This past Friday night, Good Shepherd hosted a Date Night in which church staff and volunteers provided programming and care for 225 children, thereby enabling parents of those same kids to enjoy a Date Night. For the Date Night we provided a portrait photo .... ......
The Trust Factor, Week 4 — The “Double By-Pass” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Began in Monroe, North Carolina, Tega Cay, SC, and the human heart;Borrowed liberally from the thinking and teaching of Alcoholics Anonymous;Included this a photo of my daughter, Taylor, at age 2 (see below);Landed at this bottom line: You'll...
“The Trust Factor,” Week 4 — “Double By-Pass”
We have been examining the diamond-like beauty of Proverbs 3:5-6 for three weeks now: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight. This Sunday, the series wraps up...
If These Walls Could Talk
I continue to be amazed at the level at which people share with me in counseling. It is a high privilege that people trust me and the other pastors on our staff with so much. It is also a deep responsibility. What does that combination of high privilege and deep...
“Telling About” Vs. “Giving An Experience Of”
In my early years of ministry I came across a preaching book by John Mason Stapleton called Preaching In Demonstration Of The Spirit And Power. Not the catchiest title, but it does come straight from I Corinthians 2:4. Anyway, in that book, Stapleton goes to...
From “An Eye Roll” To A “To Die For”: The Top Five Benefits Of A Mission Statement
I have a confession: earlier in my ministerial career I treated any conversation about church mission statements with the dreaded eye roll. "Not again," I thought. "There goes someone pontificating about mission and vision, which if you ask me is just a...
The Trust Factor, Week 3 — The “In The Heat Of The Moment” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Began with a "mini-point" that was a stepping stone to the major point. I think that's allowed under the Simplify The Message method; Pointed out that adrenaline may make you stronger but it does not make you smarter; Included a testimony from...
#TBT — Nov. 14, 1982
Here it is: a photo from Spelman Hall on the campus of Princeton University on November 14, 1982. My 21st birthday. Julie had thrown a surprise party for me. I remember opening the door to her door and being greeted with the sights and sounds of tennis teammates,...
Work On Your Weaknesses Or Strengthen Your Strengths?
Many of you might remember Billie Jean King, a tennis heroine of yesteryear who won Wimbledon six times while also beating Bobby Riggs in 1973's "Battle Of The Sexes." What you may not know is that for all her accomplishments on court, King had a notoriously poor...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Dawes Songs
I admit it: I have been on a Dawes binge. Who -- or what -- is Dawes? A 21st century band, with a sound that echoes the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, and even, improbably, Big Tent Revival. A modern band with a lyrical...