Nowhere in my travels have I seen a greater discrepancy in economic condition than in Windhoek, Namibia, Africa. In the city proper, there are more luxury cars, 5 star restaurants, and fancy hotels per block than in most US cities. Still, just outside the city limits, there are thousands living in tin huts without running water, plumbing, heat, or electricity. Crime is high, but hope is not. Searching for Solutions Many well-meaning and even Godly people have proposed "easy" answers to this problem. Often, the solution they offer is to send money. This money may go to government agencies which are often known to be red-tape-bound, and wasteful. Others send money to churches or relief agencie

I was visiting a Christian counseling clinic in Windhoek, Namibia when suddenly, groups of 2-3 women starting running up to me in order to take pictures. Several groups did this, giggling and smiling all the way. I was enjoying the attention, much to the amusement of my friend Terry who was with me. Eventually, I overheard one group whispering to another new set of ladies, “Maxwell…its John Maxwell.” “Oh, No,” I replied, “Not me…I teach his stuff, but I’m not John.” Like a flash, they all vanished—scurrying back to their offices. “You blew it buddy,” Terry said, “You had a good thing going there…should have kept your mouth shut." A Case of Mistaken Identity Over the years, I've been told I l

When I was about 11-12, my parents had an addition built on to our home. I had fun spying on the workers and wandering around watching the progress. My normal outfit was jeans, a t-shirt, and bare feet. One day while strolling through the back yard, I suddenly noticed I was walking funny. I didn’t feel pain, just noted that I was limping. I looked down to see what was causing this and saw a nail protruding from the bottom of my right foot. I had jammed it 2-3 inches into the soft tissue right below the ball. Once I saw it, I felt it---Oooooowwwwwww!!!! I yelled and fell to the ground. Mom came running. The good news is that she knew what to do. The bad news is that she pulled the nail and p

My sophomore and junior years of college were brutal on my ankle. First, I suffered a severe sprain when someone launched himself for a rebound by using my ankle as a springboard. That left me with severe damage—so much so that the doctor told me I would have been better off if I had broken it. Then, after healing, (which involved wearing a special brace for months), I injured it again playing flag football on artificial turf. The short version is that my body went left and my ankle went right. I was left with such weakness that if I leaned on it the wrong way while talking to someone, I would fall flat on the floor. Good times….. But not altogether DIFFERENT from what I've witnessed in mini