Posts from August 2024
History of LifeWay (Part 9)
This is my 9th ‘chapter’ or installment of the 40 years of history that we have been blessed with at this church. From 1984 when Patty and I moved here, until now. Thank you for reading along and indulging with me in this reflective journey. In the last couple of articles I have already spoken of our work in Bryansk, Russia a few times and how that international missions had already made such a huge impact in our personal lives…
An Introduction to Mark
To those few among you who still write old-fashioned paper letters, how do you begin? Will you begin with a salutation or greeting? Will you ask about their health? Will you follow with a little chit-chat, or small talk? Will you complain about the economy or the Mariners? Well, the Gospel of Mark doesn’t do any of those things (I know, I know, it is not really a letter). The writer of Mark offers no pleasantries. He wastes no time.…
The Promises of God: Proverbs 3:5–6
If you’ve been around awhile you might recall that frequently have told the story of how I came to memorize Proverbs 3:5-6. As I was pledging a college fraternity at Baylor in 1976 one of the members of the fraternity was a Christian and forced me to memorize this verse before he would vote for me to be in the club! It might seem strange to you and not match your view of fraternity life, but I will tell you…
The Promises of God: Matthew 28:19–20
This coming Sunday morning August 18 I am honored to have a relatively new friend with us, Brad Schneeflock. Brad is relatively new to the Northwest as he moved here with his family over a year ago from Arizona to lead a collegiate outreach ministry in the Puget Sound Region. He led a great collegiate ministry outreach in Arizona for years, but now brings his expertise and experience to our area. This is of special interest to us at LifeWay…
History of LifeWay (Part 8)
I am continuing to write out some personal reflections and the missions’ history that my wife and I have experienced over these 4 decades of ministry. Today is part 8 of this story. After the merger of Palisades and Calvary and the significant partnership with Don Turner that I wrote about last week, there were in the days to follow some adjustments for sure. From 2003 at the merger until around 2008/2009 there were some wonderful victories, but we…
When Is It Acceptable To Lie? (Part II)
Read Part I When I think about why the Bible teaches us to always tell the truth, my mind goes to two places. The first place is that our God is a God of truth. He always tells the truth. There is zero untruth in him. Every part of his being is truth. For this reason, we can take it to the bank every word he says in the Bible. It makes no sense for us to say God is…
History of LifeWay (Part 7)
LifeWay Church honored Patty and I this summer for our 40 years of history here. It has inspired me to write out some meaningful moments and people over these four decades. Today I write part 7. Don Turner and the “Merger” that became LifeWay Church: It’s been more than two decades now, but for the most of the early 2000’s here in our church people would often ask about the merger of churches that occurred in the year 2003. Yes,…
When Is It Acceptable To Lie? (Part I)
Parents from hundreds of years ago, and from every part of the planet, knew one thing they must teach to their children. They all knew that teaching their own children to tell the truth, and to always tell the truth, was the right thing to do. Or do you know anyone who taught their children to tell the truth only some of the time? I hope you will say none. No parents bring home their newborn baby from the hospital,…
History of LifeWay (Part 6)
Today is part 6 of my ongoing recollection of the last 40 years here. Again, I write this out for the sake of ‘missions history’ and I hope you find it interesting and maybe inspiring. The Russia Report: For those who are ‘old-timers’ here at this church (those of you who have been around for 20+ years) this expression “The Russia Report” usually brings up a laugh and reminder of something I gave as a report to the Church family…
The Promises of God: He Always Finishes What He Has Started!
The top of this article is from me (Billy) and the 2nd half is from Scott Jackson. This Sunday, August 4, we are honored to have our own Scott Jackson bring us a message in our summer series we call… “The Promises of God.” Scott and Diane serve in Eastern Europe and have been workers on the international field now for over 14 years. And LifeWay is their home church (and of course Diane is our daughter!! — and sweet…