September 2025

Good morning,

In 1884, LaMarcus Thompson gave America something it didn't have — a roller coaster, and crowds swarmed Coney Island to catch a glimpse. For one nickel, white-knuckled riders took the up-and-down, around-and-around, herky-jerky thrill ride of their lives.

From there, America's appetite for excitement went full-throttle.

Thrill seeking became big news — Charles Blondin, danced between Manhattan's skyscrapers on a tightrope; Annie Taylor dared Niagara Falls while riding inside a pickle barrel; Harry Gardiner, known as the Human Fly, climbed skyscrapers using only his bare hands and sneakers.

Then technology joined in …

And even without technology…

Thrill seeking gives imagination an exciting outlet.

By 2027, Forbes estimates that $650 billion will be spent worldwide to experience the thrills of cliff diving, ice climbing, wingsuit flying, BASE jumping, skydiving, kitesurfing, slacklining, cave-diving, paragliding, and many more heart-stopping activities.

If all this excitement has you salivating for a little risk of your own, here are the latest trends …

• Cliff camping — suspending your tent or bedroll over the edge of a sheer cliff, allowing you to spend the night hanging in mid-air with nothing between you and the ground WAAAAY below. The views are spectacular … or so I'm told!


• Volcano boarding — it's surfing, but inside an active volcano. From the top of the crater, you hop a small piece of wood and slalom your way down the black-lava sand. Cerro Negro in Nicaragua descends 2,388 feet and provides about five-minutes riding time. A helpful note: Cerro Negro erupts approximately every 20 years — the last eruption was in 1999. (Before you go, you might want to do the math.)

Research studies have determined why thrill-seekers do what they do. Marvin Zuckerman, former Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Delaware explained it this way…

1. They crave the risk of pushing beyond human limits.
2. They want to experience unconventional nonconformity.
3. They want a break from the repetitive boredom of life.

But none of that explains why we pastors dare to do what we do — to hold fast, stand firm and teach God's inerrant (Ps 12.6) and infallible (2Tim 3.16-17) words with passion and conviction. We dare to believe, and encourage others to discover the same thrill.

We'll never know exactly how the Holy Spirit uses scriptural truth to melt hardened hearts, but we know He does. His words are seismic and life altering, even within a culture that denies His existence and refutes what He has said.

God's words dictated history. The future is dependent on them. Through His words …

• God created: "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." (Gen 1.3)


• God controls: "He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes … He sends forth His word and melts them." (Ps 147.15-18)


• God convicts: "Let the one who has My word speak it faithfully. Is not My word like fire … and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" (Jer 23.28-29)


• God completes: "My word, which goes forth from My mouth, will not return to Me empty. It will accomplish what I desire, and succeed in the matter for which I sent it." (Is 55.11)

Teaching the Scriptures is an unmatched thrill! Enjoy the ride, there's nothing like it.

Blessings,