CTM

I have a mother, now deceased. I have a stepmom, still alive. And I have a number of spiritual mothers - women who poured into me and influenced my life. One spiritual mother is Susan Hoff. Susan happened to be the wife of my middle school football coach, Ronnie, but more importantly, she was my middle school Sunday School teacher. In the tiny town of Runge, Texas, Susan was oft...

When we do harm, even if unintentionally, our image of ourselves as a good person is threatened. As I mentioned earlier in this series on putting faith into practice by apologizing, we try to convince the other person - and ourselves - that our intent was not to harm or offend them. This is how we defend our precious view of ourselves. But once we do the work of apologizing for ...

Can you imagine God calling you to minister to people you despise? To put your life in jeopardy in the process? To have to explain this mission to your family? Art Wilson experienced these scenarios and much more when God called him to gang ministry. A Florida resident, Wilson began by approaching gangs on his own, walking into the most dangerous neighborhoods of Chicago to buil...

Who does the work during an apology? The offending person or the offended person? When we are in the wrong, we may think extracting a statement of forgiveness from the offended person is the goal. Then everything is right. I once had someone seek my forgiveness by saying, "If I have ever done anything to harm you, I apologize." That wasn't good enough for me. I felt this person ...

Sharon Collins combines art and written meditations in her devotional book series, "Becoming His Masterpiece." Collins has an interesting personal story, as she felt called after retirement to take up both art and authorship. God has used both aspects to lead others while helping Collins grow spiritually herself. In this episode, I’ll ask Collins about both her book writing and ...