I was reminded this morning by a friend still living in my home town of Rossford, Ohio that it was 40 years ago today that we graduated from High School in the class of 1980. After the shock wore off that it was 40 years already, it occurred to me that Payton is graduating from High School on this very … Continue reading →
The COVID-19 crises is changing the ways we do life in America, and it is yet to be seen how much of those normal ways of doing life will return. I suspect a good deal of what was normal a few months ago will come back, but I also suspect a lot will not. I also suspect that it won’t … Continue reading →
It may not be the first Bible promise you have thought of when dealing with your coronavirus anxiety, but it is very applicable. Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Consider this encouraging truth: the Lord Jesus Christ is the same today as He was during any other season of anxiety in your … Continue reading →
The coronavirus is challenging many of the ways we do life in America. Some businesses are discovering that employees can work from home, families are adjusting to actually spending more time together, and church members are realizing that a weekly formal program may not be as necessary to their personal spiritual growth as they once thought. I am guessing that … Continue reading →
My Dad, Louis S. Durkac, died this morning, September 4, 2019. He was 91 years old and the adopted father of 5 adopted children, and he himself was adopted. He died just 2 days shy of his 67th wedding anniversary with my Mom, Irene, whom he leaves behind in a fight against dementia. I am the middle child of the … Continue reading →
I would like to suggest to my Seventh-day Adventist friends to substitute the word “Messiah” for the word “Sabbath,” every time you read it in the Bible or in the writings of Ellen White. I once had a New Testament professor who in teaching through the book of Galatians, suggested that when we read the word “law” we could add the … Continue reading →
Well, let me say the title of this post should more accurately be “Why Clemson Won – Possibly, Theologically Thinking.” My thought is that Coach Dabo Swinney of the championship Clemson college football team did such a powerful job at giving God glory that it struck me as possibly part of the reason Clemson may have won. During the nationally … Continue reading →
Here are the top 5 searched and viewed posts in 2018 from our www.crosshopechapel.org website. That means that people searched the internet for a specific topic or question and our website post came up on that search so with our #1 post there were close to 1000 people and the other posts were all around 100 people. I would never … Continue reading →
If you are looking to change up your usual Christmas songs, here are 10 of my favorites that are part of my 50+ songs Spotify Christmas playlist… Father Christmas by The Kinks Christmas by The Who Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley Merry Christmas From The Family by Robert Earl Keen Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer … Continue reading →
While the majority of my radio listening time is talk radio I periodically listen to my Spotify playlists, especially when I am down by the beach because of reception issues. This isn’t all I have in my playlists but the app says this it is the top 25 most listened to songs from my personal Spotify, counting down… 25. … Continue reading →
We share the same mom, at birth anyway, but her influence was just as intentional upon my life as with yours. You experienced her influence through the awesome privilege of knowing her, loving her, holding her, building a bond with her, while I have only had gratitude for her. That gratitude is all I carried with me for 54 years … Continue reading →
There was once a time while I was serving as a hospital chaplain that my family and I attended a new and growing Baptist church. We loved the fellowship, the church, the vision for growth, but there was one thing that use to drive me nuts…the pastor would often say “Why do you get so excited about your favorite sports … Continue reading →
Francis Chan has the left the mega church world and is now focused on ministry through his We Are Church house church network. I happen to like Francis Chan and I have a greater respect for his voice when it comes to advocating for simpler and smaller church groups and communities. Here is a video clip that I like and … Continue reading →
I can remember one of my Old Testament professors discussing the difference between leaders who pull and leaders who push. He explained the difference by sharing with the class something he witnessed on a trip in the Middle East while he was traveling from a teaching assignment in Israel to a new teaching assignment in Ethiopia. He explained that when … Continue reading →
David Jones was a British teenager who wanted to make a career out of his love for music. He was playing and performing his music before he ever graduated from school. He became a leader of several bands and finally recorded his first album. The album received positive reviews by England’s harshest music critics, yet it sold little. In a … Continue reading →
There is a difference between leadership and management. You may be a workplace manager, but not necessarily a workforce leader. You may even have supervisory responsibility of employees, but that doesn’t automatically make you a leader. Leaders differ with managers in that they posses and practice qualities that allow them to succeed in motivating people. They don’t just manage projects; … Continue reading →
While working with Hurricane Katrina victims, as a hospital chaplain, I was struck by the quick turn-around one patient took, when he suddenly found something to laugh about. He lost everything he owned, including his house, his pets, and his brand new 5-day old F150 Ford pick-up truck. His adult children and his wife were safe, but like most Mississippi … Continue reading →
Pastor Steve Durkac’s Personal Testimony… I grew up as one of five adopted children and it was my story of adoption that most influenced my faith in Jesus as my personal Savior and here is how… As a teenager in the cold snowy, over-cast, small Northeast Ohio town of Rossford, during the heavy metal punk-rock era of the late 70’s, … Continue reading →
I am going back to using my English Standard Version. Last August I bought a Christian Standard Bible and really liked it and I still do, but in recent months my enthusiasm for this new translation has developed into reservation. An odd thing about me is that I like to have one Bible that I stick to for personal reading, … Continue reading →
When I left my pastorate with a church an Adventist church in Aiken, South Carolina in the 90’s, I was given a small gift of a marble and gold metal sailboat that read “A man that walks with God always gets to his destination.” It sat in my study on a shelf, from move to move, about 10 inches long … Continue reading →
While we were looking at the 4th chapter of 1 Corinthians, I pointed out that Paul’s understanding of a minister was very different than today’s “executive” or “celebrity” image often assigned to today’s pastors. 1 Corinthians 4:1 gives us the glimpse of ministry being likened unto a 3rd tier rower of a slave ship, something that James pointed out was … Continue reading →
I am happy to be back in Mobile today after being in San Antonio, Texas this week. Memorial Service… The memorial service for Frank Wehrly went well and it was well attended as we celebrated and honored his life and family. Frank had fought lung cancer for 9 years until he passed last week just a week beyond his … Continue reading →
It’s not often I copy and paste from another’s blog but I can’t say it any better and I want to share these thoughts with our CrossHope Chapel fellowship and those considering God’s calling to a simple church ministry. The below words are from a January 29, 2015 post by Ben Gosden, Senior Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in … Continue reading →
The solution to unprovoked firearm violence in our society is not gun control, but self-control. Galatians 5:23 tells us that self-control is the result of the indwelling Spirit of God in one’s life, and without the Holy Spirit there is no control over one’s unbridled sinful behavior. The angry expressions of violence are easily acted upon when the Holy Spirit … Continue reading →