Of all the anthems in rock music, one is just a little more anthemic than all the rest:Weren't the 70s great?Yet there's one line in Stairway that seems to have special relevance these days:"'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings." Yes, they do.  And...

Oh why not?Laser light shows, absurdly long songs, lyrics leading to nowhere, band-on-band smackdown as young rockers became old men . . . all of it is part of the Pink Floyd schtick.And I went through a phase where I listened to them often and liked them a lot. ...

As I have been thinking about sermon design recently, I stumbled across some language that helps me map them out.Journey  --  Discovery -- Destination -- ApplicationThis is probably nothing original with me, but it is some language that makes sense.And...

I am so fortunate to work with a team of people at Good Shepherd who can do things like put weekly, customized, Head Scratchers videos together.Here's the one for this coming Sunday:Upon first hearing and first reading, those are some of Jesus' most polarizing and...

That's an odd title for a post, right?There should be celebration in getting what you've always wanted, shouldn't there?  You've outwitted, outlasted, and outplayed both the odds against and the people around you and so . . . voila!You have that thing you've...

Each week, I get  reminders that effectiveness in ministry and growth in the Spirit come not in great leaps but in small steps.Rather than pinning my hopes on a "major ministry breakthrough" or a "clear personal word from God," I've learned to enter into a...

Some thoughts I shared about Wimbledon in the space before . . .Top Five Tuesday: Top Five Wimbledon Moments I have never been to Wimbledon. Something about sitting in a cold rain in early July doesn't appeal to me.And for the last 24 years, I haven't been able to...

When Jesus says, "whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven," that's a problem.It runs so contrary to everything we've heard about grace, the cross, redemption, and possibility.Plus, there's that slight issue:  what is blasphemy against...

When I was in college, I read a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne called "The Unpardonable Sin."It was creepy, melancholy, and thoroughly absorbing.  I even wrote a paper on it in which I identified that the unpardonable sin was a throwaway line tucked at the...

I was speaking with a good friend awhile back about the difference between exhortational preaching and evocative preaching.Exhortational preaching challenges. Urges. Implores. It is filled with phrases like "you should" and "we ought" and "do this" and "consider...