Over the last week, I traveled to northern Indiana for some continuing education with a group of North Carolina Methodists and my son Riley spent his fall break with some college friends in Charleston, SC.As a result, we communicated more than usual by text...
Gospel, Week Three — Gospel Change
Who doesn't need a little Kenny Chesney on this Friday?Some people do change.But most people don't.How is it that we can apply Gospel power so that we're in the former but not the latter?Sunday.8:30. 10. 11:30.
The Bible As Adventure Story
Every once in awhile, I get a fresh reminder of how the division of the bible into chapters and verses can actually get in the way of our encounter with Scripture.Case in point: this week, as part of preparation for a Men's Life Group Bible Study I lead on Sunday...
Rolling Stones’ Killer New Song — Doom And Gloom
In the tradition of Brown Sugar, Start Me Up, and One Hit To The Body, here's the Stones' new single, Doom And Gloom:http://youtu.be/rPFGWVKXxm0How in the world did they do that at 70?
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Things About Having A Name Like Talbot
One of my earliest memories -- say from when I was four or five years old -- is the awareness that I have a very unusual first name.And early on, I didn't like it.First, it was easy to make all kinds of vaguely insulting nicknames out of it. TalBUTT was the...
Trading In Intangibles
Over the last few weeks, I've bought two CDs.The first one was the new release by Mumford & Sons, surely one of the few rock acts ever to use banjo, fiddle, and stand up bass and still look cool.The second purchase was of a new CD by Band Of Horses, a modern band...
Gospel Week 2 — Gospel Approval
It's a new look at an old story.And it comes from looking at what the story doesn't say.That's right: we're going to learn what a bible passage teaches by studying what it omits.It's one of my favorite ways of looking at Scripture.And one of my favorite messages to...
Dream On
Earlier this week, about 80 people from Good Shepherd gathered together the reflect, to pray, and to dream into the next season of the church's life.We're calling it Dream-A-Palooza, and we're asking for folks to devote three consecutive Monday night to help us...
30 For 30 & 9.79
Last night I watched 9.79, another in the series of ESPN's highly regarded 30 For 30 sports documentary films.9.79 is the tale of Ben Johnson's mind-bending 100 meter race at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The title comes from his winning time,...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Things Methodists Can Learn From Independent Churches
It's no secret that in the last part of the 20th Century and the first part of the 21st, independent and non-denominational churches have come to dominate the American church landscape.Most the country's major-mega-churches, such as Northpoint Community Church in...