On November 21, 1980, more than 350 million people around the world to watch the season premiere of the prime time TV soap opera, Dallas. Why the extraordinary global audience? People wanted to know who shot J.R. The previous season of Dallas ended in March of 1980...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Reflections On A Week In Texas
As some of you know, I spent Monday through Friday of last week in and around Austin, Texas. While there, I was able to spend a few days with my mother (more on that below) and lead a Simplify The Message workshop (more on that below as well). All the while, I was...
God’s Voice
The Problem Of God, Week 2 — The Problem Of Evil & Suffering
Yesterday's message ... Dealt with the oldest dilemma in the Christian faith (or any faith): theodicy. How can God be both all powreful and all good and yet evil still exist in the world?; Drew from Genesis 50:20 and, in a brief detour, Job 2:13; Concluded by...
The Problem Of God, Week 2 — The Problem Of Evil & Suffering
Would you like to learn a $5 word? Theodicy. Which is a fancy word for the dilemma we'll address this Sunday: how do you reconcile belief in a good God when evil exists? How can there be a living God in the middle of deadly suffering. Many have concluded that because...
Loving Our Schools Well
Last night, the Olympic High School football team honored Good Shepherd as its "Biggest Supporter." According to coach Brandon Thompson, our church gave more money and volunteers to the program than any other area business or organization. You did that! Here are GS...
Guest Blogger Claude Kayler, Founding Pastor Of Good Shepherd: “A ‘Discovered’ Sermon From 1992 & The Art Of Seeing What’s Not Yet There”
In my new role as a coach and consultant, I no longer have a great big office (as I did when I was a pastor). Nowadays my office (well, really my desk) is in the room where our grandson sleeps when he spends the night. Needless to say, I no longer have space for all...
The “Bridge Over Troubled Water” Of Ministry
In reading David Browne's Fire And Rain, a musical & cultural exploration of the pivotal-but-overlooked year of 1970, I learned some interesting factoids about Simon & Garfunkel's iconic Bridge Over Troubled Water. For example, did you know that Simon...
The Problem Of God, Week One — “The Problem Of God’s Existence” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Started a series called "The Problem Of God," inspired by Mark Clark's book of the same name; Included one of the few "pulpit" admissions that I went to college at, ahem, Princeton; Talked about the rising influence of atheism; Explored the...
The Problem Of God, Week 1 — “The Problem Of God’s Existence”
What do you do when your faith raises so many questions that you’re not sure you can even claim it as your own anymore? What do you do when skepticism outweighs belief and doubt overwhelms trust? And what do you if YOUR faith is strong but the people you love can’t...