In complete bewilderment I kept looking at the question for what seemed like an eternity. Why would he ask this? Why, after half a semester of interesting conversations and serious learning, did it come down to this? Why the self-destructive desire not to give him what I knew he wanted? For goodness’ sake, I was totally prepared for it, and then this… why? Dr. Wright had just handed us our psychology mid-term exam, and it consisted of just one question…”Why”?  As my classmates furiously attempted to find “logical answers” to an untenable inquiry, I sat frozen in my seat for […]

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them. “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14–17 NKJV).   An explanation James wastes no time getting to the heart of the issue in this passage. He began […]

Tom Hendrikse never imagined the word “pastor” on his resume let alone the designation of Senior Pastor of Rio Vista Church, a Presbyterian church planted in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale in 1941. Tom was a counselor of a different kind as a personal injury defense attorney, defending insurance companies like State Farm. “In Boynton, we attended a small Baptist church led by a dynamic pastor, John Hawkins. His first assignment was for me to teach a Sunday school class. I guess it went well, so I ended up running the Sunday school program with probably 500 adults, recruiting, […]

This story was especially meaningful for me to write. It’s personal; my wife, Christina, and I had a front-row seat to Ashley’s journey through Calvary House. Christina had the privilege of mentoring her, and they built a close, meaningful relationship along the way. My prayer is that Ashley’s story clearly shows how relentlessly God pursues us even when we relentlessly run from Him. His love and mercy are not something we can outrun.   Brokenness Ashley’s story is one of deep brokenness, but even more, it is a story of relentless redemption. Ashley was born in Broward County into a […]