#TBT – When We Were Partying Like It Was 1999 . . .

. . .  because it was. This photo was taken for a Good Shepherd Church Pictorial Directory shortly after we moved to Charlotte and I started at Good Shepherd in the summer of 1999. Julie and I are now empty nesters. Our daughter Taylor, 26, works in corporate...

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The “Guiding Light” Sermon Rewind

How to do a sermon encouraging people to "read the bible" without giving a trite message encouraging them "read the bible'? Answer: start with a classic of early contemporary Christian music, throw in some obligatory Led Zeppelin and Lynrd Skynrd, tie it all into...

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From Bible Study To Movement

Like most pastors these days, I like to preach my messages in series. I have found that thinking "serially" harnesses my mind's creative bent and I have discovered that serial preaching best captures the attention of those who attend our church . . . and those who...

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Why I Love My Blog. And Why I Hate It.

I've been at this for eight years now.  Five days a week.  Virtually without fail. Here's my very first post, promoting a 2008 series on the book of Revelation called NUMB3RS:  https://simplifythemessage.com/2008/05/numb3rs/ So I love my blog.  Until I hate it.  Here...

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Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Things I Miss From The 90s

Ah, the 1990s. Grunge music.  Seinfeld.  Bill Clinton.  Pete Sampras.  Michael Jordan. It's not long enough ago yet that people are necessarily nostalgic for  a return to that decade. Julie and I were in Monroe, North Carolina, I was pastoring Mt. Carmel & Midway...

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