It Doesn't Always Have to Be a Blockbuster

I was 17 years old, and tonight I was going to be preaching for the first time in my life at the “youth service” our new church was hosting. At the youth service, teenagers handled every part of the service including song leading, piano, announcements, and even preaching. The audience would be about 150 strong, and this would be my first time speaking to a group that large in my entire life so of course, I was very nervous. I stood in front of the mirror wearing one of my dad’s ties and a very mature-looking Members Only leather jacket since I didn’t own a suit coat. I went over and over the sermon in my mind as the clock moved toward 6 o’clock faster than I would have preferred. In spite of my doubts about my personal ability to preach, I knew that I had an important message to deliver, and that God could use me to deliver it.

I do not come from a long line of preachers. My dad was an electrician, his dad was an electrician, and before that, electricity may not have been invented yet. Neither of my parents were the most involved members of the church, but I never doubted their faith in the Lord or questioned how seriously they took the Bible or the things of God. I learned the basics of electrical work from my dad, but it was my mom who imparted to me my love for language and the power of words.

When I was 4 years old, she taught me how to read using Dr. Seuss books like Hop on Pop and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. She would put pencil marks above the vowels to let me know which ones were long and which ones were short, and I would sit on her lap and read them out loud to her.

When I was growing up, my mom and I always loved word-related games. We would often try to stump each other with obscure vocabulary words or sit down and play board games like Balderdash or Scrabble. When we played Scrabble in my family, no one was very patient. We didn’t like for people to take too long on their turn, so when I was taking too long on my turn, my mom would often say, “It doesn’t always have to be a blockbuster.” What she meant was that every round you play is not necessarily going to be your best round, so don’t take all day thinking about it. Sometimes you just have to throw something on the board, so we can all get on with the game.

Thankfully, my first sermon went pretty well, and I was off to a decent start as a preacher. I pretty much bombed my second sermon and on many subsequent attempts, I laid an egg so to speak. In my mind as I prepared, I would be eloquent and dynamic, but when I would go to actually preach, it would often fall flat. Sometimes I questioned whether I was even cut out to be a preacher (and so did the people around me!).

One night in particular I sat and listened to my pastor preaching, and it was one of those nights when he was simply on fire. I can picture him now from my front row seat as he thundered forth God’s word with such power from behind that pulpit. At that moment, I thought to myself, “I will never be able to preach as well as Pastor Nichols is preaching right now. He is preaching at a level that I will never reach. But I wonder if I can just preach well enough to be a pastor - not necessarily like him, but just a pastor. Can God use me to accomplish something for his glory?”

21 years after my first sermon at that youth night, I have written and preached almost 3,000 sermons, and I’ve been a pastor now for 15 years. Preaching for one hour three times a week to the same group of people can be challenging. Especially when people have traveled a long distance to attend church or even flown in from out of town, there is a lot of pressure to preach a home run sermon. Over the years I’ve learned that mom was right: it doesn’t always have to be a blockbuster. 

Memorial Service for Grandma (Helen Anderson)

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15

My grandma, Helen Anderson, who was my Dad’s mom, passed away recently at the age of 96, and we held her memorial service here at Faithful Word Baptist Church. My dad, my brother, my older sister, and I all got up and shared fond memories about our Grandma who was a godly Christian lady. We also talked a little about my grandpa, who passed away 25 years earlier. It was great spending time over the weekend with my dad, all three of my siblings, and their families.

Left to right: Clint, Spring, Dad, Denise, Myself, Zsuzsa, Matt, Lisa, Bobby, Raani

In a way, Grandma got to speak at her own funeral because I showed some footage of her from a few years ago. I then preached a sermon entitled “Precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of his Saints” as a tribute to my grandparents. The sermon was about how it is biblical to honor those who have contributed to us spiritually. In my sermon, I also hit on some issues my grandparents were passionate about. Grandpa hated Calvinism and tried to warn his whole family against it. My dad definitely got the message, and he passed that hatred of Calvinism down to us. Hopefully, my aunts and cousins who weren’t at the service were watching online and reminded of one of the important doctrines my grandpa taught us and the fact that he left behind letters he had written to his descendants about it.

My dad with his four children in birth order from left to right.

If you knew my Grandma, you would understand that it was only fitting to have hard preaching as part of her memorial service. Grandpa was definitely a contender of the faith, and Grandma was the woman behind the man. Grandma stuck by her husband through the hard times and played a pivotal role in his salvation. Because of her prayers and faithfulness, my Grandpa and my Dad were eventually led to the Lord by an independent fundamental Baptist pastor.

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 1 Peter 3:1

I’ve been blessed with a godly heritage, so it was a privilege to put on a memorial service in honor of a virtuous woman who has contributed so much spiritually to our family. Not only was Grandma a great Christian and soul winner, but she was a fun grandma that we loved dearly, and we had a great time reminiscing about her. We had Mexican food catered in after the service since Grandma loved Mexican food.

Click here to watch Grandma Helen Anderson’s Memorial Service if you haven’t seen it yet.

I'm North African!

I've been doing a lot of research about genealogies and DNA lately while working with Paul Wittenberger on a new documentary film "Marching to Zion," so I decided to get my DNA checked for ethnicity. In the past, when I had studied my genealogy, the only nationalities I had ever been able to come up with were English, Irish, Swedish, Danish, and Swiss, as I reported in a previous blog post. The results of my DNA testing, which are reported to be 99.99% accurate, showed how little I know about my ancestry, even having done a lot of research. Many people think they know exactly what nationality they are, but things are much more complicated than that. I thought of myself as being 100% white European, but it turns out that more than anything, I am ethnically a Moroccan Berber from Northwest Africa and a Spaniard!

Why do we know so little about our ancestry? First of all, just because a person is from a certain country or has a certain last name, that doesn't mean that they have that ethnicity. For example, just because your ancestors are from England, that doesn't mean they are Anglo-Saxons. Spain and England are very close together, and most Spanish people are white, so people from Spain could easily end up in England and vice-versa. The reason we think of Hispanic people as being brown is that we are thinking of Mexicans who are a mixture of Spanish and American Indian. Also, Morocco is very close to Spain, and all of these countries were very heavily involved in sea trade, which would involve a lot of people moving back and forth from place to place.

Not only that, but looking at your family tree does not take things like adoption and adultery into account. How in the world could you know if your ancestors from 200 years ago were adopted or were the product of an adulterous affair by your great great great great great great grandmother? Stranger things have happened.

My DNA was tested against 400 people groups, and I was given a list of the top 50 matches in order of prominence. The reason that certain people groups are repeated (for example, I am a Moroccan Berber 7 different ways) is that there are different subgroups within each ethnicity, and I had genetic ties with various types of Moroccan Berbers. Not only was Moroccan Berber listed 7 times in my results, 5 of them were in my top 10!

My #2 most prominent ethnicity came out as Spanish. Not only that, but Spanish was repeated a total of 7 times. Polish showed up a little lower on the list (#5) but was repeated 8 times. 9 of my ethnicities are simply labeled as "white," meaning a homogenous mixture of white people from the U.S. and Canada (this would encompass a lot of English, Irish, Swedish, Danish, etc., basically, everything I thought I was!). Some of the other things on the list that were interesting are Romani (Gypsy), Arab (I'm a son of Ishmael! haha No wonder I defended him in a sermon recently!), Egyptian, Native American, etc.

Once you learn about this, it become silly to be so hung up about "race." We are all mixed! I guess I can start calling myself an "African American" now! The Bible was right when it said that all nations are of one blood. If anyone hasn't heard it already, I would strongly recommend my recent sermon that proved that all of us are direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, one way or another.

Here is the full listing of my results followed by my "Certificate of Ethnicity:"

1. Moroccan Berbers
2. Iberian Peninsula - Andalusian Spanish
3. Moroccan Berbers
4. Romani - Presov, Slovak Republic
5. Polish - Northern
6. Polish - Podlasie
7. Spanish - Balearic Islands
8. Moroccan Berbers
9. North African - Maghreb
10. Arab - Moroccan
11. Polish - Podlasie
12. White - U.S.
13. Belgian - Flemish
14. Spanish - Majorcan
15. White - Canadian
16. Spanish - Valencian
17. Moroccan Berber - Asni
18. Russia - Pskov
19. Egptian Copts - Adaima
20. Belarusian - Northeastern Poland
21. Portuguese - Azores
22. Portuguese - White
23. Bosnian
24. White - Canadian
25. White - North Carolina
26. Slovenian
27. Polish
28. Polish
29. White - Swiss
30. Serbian - Serbia/Vojvodina/Montenegro
31. White - U.S.
32. White - Virginia
33. Belgian - Flanders (Dutch)
34. Serbian
35. Polish - Central
36. Spanish - Andalusian
37. Polish
38. White - Virginia
39. Brazilian - Sao Paolo
40. White - California
41. Polish - Southeastern
42. Slovac - Presov
43. Spanish - Canary Islands
44. Spanish - Minorcan
45. Native American - Michigan
46. Moroccan Berber - Bouhria
47. Portuguese - Northern
48. Portuguese - Azores Archipelago
49. Belarusian
50. Portuguese - Northern

In case anyone is interested, the company that tested my DNA is at dnaspectrum.com.

Why We Do Not Use Birth Control

When I was 19 years old, I still bought into mainstream conventional medical wisdom. Everyone I had ever known had given birth in the hospital, and I had never even heard of anyone having a home birth. My wife and I both wanted to have children immediately, but there was one problem. I had just started a new job, and my health insurance would not kick in until 90 days after I had been hired. If my wife became pregnant before that time, it would be considered a "pre-existing condition," and the birth would not be covered by the insurance. Since we had no money and were living paycheck-to-paycheck, this would have been a serious problem.

I brought this issue up to Zsuzsa when she was back in Germany right after we had gotten married. We had obviously already consummated the marriage repeatedly before she went back, and it was possible that she could have already been pregnant, but I told her that going forward we should probably use some type of birth control for the next few months until the health insurance kicked in. If she was already pregnant, we would not be upset, and we would deal with the financial situation one way or another. She agreed and got a prescription for birth control pills from a doctor in Germany.

After the 90 days were expired and the health insurance became active, she stopped taking the pills and immediately got pregnant. We were both happy and excited, and my boss even gave me a raise when he found out! However, our happiness was turned into sorrow when my wife miscarried the baby on Christmas day. A miscarriage is always a sad thing, but when it is your first child, it is even worse. My wife was horrified at the thought that maybe she would never be able to have children. Maybe she would always miscarry every child.

Thankfully my wife became pregnant again the very next month. She was still nervous about miscarrying, so she began to do a lot of research on pregnancy and miscarriage. This was in the very early days of the internet, so research could only be done by going to the library and reading books. My wife checked out every possible book that had anything to do with pregnancy and read them all. From her research it became apparent that her miscarriage had probably been due to the birth control pills she had just been taking.

We had no idea how birth control pills even worked and had just foolishly used them assuming that since other Christians were using them, they must be okay. Through reading the library books and the package insert of the pills themselves, we became aware of how the pills "prevent pregnancy" and how this related to her miscarriage.

Hormonal birth control methods, including all types of birth control pills, the “patch”, hormone injections, implants, etc., perform two primary functions:

1.) They suppress ovulation. No egg is released; therefore, pregnancy is not possible. Depending upon which particular method is used, ovulation is suppressed 40-95% of the time. The other 5-60% of the time, an egg is released and can be fertilized.

2.) They thin and harden the lining of the uterus. This makes implantation of the conceived, 7-day old child virtually impossible. All hormonal birth control methods have this effect on the uterine lining 100% of the time.

Simple logic tells us that if an egg can be released and fertilized 5-60% of the time, and implantation is being prevented close to 100% of the time, a silent abortion is taking place 5-60% of months a woman is taking the pill, because the 7-day old child is unable to implant and dies. The “morning after” pill functions after the same principle to destroy the lining of the uterus, but in a shorter period of time due to higher concentrations of the same hormones.

The 5% figure is based on the use of the “combination” pill, which is usually a combination of estrogen and progesterone. The 60% figure is based on the use of progesterone only pills (“mini-pills”), the “patch”, or progesterone injections/implants. Therefore a woman taking even the combination pill for only two years statistically will have one chemical abortion during that time. A woman using a progesterone only method for two years could very likely have 12 silent abortions during that period of time, or one every other month. These are the most conservative estimates available. Other research indicates that women taking the combination pill could be ovulating up to 50% of the time, and that 70% of women taking the “mini-pill” could be ovulating every month. In almost all cases these babies would not be able to implant and would die.

“With over 17 million American women using the Pill and other chemical abortifacients, it is estimated that breakthrough ovulation and pregnancy occur so often…that between 7 to 12 million newly conceived children are killed by chemical abortions in the womb each year. And most of these women never even knew they were pregnant.” (“Infant Homicides Through Contraceptives,” 1994 by the Study of Abortion Deaths Ad Hoc Commission – Bardstown, KY. Ph: 502-348-3963.)

“In America, chemical abortions are estimated to kill more than 7 million babies each year – while surgical abortions kill about 1.5 million babies each year.” (“Birth Control Pills Cause Early Abortions” – J.T. Finn, 2005)

“Scientific papers suggest that escape ovulation occurs 4-15% of all cycles in patients taking birth control pills. Thus, as this booklet points out, early chemical abortions are a real and significant concern.” (Paddy Jim Baggot, M.D., Ob/Gyn, Fellow of the American College of Genetics)

The term “birth control pills” is accurate since they do not prevent conception, but birth. The reason that many pro-life Christians accept birth control pills as an acceptable form of birth control is that they have been deceived into believing that conception never takes place when they are on the pill. Christians are firm in their belief that life begins at conception, so in order to fool them, the medical establishment has begun to change the definition of conception. The biblical definition of "conception" is fertilization (when the seed from the man fertilizes the egg from the woman). That is why in Hebrews 11:11 KJV, the Bible speaks of Sarah "conceiving seed." If conception meant implantation, this would make no sense in light of the fact that the seed is long gone by implantation. The seed is present at fertilization, not implantation.

Dr Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, was asked if hormonal birth control pills cause abortion. Her response was: “No. Abortion ends a pregnancy. [Contraception pills] work before a pregnancy begins. Pregnancy begins with the implantation of the developing fertilized egg in a woman’s uterus.” Yet in the next paragraph she admits, “…implantation doesn’t occur until five to seven days after fertilization.” This viewpoint represents the medical world’s current view of when a pregnancy begins. As Bible-believing Christians, however, we believe that life begins at conception (fertilization), not implantation.

Since birth control pills thin and harden the lining of the uterus, becoming pregnant directly after taking them can often lead to miscarriage, which is why even those who promote birth control pills recommend waiting a month or two to get pregnant after discontinuing use of the pills. If one becomes pregnant immediately, the residual effects of the birth control pills will often linger and harm the pregancy.

As soon as my wife and I learned these facts, we confessed our sin to God and never used birth control pills again. Although we had sinned through ignorance, we had still done wrong by using the pills. We never used any form of birth control ever again.

If you would like to know why we believe other methods of birth control are wrong (barrier methods, abstinence, nfp, pulling out, etc), you can listen to the following sermon called "Birth Control Deception." Also, my wife's article on Lactational Amenorrhea is a must read for anyone interested in more information on this subject.

Why I Started Running Barefoot

Many people have asked me about why I run barefoot or in very thin sandals or minimalist shoes. I actually discovered barefoot running by accident, and then later I read about the benefits and understood why highly-cushioned running shoes are bad for your feet and will likely lead to running injury.

I discovered barefoot running one day a couple of years ago when I was jumping rope for 20 minutes and wanted to segue directly into a run. I didn't want to stop and put my shoes on because I wanted to go straight into the running without taking a break, so I just took off running barefoot. I ended up running for an hour, which was longer than I had ever run before at that time. I noticed immediately that I could run faster and further when I was barefoot. However, I was doing too much too soon by running for an hour barefoot the first time out, so the bottoms of my feet were hurting when I finished the run.

Because my feet were not ready for that level of barefoot running yet, I went back to my running shoes. However, the more I ran, the more problems I had. First it was my knees, then it was my ankles, then it was my shins, then it was my calves. Finally, I just gave up on running for a while.

Then I read a few books about barefoot running that explained that the injuries I was suffering were due to the cushioned running shoes I was wearing that were causing me to run with bad form and ironically were increasing the impact on my joints. I started running again, rotating between running barefoot and running in minimalist footwear. This time I started out slowly and gave my feet and legs a chance to get used to running barefoot.

Since that time (5 months ago) I have been doing a lot of running and have had absolutely no injuries, knee problems, shin splints, etc. I have also been doing a lot of running on steep hills and slippery slopes at South Mountain in minimalist footwear without so much as a stumble or twisted ankle. I have run 8-10 miles barefoot multiple times and felt great. I have run for over 3 hours straight in minimalist shoes and felt great afterward.

This is my daughter, Rebecca (age 4), who has had absolutely no running training or instruction. Yet she naturally runs with perfect form in bare feet. Why? Because this is the way God designed us to run.

Becca loves running!

Notice her bent knees, foot flat on the ground, straight back, and slight forward lean.

Running in a skirt like a lady!

Here is another picture showing a different stage of her stride.

Because your feet are one of the most sensitive parts of your body, they are great at telling you immediately if you are doing something wrong. If you run barefoot, your body will instinctively change the way you run to minimize pain by minimizing impact. The biggest thing that will instantly change is that your stride will shorten (i.e. you will take smaller steps), and you will land with your forefoot first instead of your heel. After landing forefoot first, the rest of your foot, including your heel, will make light contact.

Shoes provide a false sense of security by cushioning your feet and making them comfortable. This causes you to come down much harder than you would in bare feet. Your feet don't feel the impact, but the impact is still there and shoots up your leg into your knees, hips, lower back, etc.

By cushioning and babying your feet in high-end running shoes, you are also making them weaker. Since they are being supported by the shoes in so many ways, they no longer need to support themselves. Therefore they become weak and lazy which leads to poor running.

Remember, running barefoot is much different than running in traditional running shoes. Therefore, you must start very slowly, even if you are an experienced runner. Running barefoot should be treated as a new activity and should be eased into. For example, if you are running 20 miles per week in running shoes, you can't just start running 20 miles per week barefoot. Start by walking barefoot and then graduate to running very short distances.

Men's Backpacking Trip

Miriam's Date with Dad on her 5th Birthday