Sterling Griggs

How many of you like to talk about yourself? Come on, get those hands up. You all like to talk about yourselves because you are your favorite subject. Whether it's about your experience at a new restaurant or a grade you earned in school or the thrill you got when you tried something new, you like yourself some you, and that's not always a bad thing. Why wouldn't you talk about yourself? Who else knows more about you than you? No one likes to be around somebody who's bragging all the time but it is also equally frustrating when people don't open up at all about themselves. If you are in a relationship or you are married, didn't it make sense to share yourself with the other person so that the two of you could get to know each other? Total strangers don't get married very often (unless they are mail-order brides from eastern bloc countries, but we won't get into that). We have no problem talking about our accomplishments and achievements, our ...

I had to run some errands yesterday afternoon and, since it was Sunday, I figured there would be lots and lots of preaching on the AM dial. I hit the scan button and came across several guys preaching their messages with sound quality that sounded like it was recorded in a 4x4 foot box. That's exactly what I was looking for. These guys weren't your mainstream, megachurch, podcasting preachers. They were from the hills and backwoods, preaching so hard that you could almost feel the spittle flying from their foaming mouths through the car speakers. I settled in on one guy who was sharing a series of interesting anecdotes about helping people in need. He mentioned the urgency with which people respond to emergencies, such as when there is a lost child or when 9-11 happened. His point was that there are lost people out there who desperately need Jesus and we need to urgently preach the gospel. Then he began to talk about the earthquake in Haiti. He shared how badly he wi...

Have you ever had one of those days when it seems as if you are constantly fighting with and against yourself? For me, those battles almost always rage around my own selfishness. Many people much smarter than I could ever dream of being have claimed that pride is the root of all our sinful struggles and I couldn't agree more. When I do struggle - whether it's with selfishness, greed, envy, impatience, etc. - pride is pretty much at the root of all those things. I can remember being a kid arguing with my parents about getting my own way, whether it was going out with my friends on the weekend or having the same kind of clothes that everyone else was wearing. Even when they laid the hammer down on me, I was still scheming on how I could get what I was after. Now that I am grown and a father of four kids, I see these same kinds of tendencies in my own children and I can appreciate all the more how tough it was at times for my own parents. It is so easy to fight against G...

A couple of years ago I ran a small internet-based coffee business called Five-Sided Coffee. I get excited about lots of things (finding a quarter, all you can eat buffets, college bowl season, etc.) but there are only a few things I am truly passionate about, and coffee is one of those things. After watching a man roast coffee beans and then brew them right in front of me while on a trip to Sudan a few years ago, my journey into roasting coffee beans began and it's never slowed down. After the birth of our fourth child Emme, I didn't possess the necessary time to maintain Five-Sided Coffee anymore, not to mention that now that there were 6 members of my family the "Five" aspect of the business was now outdated. But ever since I shut it down two years ago, I have thought about the coffee business often. One of my primary goals for custom roasting coffee was to be able to give away many of the proceeds to various ministry projects around the world. And while I w...

What are the motives behind the things that we do? We do homework because we don't want to fail, we pay taxes because we don't want to go to jail. We eat because we don't want to die, we work because we need money with which to live. But beyond those basic things, why do we do what we do? Jesus did a lot of incredible things in His few years on earth. Many people remembered most the healings that He performed. Medicine in that day couldn't restore sight or transform a crippled leg into one that was perfectly useful, but Jesus could and did. So when the masses saw these things with their own eyes they were amazed and longed to see more. What was Jesus' motivation for all of these miracles? Did He want to create a following that would overthrow the Roman government? Did He want to show off and impress the crowds with His mad skill? Hardly. In Matthew 11:16-24 we see a side of Jesus where He displays a little righteous indignation. You see, He makes it ...

This could be one of those blog posts that makes people angry, but I'm willing to risk it. There is a lot of discussion in theological circles - and I mean a lot - concerning Reformed theology (called by many Calvinism) and other alternate theories of theological thought. There are other discussions brewing out there that are also raising the hackles in the evangelical community, but I use the above because it is the one that is dominating the scene right now. This is not an attempt to argue for or against either side of the issue. Instead, what concerns me the most is the climate that surrounds the debate. If I may cut to the chase, many who are involved are downright angry about it. The conversation is more like an argument and it quckly dissolves into an "Us vs. Them" competition. Seminarians are all but throwing punches and churches are splitting apart. It has become less about the kingdom and more about thumping one's chest, convinced that "we" are ...

I don't know if you've noticed it or not, but something good is always going on. With all the negativity that we are bombarded with on the news it can be difficult to find much out there that seems to be worthwhile. Yet there are men and women of God constantly on the move for His name and their stories are compelling and moving. Have you ever heard of Matt Chandler? I don't know him personally but his story has gripped my heart (you can read it on the MSNBC website here ). Matt is 35 years old, he's the pastor of the rapidly growing Village Church in Texas, and right after Thanksgiving 2009 he was diagnosed with a rather nasty form of brain cancer. He's had brain surgery and is now involved in a regiment of chemotherapy and radiation. But what makes his story the most remarkable is the way he's handling all of this. He simply wants to suffer well so that God will receive all the glory. No bitterness, no "woe is me", just God being exalted even...

"You will even be brought before governors and kings because of Me , to bear witness to them and to the nations...You will be hated by everyone because of My name ." (Matthew 10:18, 22) The National Geographic Channel airs a show called Locked up Abroad that chronicles the stories of men and women from western countries (usually the US and UK) who commit crimes in foreign countries (usually drug related crimes). These men and women are incarcerated under some pretty rough conditions and have limited access to the outside world that they assume will offer them freedom. The entire aim of those who are locked up abroad is to gain their freedom, and they often give tear filled pleas to the camera to the television audience to not repeat the same mistakes that they have. But what if when they were dragged before these judges in foreign courtrooms their goal became not to clear their name but rather to make the name of Jesus famous so that the nations might find hope in Him? Im...

Like everyone else in the world I have an opinion, and I am one of those people who is not afraid to voice his opinion, sometimes at inappropriate moments. Over the years I've toned it down a bit with God's help (and with the assistance of a godly wife) so that I don't come across nearly as much as that guy who is always trying to pick a fight. Now if I speak up, it's usually because I truly believe that something needs to be said. Not always, but usually. I wish I could say the same about speaking up for Jesus. Let me paint for you a picture of how I wish that I was when it comes to my Lord. Acts 14:8-22 recalls part of the ministry of the apostle Paul and Barnabas as they travel across the region then known as Asia. They enter a town called Lystra where Paul heals a man who had been lame since birth. The people of the town immediately believe that Paul and Barnabas are Hermes and Zeus, two of the gods they worship, and they start to worship them and to offer sa...

I've never experienced a great loss in my life thus far. Both of my parents are still alive and well, my wife and kids are healthy as can be, I've never lost a job, and my house is still standing. My mind almost can't grasp the massive loss of life and property that occurred to those affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Then there are those tragedies that happen all around us everyday, whether it be news coverage of traffic fatalities and house fires or a bit closer to home with a good friend being struck with cancer. The storms of life can hit pretty hard. In Matthew 8:23-27 we find Jesus and His disciples in a boat crossing over the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is asleep in the boat, evidence of the fact that He maintained an exhausting schedule, when a fierce storm arose that rocked the boat. The disciples were in a panic as they fought the waves, yet Jesus remained fast asleep in the midst of the storm. They finally woke Him up, begging Him to save them from a certain d...