I was really excited when these arrived at the Good Shepherd office yesterday. What are they? Creatures Of Habit Devotional Guides. In English and Spanish. Written by the people of Good Shepherd, these guides are designed to resource and empower the very habits...
Normally when a pastor says that he has something to confess, the people of the church think, "who's involved and how long has it been going on?" Well, thankfully, this is nothing like that. However, for this Tuesday's Top Five, I want to lean toward the transparent...
The calendar threw a curveball at pastors this year by making both Christmas and New Year's fall on a Sunday. So we obviously could not use the first Sunday of 2017 to start a new series, as you want to do that on a high attendance Sunday. Instead, I decided to...
Three things coming up for the people of Good Shepherd: 1. This Sunday (1.1.17) we will worship at 10 a.m. at both Moss Road and Zoar Road locations. 1. "Live" sermons at each called "After The Ball Drops." Our Latino community will worship at 11:30 at the...
On occasion, I give phone calls to people I haven’t seen around church in awhile. My responses to their responses have me a bit conflicted. If they respond to my “hey, I’ve missed seeing you and want to make sure everything is OK” with “oh, sorry, I’ve just gotten out...
While most Methodist churches refrain from all kinds of clapping — either the rhythmic kind during a praise song or the appreciative kind during a sermon — Good Shepherd has always been one of the exceptions. We clap during most songs on most Sundays. We even clapped...
Many of you are familiar with the word "liturgy." In most minds, the word conjures up images of public worship services that are formal, reverent, and predictable. "Liturgical" churches worship through traditional/ancient music, recite creeds & prayers, and place...
Here is a snapshot of where we are headed this weekend: Christmas Eve -- Saturday, December 24 Moss Road Campus Worship Gatherings 5:00 pm 6:30 pm 8:00 pm Note: for the first time, we have Nursery Ministry at both 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Our 5:00 p.m. is the...
In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, the title character has a dreaded and persistent opponent named Sanballat. And . . . we all have Sanballats in our lives. Athletically, professionally, spiritually, and personally. So how to deal with them? Here are some...
I have been thinking about churches that have a publicly codified Statement Of Belief recently. I even referred to one such statement on Sunday and had sent a link to ours to a new attender earlier in the week. So I want to devote this space today to explaining why...