A few weeks ago, I was at a seminar about churches, leadership, and pastors. During the presentation, the leader said, "Newcomers to churches know how much better it is to get an email from a pastor than a visit from him."The line got a good laugh.But it got me...
The Apostle's Creed puts it this way:I believe in the resurrection of the body . . . Yet the fact remains that most people don't take the resurrection of the body very seriously. They are more focused on the immortality of the soul.Most Christians believe that eternal...
Syncretism is not a common word in modern conversation, much less in the blogosphere.And no, it's not the name of that old Police album. That was Synchronicity.Though the word may not be that familiar, a lot of people are doing it. And believing it.Syncretism is a...
Huh?Come to one of our four Easter Celebrations -- 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, or 11:30 -- wait until the very end, and you'll see what I mean.The Easter services bring the Voices series to a rousing conclusion.The band is ready. The singers are ready. The A-V and lighting...
Every so often in my 47 years, I have had brushes with the famous and the infamous. So here's a brief tour. (Please note: there is virtually no spiritual content on this post. No Methodism, no church leadership, no nothing. Just fame dropping.)I shook George...
About 15 years ago now, I was in a room in which someone said, "I like Jesus, but he's not my Savior."Who said that? A United Methodist pastor. This person said that and believed that . . . and was still ordained by our denomination.Or a pastor friend of mine was...
Romans 8:20-21 makes a rather remarkable claim: For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of one who subjected it, (THAT MEANS GOD IS THE ONE CAUSING FRUSTRATION) in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its...
I recently heard a church consultant say that "younger generations of church go-ers want mission they do, not mission they send to."Which is a way of saying that people want the hands-on experience of making a difference more than they want to send money to overseas...
The venues are ready.The people are expectant.The Spirit is waiting.First Serve launches tomorrow morning.It's a focused, simple way of mobilizing large numbers of people from the Good Shepherd community to be involved in meaningful ministry throughout the Charlotte...
As a staff, we've begun reading Sal Paolantonio's book How Football Explains America. It's a fascinating read, one that explores how football is so much more than just one game among many within the American psyche.Football instead is an expression of our 19th Century...