A few weeks ago, I mentioned on Facebook how my brother Harvey was running for Mayor of Hays, Texas.Well, the election was last Saturday, May 10 AND HE WON.36-24.A win is a win. Out of my mother's four sons, one is an elected judge in Louisiana and the other is...
You Had Me At Hello & The UMC
One of the best movie lines in the history of forever is this one from Jerry Maguire:"Shut up. Just shut up. You had me at hello." In other words, Tom Cruise, you can stop talking now because I already agree with what you haven't yet said.And...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Ways Of Staying Fresh In Ministry
I'm 52.(Now when my own father was 52, I was two. Several times over the last couple of years I have thanked God that Davis Family history did not repeat itself.)But at 52, I have twenty-four years of full-time ministry in and can anticipate fifteen or so to...
Something Different With The Raising Of Hands
One of the things that first strikes newcomers to Good Shepherd is the amount of hand raising that happens during praise and worship. Occasionally people even tell us how, um, un-Methodist it seems.Not everybody and not all the time, mind you, but certain...
Wash Me! Week Three — The Selfie Wash
Suddenly, they're everywhere.President Obama. Ellen DeGeneres. Kim Kardashian. Anyone who has ever had anything to do with the Kardashians.I'm talking about selfies.As it turns out, we really are our own favorite subject.This Sunday, we'll dig...
Blinded Me With Science. And The Bible.
Last night we had over 100 people show up for James-Michael Smith's class The Bible & Science: Friends Or Foes?Here's what it looked like:One of our core values as we invite all people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ is to engage the mind and the...
What You Tolerate Today . . .
One of my favorite patterns in all of Scripture is this one from I & II Kings:I Kings 22:41-44 -- Jehoshaphat41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Lessons In Leading I’m Learning
Many times in ministry, I have seen leadership and pastoring as competing forces within my psyche. The skills called for in leading a large gathering of people toward a shared goal and a better future seem so at odds with what it takes to sit at a bedside...
Wash Me! Week 2 — Brainwashing, A Sermon All About Paradox
All week long, I felt that the Brainwashing sermon had some real importance.That's because I believe it's essential for people who follow Christ to understand that paradox is to govern the way they think.Paradox as in "the foolishness of the cross is wiser than men's...
Wash Me! Week 2 — Brainwashing
Week 2 of the Wash Me ! series is called Brainwashing.I'm really looking forward to it.Primarily because it's not going where you might think it's going.And also because it's much more relevant than you think.Sunday.8:30. 10. 11:30.