I have realized this week how often prayer functions in my life as something to get through.Many of you know exactly what I'm saying . . . prayer functions as the table setter for whatever is next on your agenda.At meal times, it's what you get through so that you can...
Million Meal March — Frequently Asked Questions
For the people of Good Shepherd, southwest Charlotte, northern York, and eastern Gaston Counties:Million Meal March FAQ Fed Up With Hunger SundayFrequently Asked QuestionsWhat Are We Doing On March 30 at Good Shepherd?We are harnessing all our Sunday morning...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Christian Cliches
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,...
A Completely Incomplete Sermon
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...
Food For Thought, Week 2 — Completely Incomplete
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...
How New People At Good Shepherd Interact With “What Does It Mean To Be A United Methodist?”
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...
Just Some Questions I’ve Been Pondering . . .
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...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Heroes Throughout My Life
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...
Million Meal March In The News
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...
Food For Thought Launch — Love Stinks
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...