We say it a lot at Good Shepherd: the bible is not a book; it’s a library. We say it so much, in fact, that an elementary schooler in our church actually corrected her school teacher who had dared to refer to the bible as a book. “No ma’am,” the Good Shepherd...
Yesterday's message ... Benefitted from a mid-week bottom line upgrade ... a helpful example of "sounding out the sermon" in advance, realizing the existing bottom line was 'meh' and a new one emerged; Began with the shared trauma of the middle school lunch room...
Chris and Shevon Rowe are terrific. I think you'll like their story: https://www.facebook.com/GoodShepherdCharlotte/videos/352367875924312/
Not long ago, I read Psalm 48:9 as part of my weekend version of starting the day in the Word and not in the world. Here's what it says: "Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love." So what happened when I meditated on his unfailing love? I...
I've spent more time than you might suspect in traditional churches. After all, when I first started going to church there were no other options! So I've spent time in high church Presbyterian, middle church Methodist, low church Baptist, and all points in between....
Yesterday's message ... Started my favorite kind of series: based on a biblical book seen through a cultural hook. In this case, the book is Ruth and the hook is the Beatles; Hinged on the exegetical & historical work of doing what Sandy Richter calls "bridging...
Help! I Need Somebody! And not just anybody, right? We all have a longing for connection, for relationship, for the ability to need people and to be needed by people. So: how do we live into that reality during this unique season of our lives? And what do the answers...
On Throwback Thursdays, I often dig up old tennis photos, and those photos usually feature my backhand or my serve. Those were my two best shots. And then I found this one. A forehand at last: The photo was taken during a practice session on the day before...
I've had a sense through the years that churches in general and this church in particular need to take more care to avoid enabling unhealthy behaviors. With the best of intentions, we can reinforce behaviors and patterns in people that do much more harm than good. For...
Many times, WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS, we offer advice that is actually counter-productive. We lean on tried and true cliches to encourage people facing life's dilemmas, and if they follow OUR ADVICE / THE WORLD'S CLICHES disaster is likely to be the result. Here...