• Retreat Center

    Dissertation Proposal for Blueridge Ranch Retreats

    I finished my Doctor of Ministry dissertation proposal on founding Blueridge Ranch with much fear and trembling. One of the things I like so much about Biblical Life College & Seminary (BLCS) is the doctoral programs’ freedom and flexibility — and one of the things that makes me nervous is the doctoral programs’ freedom and flexibility! I hope to hear by the beginning of next week if they have accepted the proposal, which outlines the founding of Blueridge Ranch Retreats. I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, I am aware that I must resist the temptation to be so focused on the dissertation that I forget to focus…

  • Prayer

    Power in Prayer: Week 1

    The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” (James 5:16-18) Jesus taught, “…I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of…

  • Retreat Center

    God as Gift-Giver: Operating Your Spiritual Gifts

    There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:4) Natural talents are gifts that are born with us. They include such things as artistic, musical and mathematical talents, or talents for public speaking, dancing, construction, or athletics. Skills such as these will always come more naturally to those who are talented, though they are possible for people who lack inborn talent in a certain area to develop some basic skills in that area. Spiritual gifts are sets of supernatural skills that God gives Christians for the sake of witnessing in the world, and strengthening each other and the church as the Body of Christ. Natural talents…