Like many around the world, my wife and I recently watched the news coverage following the death of Pope Francis. We even decided to re-watch the 2024 film Conclave (excellent in many ways, but with a disappointing and unrealistic ending, based on a novel by Robert Harris).
It was quite unexpected to have a Pope chosen from the United States for the first time. Living in Illinois my entire life, I’ve enjoyed seeing the excitement from many friends and family members about choosing a Pope from Chicago, one who attended a White Sox World Series game in 2005.
Although raised Roman Catholic, I have been an elder in a conservative Protestant denomination for nearly 30 years. I have nothing against Pope Leo XIV, who is the leader of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, and only hope that he will lean on the Lord as he leads, and be more conservative than the previous Pope was on social issues. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: May 2025
My Review of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, rated PG-13
****
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the sequel to the 2023 film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. It is the eighth, and possibly final film in the series, based on the television series created by Bruce Geller in 1966. The film was directed by Oscar nominee Christopher McQuarrie (Top Gun: Maverick), who also wrote the film with Emmy winner Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers).
The first part of the film recaps where we left these characters in 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. My wife Tammy and I re-watched that film a few days before seeing the new film as this is a part-two. While it helps if you had seen the previous film, I don’t think it is absolutely necessary to enjoy the film. There are quite a few flashbacks to previous films in the series as well. The first film featured the explosion of a Russian submarine. The submarine, now at the bottom of the Bering Sea, will come into play in this new film.
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A Prayer for Summer
Our Father in Heaven,
Although the calendar tells us that summer doesn’t begin until June 21, summer has always seemed to begin for me when school gets out and we celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. I’ve always thought of summer as the months of June, July and August. Memorial Day to Labor Day. Summer is by far my favorite season of the year.
Thank you, Father, for the season of summer. I love the warm temperatures, the green grass, trees blowing in the wind, and the fact that here in the Midwest it will stay light until nearly 9:00 pm.
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Book Release SALE!
Book Release SALE for A Leader Worth Following: 40 Key Leadership Attributes and Applications to Master
To celebrate the release of my new book A Leader Worth Following: 40 Key Leadership Attributes and Applications to Master, both the paperback and Kindle editions will be on sale for a short time.
Beginning (May 26 at 6 a.m. CST) and ending (June 1 at 6 a.m. CST) the paperback edition will be on sale for $5.99 and the Kindle edition just $2.99.
In this book, I bring my unique perspective from various leadership roles, including nearly 38 years at a Fortune 50 organization and 30 years in the church, to look at 40 key attributes or characteristics of effective leaders. If you can master these key leadership attributes, you will be a leader that others will want to follow.
See below what others are saying about the book:
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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS
Music Review:
Cover Story – Russ Taff
****
I have long been a fan of Russ Taff. The six-time Grammy-winner’s latest album is Cover Story. The album chronicles Taff’s life journey of recovery and redemption via strong performances of songs by Bob Dylan, U2, Simon and Garfunkel, Prince, and many more.
The album was produced by John Mark Painter, with Steve Taylor serving as executive producer. Matt Wallace mixed the album. Taff is supported by an all-star band of session superstars including Painter, guitarist Kenny Vaughan, keyboardists Blair Masters and Phil Madeira. I especially liked the use of horns and a gospel choir on the album. The album is sure to find it’s way on my best albums of 2025 list.
Incredibly, Taff has been inducted into the Gospel Music Association’s Hall of Fame three times – for his work as a solo artist, and as a member of both The Imperials and The Gaither Vocal Band.
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
~ More of this review
~ Music News
~ Song of the Week Lyrics – “Here Is Love Vast As The Ocean (Everlasting Praise)” by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Sandra McCracken Continue reading
BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Pascha to Pentecost by Jonathan Gibson. Crossway. 444 pages. 2023
****
This is the third of book of liturgies from Jonathan Gibson, following 2021’s Be Thou My Vision and 2023’s O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, books that I hope to read in the future. This volume is designed to help us prepare better for meditating on the great work of God in the person of his Son from Pascha (more commonly known as Easter), to Pentecost.
The author tells us that remembering Jesus is a divinely inspired, apostolic imperative. The remembrance of Jesus has been expressed in the liturgy of the Christian church for over two thousand years through the simple preaching of the gospel and the faithful administration of the sacraments. Since the days of the early church, Christians have also observed times in the church calendar for a more focused remembrance of key moments in the life of our Lord.
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Truths We Confess by R.C. Sproul
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading
The Importance of Intergenerational Friendships at Church
For many years, our church had two worship services. The early service (8:30 am) tended to be preferred by the older members of our congregation, while the later service (11:00 am) was the preference of the younger members, which included a good number of college students.
Providentially, due to our sanctuary being expanded and remodeled, for a number of months we met together in one worship service in our newly constructed gym. During that time, we worshipped with members of our church that we rarely saw because they attended the service that we didn’t. That was quite a joy. Continue reading
THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes
- How Do You Know if You Are Growing Spiritually? In this video, Sinclair Ferguson challenges our assumptions about spiritual growth, suggesting it’s less about self-assessment and more about our deepening engagement with Scripture, Christ, and the faith community.
- The Great Danger Is to Assume We Are All Headed for Heaven. Randy Alcorn writes “Judging by what’s said at most funerals, you’d think nearly everyone’s”
- Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, Head Coach Nick Sirianni Give “All Glory to God” after Super Bowl LIX Win. Jon Ackerman writes “After losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs two years ago, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts vowed to get back.”
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
- More interesting article links
- Favorite Quotes of the Week
- Is There Good Magic and Edifying Sorcery? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to a question asking if there’s good magic and edifying sorcery. The question is a popular one about Lord of the Ringsand Harry Potter and fantasy literature in general.
- Why is Witchcraft Handled So Differently Across Scripture? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “In our Bible readings coming up in the Old Testament, we read that sorcerers and those who practice witchcraft are to be killed. That’s very clear to me according to Exodus 22:18and Leviticus 20:27. But when Jewish Bible scholar the apostle Paul enters Ephesus, a city full of magic, he calls for no one to be executed — simply for all the books to be piled up in the city center and to be burned. That I see in Acts 19:19. Certainly, Paul would have known full well the contrast from what he saw in Scripture from what he was calling for. Why is the Old Testament more violent here? And why is the same sin handled so differently in the New Testament?”
- Who Do Christians Pray To? In this video, Michael Reeves unpacks the profound relationship between prayer and the Trinity.
- Living with Gospel-Sized Ambition. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “I graduate from seminary this spring, and as I prepare for full-time ministry, I want to better understand Paul’s claims in Acts 20:24when he says, ‘I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.’ For your life as a pastor, what do you take from this text? What did this Pauline conviction for the gospel over life look like — and feel like — for you?”
- Why Does the Bible Say Baptism Saves Us? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “Are we saved after water baptism, before water baptism, or in water baptism?”
- What Makes Someone Spiritually Dirty? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “In Leviticus 5:2 and Leviticus 7:19–21, we read that touching unclean things makes one unclean. But Jesus completely changes this. He later says it is what comes out of us that makes us unclean. He says this in Matthew 15:18–20. What caused such a major turnaround here, in what seems to me to be a fundamental redefinition of evil?”
- A life well lived is a life lived for the glory and the kingdom of God. Will that be your legacy? Paul Tripp
- Are you under the care of godly leaders? Then know that as they serve the Lord faithfully, they need your prayers, encouragement, and support! Be sure to pray for them regularly and seek to build them up frequently. Alistair Begg
- Unlike every other religion, Christianity does not provide step-by-step instructions for what we must do to avoid hell; it provides a Savior who endured hell in our place, if we will simply have the humility to admit it should have been us. The Bible does not give us steps to take or a list of duties to fulfill as if avoiding hell were like building a bunk bed. The Bible gives us a Rescuer. Dane Ortlund
- Do not become self-sufficient . Self-sufficiency is Satan’s net where he catches men, like poor silly fish, and destroys them. Be not self-sufficient . The way to grow strong in Christ is to become weak in yourself. God pours no power into man’s heart till man’s power is all poured out. Live, then, daily, a life of dependence on the grace of God. Charles Spurgeon
- God often uses the hardest things in life to produce the best things in us. Paul Tripp
- It is enormously restful to say, no matter what’s happening in your life, “Thy will be done.” Tim Keller
- We are not defined by our circumstances but by how we respond to them. Scott Sauls
- When our eyes aren’t fixed on Christ, it’s usually because they’re fixed on comparing ourselves with other Christians. Burk Parsons
- It is a good thing that our lives are controlled not by failed human shepherds, but by the good shepherd, who will never fail. Paul Tripp
FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday
Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles
- Why am I Still Working? Russ Gehrlein writes “Let me reflect on this loaded question for a few minutes and expand on what I could have said in more detail. Perhaps it may be of value to others like me who are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
- Entrepreneurial Leadership: A Conversation with Tom Gibbs, President of Covenant Theological Seminary. On this episode of the WORKING with Dan Doriani podcast, Thomas Gibbs joins Dan to talk about leading new ministry ventures from the very beginning.
- News with Eternal Perspective: A conversation with Kathleen Wadkins, The Pour Over. For those who have ever felt discouraged by the relentless feed of news, The Pour Over delivers news to your inbox with an eternal perspective. Kathleen Wadkins, Head of Content, joins Dan on this episode of WORKING with Dan Doriani to talk about how faith in Jesus informs her and her organization as they read and communicate world news to their readers.
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
- More links to interesting articles
- The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
- Faith and Work Book Review ~ Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry by Paul Tripp
- Quotes from the book Working Blessedly Forever, Volume 1: The Shape of Marketplace Theology by R. Paul Stevens
Leadership Attributes: Competency
As we continue to look at what will help make you a leader that others will want to follow, we look at the leadership attribute of competency.
When we consider this attribute, we can look at it from a number of various aspects. For the purpose of this article, let us look at the aspects of physical, knowledge, skill, and experience for the leader. Continue reading