. . . you let people know about it.James-Michael Smith, who served as our Discipleship Pastor from 2004-2009 and remains a vital part of the church, has just published a monograph called Cleansed And Abiding.It's a fresh look at an old subject by a young...
I'm spending the early part of this week in Lake Junaluska, surrounded not only by the Western North Carolina mountains, but also by 25 fellow clergy who are part of they Reynolds Leadership Program.(It was at one of these events in 2010 that I realized we had to...
During yesterday's sermon, I shared these words from D.A. Carson:People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord.We drift toward compromise...
What’s better than being called “down to earth?”We use that phrase to describe people who are sensible, humble, and wise. Except . . . what if God sent his power down to earth? What if, in an invisible yet irresistible way, God shared the beauty and glory of heaven...
I was speaking recently with a colleague about preparing and delivering remarks for a memorial service when we came up with a formula for the whole process.If you write out whatever it is that you're going to say (and I usuallly do), here's what we pray happens:What's...
From the ages of 8-18, I had one goal in life: to become the number one tennis player my age in the state of Texas.The good news is that it actually happened. After a string of second place finishes, I finally won it all when I was 17. I liked it well enough that I...
Last week I posted about five moments in sports that brought me to tears.This week . . . the movies.I cry at odd movies, at scenes most other people don't find so traumatic. But anything having to do with fathers and sons or divorce or unexpected death . . . well,...
In many of the more liturgical churches, responsive readings are a key element in the Sunday worship flow.Often found in the back of the hymnal book, responsive readings typically take sections of Scripture, divide them into parts for the "Leader" to read followed by...
It's not often that we change a planned ending at the last minute.But we did this week.I believe our concluding time will be an ideal fit with all that has come before it. Not only that comes before it this Sunday, but all that's come before it throughout the But For...
Michael Luo of the New York Times writes a provocative piece on Jeremy Lin, Harvard graduate, Asian-American follower of Jesus, and current New York Knicks phenomenon.Last weekend, I was driving home when my BlackBerry buzzed with a text message from a Korean-American...