This photo is from March 31, 1991, my first-ever Easter while in full-time ministry. Our daughter Taylor was 18 months old, and Julie and I were . . . well, we were 24 years younger than we are right now. We're in front of Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church in Monroe,...
If you know me at all, you know I am extremely competitive. I suppose I can blame it on my tennis days. Growing up I was consumed with the desire to be the #1 player for my age in Texas, and in order to do that, you have to beat all the other kids. While some of...
I gave this message five times between 5 p.m. this past Saturday and 12:30 p.m. on Easter Sunday. My memory worked well almost every time -- some sermons have a "flow" that is easy to maintain and recollect, and this was one of them. It also has one of my favorite...
One haunting remembrance of the crucifixion. Six exuberant celebrations of the resurrection. Best. News. Ever. Good Shepherd Holy Weekend 2015. #4U
Here are some general rules for life and ministry I find myself adopting as the years go by: Devote Sunday night to hand-writing notes to first time guests. The louder the internet clamor becomes on certain political & cultural issues, the less it needs my voice...
In my early years of ministry I came across a preaching book by John Mason Stapleton called Preaching In Demonstration Of The Spirit And Power. Not the catchiest title, but it does come straight from I Corinthians 2:4. Anyway, in that book, Stapleton goes to great...
So last Friday, Julie and I had second row seats at John Mellencamp's concert at Ovens Auditorium. We had seen him back in 1999 at Blockbuster, er Verizon, er PNC Music Pavilion in north Charlotte. We thoroughly enjoyed that show and when we stumbled onto these...
I rarely start a message with the bible. In the process of sermon design, I am much more likely to start with people's lives and work from there to the bible. And if it's rare that I start a message with the bible, it is even more unusual for me to start a message...
What does it mean that St. Paul was Jewish? How does the fact the he had memorized large portions of what we call the Old Testament influence the way he writes major sections of the New? In particular, how does that impact the heights he ascends in Romans 8? And what...
Here's what a Good Shepherd friend put up in her office following Sunday's sermon. If God is for us who can be against us? Answer: No one. No thing. No how.