Several years ago, I read Peter Ames Carlin’s biography of Bruce Springsteen. And in reading it, I discovered something I share in common with him. Not guitar talent. Not singing voice. Not ability to write lyrics. Not even time in New Jersey — my seven years pale in...
Occasionally I will hear or see or read people in other disciplines of either art or communication or sports and think to myself: "That's the way I'd like to preach ..." So here are five. One. I'd like to preach like Jason Isbell writes songs. Personal,...
Yesterday's message ... Acknowledged that most of us are NOW people, not LATER people; Dug into Proverbs' strange command to "consider the ant"; Gave a not-so-friendly shout out to state lotteries; Landed at this bottom line: Fools want to be DELIVERED while the...
The school was Highland Park High School and our nickname was the Scots. That's why the school newspaper was called The Bagpipe. My best friend was the co-editor our senior year and so maybe he's the one who wrote the caption. I think I was pretty skillful in...
Wait, what? Why would I, a preacher in the Christian, Protestant, Methodist tradition, title a blog post "Saved By Works"? Is not our faith defined this way:"by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by...
Some preachers use words. Other preachers smith them. One of my growing edges in ministry over the last decade or so has been to abandon the former and embrace the latter. Smithing words is especially important when, in a one point sermon, you craft the bottom...
This Mother's Day gift is one of my favorite things ever. Here's why. During my Easter Sunday message, I lamented how difficult it is to represent the empty tomb artistically. The cross is much easier and as a result we have crosses that adorn our churches and...
Art rock. Psychadelic rock. Prog rock. Whatever you want to call it the Moody Blues were at the forefront of it. I remember when I was about six years old and my older brothers and sisters had some of their albums in our house in Dallas -- and I thought both the...
Yesterday's message ... Began in a "liturgical" fashion with me inviting viewers to stand and read the Scripture out loud and together as we began; Deal with the thorny issue of the demonic in Scripture and in life; Used Colossians 2:13-15 to bring light to Mark 1;...
On Wednesday night our Children's Ministry Team hosted a drive through Hamburger Project. Huh? We offered prayer, resources, gift bags, hamburger coupons and, most of all, an opportunity for children and their families to make eye contact with Good Shepherd...