Author name: Leilani Haywood

I talked to a mom recently who had adopted a toddler from an orphanage overseas. She and her husband rescued a little boy out of a joyless existence and brought him into the land of “milk and Honeycombs” complete with family vacations, Little League and VBS. From all outward appearances, he should have been thriving. […]

It’s 5:09 a.m., and the sun is coming up over the Rockies. I’ve been awake for an hour talking to God about a student whose progress is concerning to me, as we end the school year. Behind this name trails the name of a friend’s kid and another friend’s kid who are making bad choices

In today’s world, entertainment rules the day. As author Neil Postman wrote in his book, we are “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” Whether it is video gaming, television, Netflix, internet or sports—Americans love mindless escape, as we hang out in various worlds of non-reality, as often as possible. Ratings, views, tweets and sales are the barometer

Observant Christians who have walked with the Lord for over 30 years, as I have, and students of recent Christian history, see an interesting pattern among evangelicals. Early Pentecostals tended toward extreme legalism. In fact, I remember as a teenager when my dad took over a church, we were cleaning out the secretary’s office and found

In the beginning, God created male and female. The characteristics of each are very unique for some basic functions. Men, usually more muscular, are more suited for heavy physical labor. Women were created with equal mental strength but with a physical makeup closely related to childbirth and childrearing. The beauty of that diversity is a

This post was written as an answer to the reader question we received on the post “How to Escape the Delusion of the Church“: “Great post pastor, I look forward to reading more on this. For example, when people come across this, what are we to do? God bless you as you continue to walk

I had a circle of 9 friends in high school and lived with about the same number of friends all throughout college—I always had a “group.” I thought, then, isn’t that just supposed to be how friendship works? It mysteriously comes together and is always available and easy. (Ha!) In high school and college, we bonded

I was exhausted from two nights of poor sleep, so I announced that Panda Express would be making dinner for the night. Matt had just gotten back from a four-day trip and realized he had forgotten his tablet at the church, so he offered to go with me to get the tablet and the Chinese

Jesus’s life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension defeated the kingdom of darkness. His victory in the spiritual realm is vital for our lives both now and in eternity. But evil is still present in our world. How Jesus dealt with evil while on Earth is an example of how we can and should deal with

My family wasn’t religious while I was growing up in the little coastal town of Lyman, Mississippi. I got my first taste of church when I attended a tent meeting at 8 years old and tried to give my heart to Jesus Christ. My attempt to meet the Lord was unsuccessful. Somehow I always knew

For those of you who have been around a while, you probably remember the “name it and claim it” days. It was a time where people were speaking what they wanted, believing they could have it. The thing is, most of it was trying to speak into existent material goods like cars and houses. I’m

My boys are quickly becoming men. Sadly, I have to confess that I haven’t always known how to help them to grow up. The culture they are living in certainly hasn’t helped. I desperately want to help my sons to live differently than what the world defines as “normal”. I want to set a high