Jim’s Blog

Recently Kathy and I were in Malawi. We’ve been there every year since 2002. And in all those years very little has changed. Malawi is the 4th poorest country in Africa and it shows. Unemployment is rampant, the currency is continually devalued, and the people suffer. There is little comfort from a relentlessly corrupt government […]

One of the responsibilities of pastors is to visit those of his congregation who are in hospital. I say responsibility but it’s more than that. It’s a privilege. And it’s inspiring too. Why? Because people who are sick enough to be in hospital are fully aware of their vulnerability and their need for healing. Sometimes […]

In the past 25 years with WOW my wife Kathy and I have not ceased to be humbled and inspired by the child-like faith of the orphans and widows to whom we minister. In our western world terms they have nothing but adversity. They are ravaged by HIV and AIDS and opportunistic afflictions like tuberculosis, […]

It’s a challenge these days to lift our eyes and thoughts above the sorrows that plague our world. The recent flooding in Nepal has us all sighing and praying. At times like these (everyday times!) we can and must turn to the scriptures. There are so many encouraging passages. Here’s some excerpts from Psalm 89 […]

Our planet is hurting and may be angry. I’m no “Henny Penny” declaring that the sky is falling but I’m very concerned, as are you I think, about current global disasters. Here’s a summary: WILDFIRES North American conflagrations in the Northwest USA and northern Canada. Mediterranean and Europe – massive spread with severe blazes in […]

Maybe for the first time in our lives many if not all of western nations are feeling a new sense of vulnerability. It’s not only the rising fear of the escalation of war, with the entire Middle East on the verge, but also the hacking of water systems, and, as one recent headline put it,”the […]

Most of the world (at last count 1 1/2 billion!) were watching the World Cup last week. The “beautiful game”. The world’s most popular game called “football”( which we call “soccer”). It was intriguing and almost addictive. But beyond the televised drama there were several social media posts with pics of opposing teammates in prayer […]

I don’t know about you but reading the Bible is a constant adventure for me. It has such depth. I sometimes feel as if I’m reading it for the first time even though it’s been my key point of reference for decades. It is history, poetry, prophecy, and “good news” all in a compilation by […]

We’ve all experienced from time to time what the Spanish poet and mystic St.John of the cross referred to as “a dark night of the soul”. Or, as Psalm 23 puts it, “the valley of the shadow of death”. Darkness and despair haunt the night for countless souls. There is no light at the end […]