Do you know the best thing about the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman from John 4?That it has almost nothing to do with the verse everyone thinks it's about: 4:24, where Jesus talks about worshipping in spirit and in truth.Nope. That's not the heart...
We've all felt this way.Alone, isolated, and ashamed.Occasionally, shame is what we volunteer for.More often, it's what we are victims.However you get there, it's not designed to be a long stay.I believe that as we continue the Wash Me! series, God will do some...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...