Phil Siefkes

Recently our church and family celebrated my 40th anniversary as pastor here at Calvary Baptist Church. Hard to believe how quickly time has passed. We arrived in Sleepy Eye just before Christmas of 1985. My wife was 8 months pregnant with our firstborn.

Our culture becomes increasingly nonsensical in its attempts to communicate. I recently read an article that pointed out just a few of these inconsistencies. For instance, we are now told that dress codes are bad for us because we need to express our

We hear much today about free speech and safe zones. Some are calling for restrictions on an individual’s speech that others may/do find offensive. This is slowly creeping into the realm of religion. There are those who are saying that any religion that

Everyone has a worldview, whether or not they are fully aware of it. A worldview can be defined as the lens through which we view everything that exists. It represents the fundamental presuppositions one has about the universe. It reveals how one answers

Rally for this, rally for that; rally against this, rally against that; rally for him/her, rally against him/her. Call them what you will: rallies, marches, demonstrations, protests, parades, mass lobbying, pickets, strikes, walkouts, etc. Our

A few days ago the snow came. Again. And then the wind came. Again. Out came the shovels and snowblowers to tackle this winter enemy. We battle the fallen snow, and we may even touch up sidewalks and driveways after the wind-driven snow. But then you hear

Anticipation is a wonderful thing, and around the holidays we all seem to experience some form of it. Some anticipate people coming to their home, while others anticipate finally getting to go home after a long separation. We see this with parents and

The proverbial mud-slinging season is in full force. One candidate tosses their oozing handful while the other candidate is reaching down into the muck to fill their hand. I, for one, am weary of such nonsense. If it isn’t mud slinging, it is smoke-and

In 1962 Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley published What Kind of Fool Am I? which became a popular song. Artists such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Andy Williams, even Kermit the Frog, performed the song throughout the 60’s and 70’s. Though the song addressed a

Yet again we find death plastered across the screens and pages of various media news sources. The people of France are once again forced to deal with the horrific murder of scores of her people. Police officers are being targeted and ambushed here in

Often people will talk to me about the church they currently attend. Frustration and anger are occasionally expressed. Sometimes there seems to be a problem with the pastor. At other times it appears to be a problem arising from another person who attends

The politicians have been pandering for some time now, making statements or pseudo-promises concerning what they will do if they get elected. We’ve heard all the empty promises before, but for some reason we think this time things might be different.

The body of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has been publicly reviewed by thousands, and will be buried on the day I write this article. Scalia served his country on the Supreme Court for approximately 3 decades. This Justice, arguably one of the