The moratorium is officially over. In the Steckel house, we do not begin listening to Christmas music and putting up decorations until after Thanksgiving. But after Thanksgiving, it’s Christmas 24/7.
If you want Christmas 365 days a year, you can drive an hour north from my house up I-75 to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in [...]

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for so many things….
A loving God
A wonderful partner in my wife Michelle
An amazing son in Matthew
A great dad who is also a wonderful grandpa
A church family at Rochester that is a constant source of blessings
A great youth group
A church staff that is [...]

Have you ever heard someone say they did something because it "feels right?" Emotions are a powerful thing. They have started wars, ended marriages, and changed the dynamics of families.
So how do we know when to listen to our emotions? Whether it’s your "gut instinct" or one of those "I’ve got a feeling moments," how [...]

Music… TV… Cell phones… Text messages… Internet… Movies… Earphones.

Silence…

We struggle with silence. There are so many things that distract us and keep us from simply being still. For many, it has gotten to the point where being silent is extremely uncomfortable.

One of the biggest barriers that keeps many people from growing closer to God is [...]

This is a great video…

What do you think of when you think of church? A building? An activity? Worship?

I think that the early Christians would look at our meanings for the word "church" and wonder what we are talking about.

Constantine did the body of Christ a huge disservice when he essentially hijacked it for his purposes. When he decried [...]

Yesterday was our first Sunday afternoon at Focus: HOPE. We had over two dozen students and adults venture down to the Focus: HOPE campus in Detroit to make some new friends. While there were not a lot of children this first time, I feel like we made an impact on the children and adults that [...]

I love the Fall. I think there is something amazing about the changing leaves and the cool air. There are few things more beautiful in the world than the color of Autumn leaves.

The amazing thing is that the beauty emerges, even in the face of death. The changing of the leaves from green to red, [...]

I found this on YouTube. It is worth the 4 minutes, especially if you are a John Williams or Star Wars fan!

The commercials are done. The speeches are over. The votes have been cast.
History has yet to determine what this election means for our nation. In a little over two months, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. Then we will see what the future holds.
While I fundamentally disagree [...]