A Personal Prayer Team

I had dinner last night with six friends from Good Shepherd:Seated:  Chris Myers, Jason Handschumacher, and Erica Handschumacher.Standing:  Me, Nicole Jones, Michelle Scullock, and Mike Thompson.Most of the group had not met one another before we gathered...

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Throwback Thursday (#tbt), Tennis Style

Thirty-five years ago this week -- June 16, 1979 -- I played the best tennis match of my life in winning the Texas State Championship for Boys' 18-and-under.I was 17 and was not favored to beat my 18-year-old opponent in the finals.  But it was one of those rare...

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A Valedictory Speech From A Good Shepherd Student

Just this week, Good Shepherd's very own Amber Carter was named the Valedictorian of Renaissance School Of Olympic High.  Amber has literally grown up in our church, preached for me last November, and this week is serving as a leader in our Vacation Bible...

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Becoming More Wesleyan By Looking Less Methodist

Early Sunday morning, I tweeted out these words:Discovering that the less Methodist a #umc church looks, the more Wesleyan it becomes.A number of my friends in the Twitterverse asked me to "explain" or "unpack" or "elaborate" . . . none of which are you really able to...

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Head Scratchers, Week 2 — Hate Your Father & Mother

Oh, c'mon Jesus.  "Hate your father and mother"?!Why would you use such inflammatory language?And why would a church EVER choose to use such a reading as the basis of its message on Father's Day?And what in the world could any of this have to do with my living...

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Ministry Caricatures

You're all familiar with how political cartoonists create caricatures of our presidents.  Caricatures have a way of emphasizing the part and thereby obscuring the whole.For example, in the hands of political cartoonists, Richard Nixon became little more than a...

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