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A New Look At GSUMC.ORG
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Today’s Field Trip
Today I'm taking the staff for a "field trip" to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont.We do these types of outings several times a year.In the past, we've run the gamut from high culture to low -- Charlotte's Mint Museum one time; a morning at the bowling alley...
The Freedom Of Preparation
A friend told me recently, "There is so much freedom in preparation."That sounds counter-intuitive, doesn't it? We think of preparation as . . . drudgery. Monotony. Repetition. Whether it's preparing a sermon, report, or song, the work of getting ready is filled with...
The Office Project
I usually post these videos on the Friday before a series launch, but this one couldn't wait. Here's the promo for our new series, The Office:We have several ways we are getting the conversation going when it comes to this series:1. A special interactive website:...
When You Just Want To Be Left Alone . . .
Disruption has been a departure for us at Good Shepherd.Normally, the series we do after Easter have been . . . gentle. Horizontal. Focused on relationships, based on human interest.The services in Disruption have been more "in your face." Inviting people to consider...
A New York Bumper Sticker
Warning: Salty Language Below. This week, I heard about a bumper sticker making the rounds in New York City:The Truth Will Set You Free. But First It Will Piss You Off.I find that painfully true.I find it theologically true.It's why in Luke 3, John the Baptitst...
Things My Mom Always Told Me
My mom had an eclectic collection of wisdom that she tried to pass on to me as I was growing up.I've collected some of the most salient ones. I'll leave it to you to decide which ones I followed her on . . . or not.1. Don't chew gum in public.2. Vote Democratic.3. Buy...
A Question I’m Pondering
Yesterday, as I was sitting in a seminar for 25 pastors from the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, the following question popped into my head:is a church gathering for therapy or for doxology?In other words, is the purpose of preaching...
Top Five Reasons You Should Come To Pathfinders Tonight
1. You get to see our hip, new Corner Campus.2. Snacks galore.3. Each Sunday I see pockets of people socializing at Good Shepherd. When I ask them how they met, the answer usually comes, "oh, we were in Pathfinders together."4. It's a healthy way of doing group...
Respectability, Pats On The Back, And This Sunday
One of the Rolling Stones' most clever songs is Respectable from their 1978 gem Some Girls.In it, Mick Jagger sings of the irony that the band is now "respectable" in high society.Yet he quickly points 0ut that they are not so respectable that Canadian Prime Minister...