Years ago, I heard a clergy-coaching-type ask a rather provocative question of a group of us: Do you pastor so that you can preach or do you preach so that you can pastor? Meaning:  as one who leads a local church, do you provide a ministry of presence in people's...

I am a Christian first of all. But within that larger confession of faith, I have identified with the particular expression known as Methodism for the last 35 years. Now: the denomination has its flaws.  Its future is far from certain. So I continue to ask: why have I...

Bouncebackers wound up yesterday in a message that was a bit of a departure from the previous four. We landed in the New Testament rather than the Old and we delved into a familiar figure rather than obscure. Bottom line?  Your worst moment is no match for his great...

Here are some thoughts originally posted in 2010 but worthy of a revisit. Ironically, after this post seven years ago, Brad heard about it through some internet friends, and we reconnected.  Teenage rivalries tend to lose their intensity in middle age ... I always...

Here is "Page 2" from last week's "Shame Off You" sermon from the Bouncebackers series. What?  And what is the deal with all that purple? Well, here goes: each week, after about 12-15 hours of studying, scribbling, and outlining, I write out a nine page, 2,000 word...

While it can be dangerous to attach too much importance to single verses of Scripture — thereby yanking them out of context — nevertheless there is something so powerful about certain sentences in the bible. Especially those that speak of eternal life. These are the...

Yesterday's message led to a mid-week course correction. I realized on Tuesday that it simply had to be followed with an invitation to receive healing & cleansing prayer.  So we adjusted the final song (to, of course, "O Come To The Altar"), arranged some prayer...

In the summer of 1995, Julie and I took Taylor (then five) and Riley (then two) to a beach in Destin, Florida for vacation. We (I) chose the particular vacation property because one of its attractions was grass tennis courts.  If I remember correctly, I found an...

Back in 2014, I led a number of Good Shepherd LifeGroups through Sandy Richter's Epic Of Eden study. And here is a photo of notes I took from the reading assignment of Week 11, Day One: That day's reading involved an overview of the Old Testament book of Judges.  And...

As a lot of you know, I'm 55. That means I have 10-12 years left of full-time ministry. (Ironically, I confessed to someone recently that ten years AGO I had befriended a guy who is a corporate speech coach, and somewhere in the back of my mind was the idea that I...