Until about 12-15 years ago, I thought of the bible like this: A collection of pearls. Isolated jewels, verses that packed punch and meaning, the parts always greater than the whole. In this way of reading the bible, the book of Ephesians, for example, means little...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Summer Songs
Guess what? Tomorrow's the 4th of July. The midpoint of summer, at least emotionally if not technically. The time to take stock of what summer is all about. And to count down the top five summer songs. 5. The Lovin' Spoonful, Summer In The City....
Movers & Shakers, Week 4 — Guest Blogger Devin Tharp: “Leadership Math”
Movers & Shakers has been all about the intersection of leadership and ministries with the next generation. In other words, unleashing the latent leadership potential among the people of Good Shepherd so that those same people can influence the next generation of...
Movers & Shakers, Week 4 — Leadership Math
I think this was a real-time photo of one of the most important professional development sessions in the biblical library: Well, perhaps I exaggerate. But I suspect the encounter with Moses and his father-in-law Jethro looked something like that. And that encounter...
Some Things I Am Always A Fan Of …
A smattering of things whimsical and things weighty that I am always a fan of .... A one-handed backhand; SMU sports; A well designed sermon that teaches me something about the bible and then makes me cry; "The Boys Of Summer"; The fiction of Ann Patchett; Inductive...
Surrender, Impulses, And The Church
We all have impulses. And many of those impulses are not necessarily healthy. Impulses to speak when silence is the better option. Impulses to spend when saving is the wiser choice. Impulses to sex when either abstinence or faithfulness is the path of life. Impulses...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Elements To A Good Week
The rhythm of a seven day week is so foundational to most of us that you'd think it was wired into creation from the very beginning. Oh, it was ... ? Anyway, as a person who values ... no, lives by ... no, is radically dependent upon ROUTINE, I have realized there are...
Movers & Shakers, Week 3 — The WE Team
Yesterday's message ... Gave me a chance to call the congregation "gullible" as they re-enacted Moses, Aaron, and Hur on the mountaintop in Exodus 17; Gave me another opportunity to help households realize how relentlessly their children are under attack by 21st...
Movers & Shakers, Week 3 — “The WE Team”
Not to be melodramatic, but can I get a bit melodramatic? I believe that what we'll share on Sunday morning has the ability to change the trajectory of lives and families and households throughout our region. There. I said it. It's a big deal. And it's called The WE...
Saying What Goes Without Saying & Thinking About Things You Do Without Thinking
How's that for a post title? But I'll tell you what else it is: the key to me living up to whatever leadership potential I have. If you've spent anytime following my posts or even listening to my sermons, you know that I don't regard leadership as one of my primary...