Yesterday's message, which concluded the One Sixty Seven series, also .... got its title from a Bon Jovi song; began with a shout out to Star Wars as the names of celebrities caught up in the Reckoning that followed the #MeToo movement scrolled on the screens,...
#OneSixtySeven, Week 4 — You Give Love A Bad Name
It was 1986 and Bon Jovi told us this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrZHPOeOxQQ And that video has had 184 million views! Anyway, our 21st Century American culture has taken giving love a bad name to a entirely new level, hasn't it? A toxic combination of power,...
The Whimsical And The Weighty
A collection of thoughts and observations ranging from from the personal to the political and from the light-hearted to the heavy-handed ... The most exciting thing in my life over the past week has been working with a new contact lens specialist to locate a new brand...
When My Life Suddenly Snapped Into Focus
It happened when I saw this: Between 13 and 16, the biggest songs were: Hotel California Take It To The Limit Over The Hills & Far Away Brown Sugar More Than A Feeling Stayin' Alive (OK, there are exceptions to every rule.)
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Things You Need To Know About Greta Van Fleet
They're evocative yet original. They're derivative yet authentic. They're reminiscent of yet different from. They're Greta Van Fleet, and they had me at hello. A couple of weeks ago, I friend sent me a link to know about the Michigan-based band. Within one listen, I...
#OneSixtySeven, Week 3 — The “We Are All Just Prisoners Here Of Our Own Device” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's sermon ... had a title I'm proud of: We Are All Just Prisoners Here Of Our Own Device; had a subject that needs addressing: our devices; had a bottom line that was a major improvement over the original one written -- why be captive of the urgent when you...
Words Make Worlds
A high school senior from Good Shepherd shared her application essay to a national Christian college. You'll see how Good Shepherd language has deeply shaped her Christian identity: My personal faith and beliefs will contribute to [the college's] mission because of...
Leading When Leadership Isn’t Your Thing
I spent a good chunk of yesterday at Clemson University speaking with a group of students from the Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity. The trip and the talk was the brainchild of Clemson student and DSP officer Cory Brooks whom I have known since he was four years old...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Required Resources For “Simplify The Message & Multiply The Impact”
As a lot of you know, the Western North Carolina United Methodists invited me to lead a monthly preaching workshop (technically called a "cohort") for sixteen emerging and established pastors in our area. I am both excited about and energized by the assignment. You...
One Sixty-Seven, Week 2 — The “The Oldest Religion In The World” Sermon Rewind
For sometime now, I have been amazed/saddened/perplexed at all the ways people say to God (in so many words): I know better. So I put it into a sermon. Labelling the serpent's seed of doubt in the woman's mind as the Oldest Religion In The World, I walk the people...