I'm pretty sure of most of these thoughts below. In other words, I think that I think the following . . . I don't like sweet potatoes. But I love sweet potato fries and sweet potato chips. Do I need therapy? When clergy post opinions on celebrity deaths, they are...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Songs From Five (Or Seven) Artists I Like But Don’t Love
None of these folks would ever have their own Top Five Tuesday in this particular space. Perhaps they would in yours. And that's the fun of the lists. So all of the artists below have a few songs I like, maybe one or two that I love, and then the rest I greet with a...
“Do This In Remembrance Of Me” … And We Remember The Wrong “Me”
How can I do a typical Monday morning Sermon Rewind when my Sunday remarks were anything but typical? First, they were more of a "meditation" than a sermon. Second, I talked to think the meditation rather than thought to talk it. Meaning, while I knew what I was...
ThanksLiving, Week 4 — Thank-A-Thon
It will be interactive and inspiring. It will be participatory and passionate. It will be educational and edifying. It will be the Body of Christ better understanding the body of Christ. Thank-A-Thon. Sunday. 8:30, 10, 11:30 at Good Shepherd Moss Campus. 9, 10:30 at...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Times People Are Tender Towards The Gospel
When you pastor a church with a mission of inviting all people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ ... And when you believe how people respond to Jesus is decisive not only in history but for eternity ... Then this question assumes a new urgency: When are...
ThanksLiving, Week 3 — The “What A Privilege To Carry” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Began with a tug of war demonstration; Explored Paul's use of jealousy to motivate the Corinthians to generosity; Paved the way for the people of Good Shepherd to offer prayerful pledges of their support in 2019; Landed at this bottom line: ...
ThanksLiving, Week 3 — What A Privilege To Carry
This Sunday, I will begin my message in a way I have never begun a message before. Never. But I can't tell you what it is. You'll need to be there in person. It's ThanksLiving, Week 3, and it's called What A Privilege To Carry. Sunday. 8:30, 10, 11:30 at the Moss...
#TBT — What? ANOTHER Racket Sport?
This comes from my high school yearbook (called "The Highlander") when I was a senior in 1980. I I I I won the Intramural Ping Pong -- er, table tennis -- Championship. I know adidas was super glad to get the free publicity.
A Case Study In Uncovering A Bottom Line
Last Sunday (November 11) was my first message in 2018's ThanksLiving series. The bottom line I eventually uncovered/discovered has some real "stickiness" to it, but the process of arriving there was anything but simple. Here's what I mean. I first had the Scripture...
From An “Eye Roll” To A “To Die For”: The Top Five Benefits Of A Strong 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 lot of talk...