Many years ago while I was pastoring in Monroe, I had a UMC preacher friend who chose the most interesting time to pump her fist and say "Yeah!" When there was a snow-out. In those days, that meant that the sermon you prepared for this Sunday could be delivered next...
This was us in 2002. Wonder what the card will be like sixteen years later?
Some dear friends from Good Shepherd handed me this cassette tape on a recent Sunday morning. When I was a young preacher in Monroe, North Carolina, the ministry of Lenny Stadler at Weddington United Methodist Church almost defied belief. Throughout the decade...
Winter Storm Diego made an unwelcome appearance in Western North Carolina this past weekend, and so we didn't have church on Sunday. That doesn't mean the weekend was without high drama and poignant moments, all of which are worthy of some reflections below. 1. An...
That's a loaded question, isn't it? Is it ever appropriate for a preacher -- regardless of his or her level of experience -- to preach sermons that have for all practical purposes been prepared by someone else? It's not only a loaded question, it's a relevant one....
This week, I received a note and photo from a Good Shepherd friend who is also a new mom. Here's the photo: The note said, "Thanks to Good Shepherd for the Bible stories book! I love reading these to our daughter!" Because inviting all people into a...
As we dig into a series called "Wait For It ..." how could I post on anything else? Carly Simon said it this way: "Anticipation . . . it's making me late, it's keeping me waiting." And some things in life are more full of anticipation than others. Some days and some...
Yesterday's message ... Began with a Paul Harvey-esque moment about the origin of the phrase "waiting for the other shoe to drop"; Explained that biblical prophets are not so much future predictors as hope givers (and, occasionally, judgment declarers); Landed at the...
The name of our Christmas series has worked just like I wanted it to. I tell folks that the name is ... Wait For It ... and then they wait. As if the title is coming. And then, of course, I say, "No, that's it. Wait For It!" Advent is a season of patience, longing,...
This week, I received a newsletter from a campus ministry. The newsletter contained this brief narrative: For almost two years now I (campus minister) have mentored a junior ... named Stephen. I have written about him in past newsletters as we have formed a close...