On this somber anniversary, I find it meaningful to acknowledge the supremacy of Christ. My favorite verses in Scripture are those that describe the reality of the incarnation of God in Christ. The concept is such that human language is frankly inadequate to describe...
Yesterday's message .... Joined with about 75 other Charlotte area churches in focusing on Galatians 2:11-21 as a way to become For The Gospel. Saw how St. Paul turned a personal confrontation into Gospel proclamation. Made a passing reference to Dr. Seuss that...
For CLT What would it look like if the churches in a city all preached the same messages at the same time? We’re about to find out. Good Shepherd is joining with more than seventy-five other churches in the metro Charlotte area throughout the month of September,...
I probably spend 15-20 hours a week preparing messages. And 8-10 in pastoral counseling and visitation. Sometimes I wish I could counsel less so I could prepare more; other times I wish I could prepare less so I could visit more. But as I have thought about that...
Frances Havergal said this: "Faithfulness to principle is only proved by faithfulness in detail." Think about that. How applicable to the life of a pastor. I may believe in the principle of servanthood, but am I faithful to the detail of helping with Room In The Inn...
Thirty-one Septembers ago, in the year of our Lord 1987, I started classes at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. While I loved my three years there, I realize now there are some pretty important things I didn't learn there. Or . . . I wasn't paying...
In Made To Stick, Chip and Dan Heath talk about the "Curse Of Knowledge." It goes like this: Once you know something, you forget what it's like not to know that thing. That's so true. And especially applicable to the world of faith and church. Once you know the...
Podcast CliffsNotes? Really? Yes, it's true. Sometimes you're in an office without access to earbuds; other times you just prefer to read. If you don't have time to listen to my entire podcast with Jim Cowart, this post is for you. Jim and I are graduates of Asbury...
With the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament starting this week, it's time to wax nostalgic about my time working for the organization that puts on the event. Huh? From 1985 – 1987, I worked in the New Jersey office of the United States Tennis Association, the not-for-profit...
Yesterday's message was to set the table for this: Planned baptisms followed by the spontaneous variety, all leading to a morning where, as Shane Bishop says, the church feels more like a movement than an organization. And in what is perhaps the least...