I had the most interesting encounter after the 11:30 service this past Sunday.The message dealt with the relationship between church & state and between Christian & government.The bottom line came from Philippians 3:20 -- But your citizenship is in heaven --...

From 1985 - 1987, I worked in the New Jersey office of the United States Tennis Association, the not-for-profit body that puts on the U.S. Open tournament, currently underway in Flushing, NY.My title was the Coordinator of Recreational Tennis, which meant that I was...

It was an interesting weekend in my house.First, my wife Julie had been given two tickets to the Ryder Cup in Chicago, and so took her father Ted Munoz with her. They spent Saturday following Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, and others around the 18 holes of Medinah.If...

I'm getting ready to step into the middle of it this Sunday.A stand-alone sermon that I pray deals honestly, delicately, and forthrightly with the prickly subject of Church and State.  And Christian and Government.  And GSUMC and the DNC.Why would I do such...

I read with interest those things that Jesus takes for granted.For example, in Matthew 5:16, he says, "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting."Not "if you fast."  Not "please think about...

Many times in speaking or in writing people try to reinforce the strength of their points by adding the words clear and obvious.As in, "it's obvious from the context that John 3:16 means . . . "Or:  "this is clearly the direction our church needs to follow . . ....

I grew up just down the street from a college campus (see below).  Since it was so close and since my father worked there, I spent a lot of time as a child walking around it.I suppose that's why I still like investigating and appreciating what it is that makes...

As part of yesterday's message in the Money Talks series, I shared these words from Mary John Dye, who served as the Superintendent of the Statesville District of the United Methodist Church for four years:If churches would advertise the worship of God half...

It's a cliche, but it's also a question.As Good Shepherd has a series called Money Talks, does this church put its money where its mouth is?Are we doing as an organization what we want you to do as individuals?Find out this Sunday.8:30.  10.  11:30.

This is a busy week around the Good Shepherd campus when it comes to the fight against human trafficking.First, we hosted a Breaking The Chains Conference on Tuesday, August 21.  That event filled our church with social workers, law enforcement personnel, and...