I didn't exactly preach the sermon Your Money Or Your Life, our second installment of Money Talks.Instead, I facilitated the conversation for those who actually did the teaching:  Jason Handschumacher and Kelly Starnes.Who are they?  Not hired guns. ...

Here's the way it was with Jack Benny:Are you "thinking it over" as well?We've come up with a creative way to talk about money, stuff, time, and faith this coming Sunday.  I'm glad to be part of it and think you will too.Sunday.8:30.  10.  11:30.

While these aren't all the lessons I've learned in 23 years of full-time parish ministry, they are the ones freshest on my mind this week . . .People like it when you remember their names.The more digital our culture becomes, the more effective are hand-written...

As a lot of you know, we take the ministry of funerals very seriously at Good Shepherd.I've blogged about it here and here.But in talking with other staffers here about how to design and deliver a eulogy that is helpful, faithful, and redemptive, we've landed at...

My occasional glance at this year's Olympics has again brought home the most troubling reality in sports:  choking.There are two ways of choking in sports.  The first happens when the athlete is so overwhelmed by the situation that he or she never really...

So yesterday we started Money Talks, a new series about faith, time, stuff, and money.Taking off from Psalm 24:1 -- the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof -- and inspired by Tony Evans, we landed together at the cautionary reminder:  Don't confuse the...

Money talks.But what does it say?What does it say about you?  Your values?  Your priorities?Your relationship with others?Your connection to God?Most talks about money in church include only two exhortations:  spend less and give more.  This series...

A random sample of some things I've noticed recently . . .Based on my drives past Rivergate Shopping Center on Wednesday, Thomas Menino and Rahm Emanuel have done Chick-Fil-A a huge favor.Tennis in the Olympics is a bit like football in March: it's nice, but who...

I remember moving into the parsonage at Mt. Carmel UMC in Monroe in June of 1990 and on that first day receiving visits from neighboring Methodist preachers in the area.Those visits and the friendships that emerged out of them became manna from heaven for me during...

Live albums are admittedly a mixed bag.All too often they feature poor quality sound, tired arrangements of familiar songs, and a longing for the original, "studio" recording.I still remember disappointment at the Moody Blues anemic Caught Live Plus Five.  Get...