Dear Friends, This morning I was reading in the book of 1 Peter. Over the years I’ve experienced the truth that no matter how many times you read the same scripture, God’s Spirit always emphasizes something new. Today I was struck by verse 25, in chapter 2. If you’re not familiar with that passage, here’s what it says, “Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.” This is far from being the only time the Bible describes believers as sheep. Actually, if we were to do a word study on it, we would find that there are over 100 references in the Bible to God’s people being like sheep. That's a lot. So it’s a metaphor I’m

Dear Friends, This week I have the privilege of attending a pastor’s conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s an annual trip I take, and every year, I’m encouraged by the time of worship and hearing from the Word, and of being with other pastors as they share about what God is doing in their churches. This year, the conference organizers made a special effort to invite pastors from around the world, and so there are several international delegations here - representing countries like Columbia, India, Kenya, and even Pakistan. It’s been great to see these groups of men moving through the conference, and they’re always easy to pick out, because most of them have chosen to dress in traditio