When I was a kid, the week between Christmas and New Year's typically meant the Cotton Bowl. The tennis tournament, not the football game. Huh? That's right. Dallas was then and is now the host of a holiday-flavored, mostly-indoor tennis tournament. Back in the day,...
Considering that I am in the "business" of, um, public speaking, I find myself paying attention to how it is that people speak publicly. And in all that paying attention I have noticed how often we use "nonsense" words ... words that operate in speech much...
For the first time in more than 10 years, Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday this year. That required making decisions, adjusting schedules, empowering volunteers, and praying for the best. Here are some reflections from what we experienced together at Good Shepherd this...
Staff and leaders have finished hand delivering hundreds of these candy cane invites to our neighbors on both the Moss Road & Zoar Road campuses. Ever since my earliest days in ministry, I have thought, "why would anyone show up at church if you're not willing to...
William, not Charles. William Barclay is the author of the Daily Study Bible, a classic collection of New Testament commentaries. Though he writes from the perspective of mid-20th century neo-orthodoxy, his reflections on biblical passages often have singular insight....
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 with so much. It is also a deep responsibility. What does that responsibility demand of me in pastoral counseling? Confidentiality -- if...
During the course of a denomination meeting yesterday, my colleagues and I talked about those sections of the New Testament that speak with breathtaking clarity and power about the divinity of Jesus. Those passages that teach us that Jesus was neither great man nor...
Yesterday's message continued a series in which we are looking at some of the supporting cast of the Christmas story. And yet the purpose of the supporting cast is to cast a shining light on the main attraction: Jesus himself. Not simply baby Jesus, but crucified,...
Who is this man and why are we keeping him in Christmas? He is Simeon and he was either: A hanger on around the temple; An activist; A blogger; A rabble rouser; Someone deeply in tune with the Holy Spirit. We'll see how his words about baby Jesus have...
One of my biggest struggles as a pastor is to distinguish between the important and the urgent. Things that are important have more of a long term value: strategic planning, creative brainstorming, sermon writing, staff development and mentoring. All those take time....