Spaces and said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

The Philistines inhabited the land of Canaan and because water was precious in that arid region there was competition over who controlled it. In the passage above, Isaac, the son of Abraham could not escape quarreling with Philistine herdsmen who, envious of his wealth, claimed any wells Isaac’s servants dug up as their own. They should have been thankful for more sources of water. Instead, by their hostile actions, they were sending a message to Isaac—“Get out of our land.”

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2/21/2016

Taking Responsibility

Karen worked at Bethel Chapel in the children’s department for two years and was pretty good at her job. When she first started working there she was attracted to her boss, until she found out he was married. Then she did the appropriate thing and simply focused on her work. Her boss, Fred, learned that she was a single mom and he and his wife did their best to help her out. At some point in the process of helping, he became attracted to Karen. Soon, everyone in the office noticed Fred was spending a lot of time with her. Gradually she grew embarrassed by his increasing attention. He continuously texted her, often walked her to her car after work, and was overly aggressive about finding out about her personal life. Though the church office was filled with gossip about Fred and Karen, no one confronted Fred.

11/16/2013 0 Comments

Amen

In 1915, Rabbi Jeremy’s grandfather as a teenager recognized that if he stayed in Russia he was likely to be persecuted and deprived of basic freedoms. So, he left his family and walked—all the way to Israel. It took him one and half years to reach the port of Jaffa. I would imagine it was a dangerous trip full of excitement, fighting cold and hunger as well as numerous other challenges. With a group of men touring Israel (including my two sons and son-in-law), we listened to Jeremy share life lessons at Yad Hashmona Country Hotel.

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