What I Learned About Turn Around
June 2002 This September marks my five year anniversary at Grace Church. God’s Spirit continues to blow on our work. This January we launched our fifth weekend service, the Saddleback model, Celebrate Recovery. With this addition, we are running over 1400 on weekends, plus another 300+ at New Community on Wednesday night. Remember that my […]
Why They Start Churches – Through Their Eyes
I just returned from Vietnam where the church is exploding. What I saw on this trip, and have seen on past trips, is a church growing. It’s not because of Western involvement, or any other that I could detect, but from unique stories of how individuals came to faith in Christ through unexpected ways, and […]
A Culture of Fear
By Bill Easum with Doug Murren The war with Iraq is “over” and the one in Afghanistan is winding down. But one thing is certain: The terrorists have already won because America is becoming a culture of fear. People are afraid to fly, even though they are more likely to be killed in an automobile […]
A Lesson in How to Be Hospitable to Strangers
In June I attended a workshop on “Managing Creativity” sponsored by Leadership Network and the Disney Institute in Orlando. Although I didn’t get to see much of Disney during the day and half I attended the workshop, I was introduced to enough of it to have some interesting thoughts. I first shared my initial reactions […]
A A Lesson in How to Be Hospitable to Strangers
In one of the congregations I worked in last year I ran across a story that had become legendary in that congregation. It seems as if the pastor had told the story many times so the detailed authenticity of the story is suspect. However, I have learned that some of the most profound truths are […]
A Time for Giving
Two of the most important celebrations of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas, happen at this season. During these times, workers jockey for time off, families come together from all over the country or world, food is prominent, and hopefully a good time will be had by all. I know, this isn’t starting out as my […]