I could clearly see two 'forks' on the young bull moose. This made him legal, and I almost pulled the trigger at 300 yards. I was calling him in by imitating a cow 'call' and a bull 'grunt.' I almost shot him at 200 yards. I almost shot him at 100 yards. It wasn't until he stepped out of the brush at 50 yards that I noticed a third tine on both antlers. This meant the bull was NOT legal. I almost ...  Read More

One of the differences between summer rain in Alaska and most other places is that our rain is cold. I don't mean 'refreshing' cold, I mean if you're out in the wilderness and are unprotected you could die of hypothermia. While the wild animals are seemingly comfortable in every kind of weather, you and I need to clothe ourselves properly. The same thing is true spiritually. Collossians 3:12 says,...  Read More

After three spectacular days, it's raining again. Water is life-giving. It's essential. There's nothing quite so peaceful as being next to a clear, trickling brook on a warm, sunny day. But water can also be dangerous, violent, contaminated- leading to death rather than to life. The Word of God is pure Living Water. It is both life-giving and life-sustaining. But if it is contaminated by false doc...  Read More

Alaska is a land of extremes. When I was younger I made many trips every summer down to the Russian River after working all day. It took several hours to get there so I would begin fishing a little before 10 PM, catch that day's limit, and then after midnight, catch the next day's limit and be back at work by 6 AM. We give time and energy to what we love, don't we? Like so many men, hunting and fi...  Read More

Though I was not yet excited about Alaska, I was thankful to finally be through with all of the continuous harassment and 'head games' that were part of basic training. I thought, "Now we'll finally be treated like men." Imagine my disappointment when at my first meeting with my Platoon Sergeant he lectured me for nearly 2 hours in what he called 'preventative counseling.' He had seen that I had a...  Read More

As I stood in formation at the end of Airborne School, the jumpmasters asked us if we wanted 'blood wings.' This is where they put your Airborne pin through your shirt with no back on the pin and then punch it into your chest. Obviously I said, "Yes," but those soldiers with a more delicate nature declined. Testosterone is a great thing. It's part of what it means to be 'man' created in the image ...  Read More

Jesus called out to some commercial fisherman, "Come! Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!" At once they left their boats and nets and followed him. There is an important spiritual principle here. The very first time that these men encountered Jesus, they obeyed IMMEDIATELY. Isn't that interesting? They didn't say, "Talk to us when we're done with work." They didn't say, "We'll think abo...  Read More

It may not be true for you, but for me the hardest part about climbing a mountain is getting started. Just getting up early and putting on my climbing clothes is a victory, but it isn't a total victory. Many times I've dressed to climb and then not climbed. My second victory is simply getting TO the mountain. I must force my 'will' even when I don't feel like it. And then I have to start. Every si...  Read More

The night before last, it rained like it doesn't rain in Alaska- literally 'buckets' of water falling from the sky. I thought, "We should have laid out the plan yesterday and painted parking lines at the new church." But two days ago the cars of our volunteers were in the way- the parking lot was full. Early yesterday morning the rain stopped and the parking lot dried off.True, it was a small thin...  Read More

Crescendo is an interesting term. As the 'life' of something is being played out, it becomes more powerful, more energetic, more intense, more consuming... Fifteen years ago, the Lord laid it heavily upon my heart that we would one day plant a church in Anchorage- Alaska's largest and 'least churched' city. But I knew all along that this would not be a typical church plant. This would be a church ...  Read More

When I arrived at Airborne School, the first people I noticed were a soldier with one arm in a cast who was painting a building with his other hand, and a soldier with one leg in a cast who was hobbling along pushing a lawn mower. These men were 'recycles.' To graduate from Airborne School, you must complete five successful jumps in a row. If you are injured before jump five, you have two options:...  Read More

The first seven times that I ever flew on a large airplane I only landed twice. The other five times I jumped out of the open door of the plane. Airborne School was three weeks of highly intensive, highly professional training. Nearly 2 weeks was spent perfecting our 'PLF' (parachute landing fall). The objective was to get out of the plane quickly and to land safely. The infantry's small, round pa...  Read More