Few sayings strike more fear into or evoke more apologies out of 21st Century evangelicals than the ubiquitous: I'm spiritual, not religious. We hear it from skeptical family members, from tweed-jacketed professors, from latte-slurping millennials, and we fall all...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Observations From Rolling Stone’s “Ultimate Eagles’ Guide” Special Edition
With the death earlier this year of Eagles' co-founder Glenn Frey, Rolling Stone magazine just released a Special Edition, Ultimate Guide about the band. The cover promised two pieces that I simply couldn't pass up: 1) Don Henley on the making of every album and 2)...
One Sunday, TWO Bottom Lines
Yesterday at Good Shepherd featured TWO bottom lines. What? Did I abandon my one point sermon bonafides? Nope. I abandoned Charlotte, NC instead. Julie and I spent the weekend in Austin, Texas, helping my sister celebrate her 75th birthday and my mother her 100...
You Only Get Rid Of . . .
You only get rid of what you refuse to get used to. I can hardly tell you how much I believe this, or how vital I think it is in both individual and organizational lives. And I believe it so much because I’ve lived it. In 2010, we who made up the leadership of Good...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Sermons That Help People Rebuild
With some frequency, people will approach me after a Sunday at Good Shepherd and say, "that was just like a therapy session in a room with hundreds of other people." And I think to myself, "And thank God for that." See, much of preaching (not all of it, mind you, but...
Preventology, Week 2 — “The Butterfly Sex Effect” Sermon Rewind
Below is "The Butterfly Sex Effect," a message in which I: Acknowledged a place in life where the Hindu/Buddhist concept of karma rings uncomfortably true; Confessed to having personal space issues; Referenced John Mellencamp, England Dan & John Ford Coley, and...
The Improbable Origin Of “Solve”
I remember exactly where I was when I first had the idea for the sermon series that formed the basis for the book Solve. At Good Shepherd Church we support a lot of recovery programs, which hold their meetings at our Zoar Road campus. Many of these meetings are open...
The Captain Obvious Of Preaching
Maybe you've seen the recent spate of commercials for Hotels.com featuring Captain Obvious. Here's one of the best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DHd4ui_ZWc I have noticed in the communication field that it is all too easy to succumb to the "Captain Obvious...
Top Five (Christian) Books For Summer Reading
If you are at all like me, you do more reading during the summer than any other time of the year. The sun on your face, the sand between your toes, the clock permanently set at 5 o'clock somewhere and voila! you get to gorge on some reading. And most of the time, for...
Preventology, Week 1 — “The Road Best Taken” Sermon Rewind
I have to admit, I love the logic behind Preventology. I love the idea of giving people the tools, the mindset, and the spirit to prevent crises rather than manage them. I love a series from Proverbs. I love giving the people our Preventology Guide -- 31 Days To...