You know what a cliché is, right?A word or phrase that has been used so often, and in so many different settings, that it has lost its original meaning.  Assuming, of course, it ever had an original meaning . . . which many clichés never did. Good communicators,...

My sermon yesterday needed to do two things:  1) serve the normal function of a Sunday message in terms of teaching, evoking, exhorting, and encouraging the people gathered for worship; and 2) drum up awareness of and enthusiasm for next week's Million Meal...

I've never done a "two-part" sermon before.Series, yes.Two-parts to get to the one whole?  NeverUntil this weekend.You'll see what I mean.  In a big, bold, radically impactful way.Completely IncompleteSunday. 8:30.  10.  11:30.  Food For...

Last night, I led the third of our four session Next Step group, which we promote as a "membership exploration class at Good Shepherd."This particular group has about 25 people in it, spanning in age from 17 to 70 and in experience from biblical novices to people who...

Here are a few questions running around in my head this week . . .1.  Based on the theory of Occam's Razor -- "among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected" -- isn't it most likely that the Malaysian jet had a...

The people we choose to be heroes in our lives tell a lot about us, don't they?What we value, what we long for, how we are wired, and even how we change through the years.So I thought I'd take a quick tour of the different heroes I've had in the different seasons of...

Yesterday's Charlotte Observer featured this story from Marty Minchin.CHARLOTTE CHURCHES JOIN FOR MILLION MEAL MARCH Charlotte churches are banding together this month to package 1 million meals to be sent overseas to needy people.The Million Meal March...

 Whether it’s quick-serve or gourmet-prepared, home-cooked or store-bought, slow-cooked or microwaved-over, food is at the center of our lives.  It turns out it’s at the center of the Scriptures as well.  Think of all the biblical history that centers...

Throughout March of 2014, a group of churches in the greater Charlotte area will celebrate worship with a great instead . . .   Instead of rows of chairs or pews in our sanctuaries, dozens of assembly line tables;Instead of a band or choir leading us in praise, a...

Those of you who know me well -- or who just read yesterday's post -- know that I am a super-disciplined person.I complete projects well in advance, I show up to meetings and events early, I live by my routines, and I follow rules.Yet I am an undisciplined...