The following acts will not, by executive decree, ever make an appearance on this blog's "Top Five Tuesday." Primarily because there is no way that I could five songs by all of them combined that I actually like. Here they are: 5. REO Speedwagon. It's time for them...
Bouncebackers, Week 2 — The “Horrible Bosses” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Hinged on an obscure detail from an already-obscure story in Jeremiah 38; Continued my commitment in the Bouncebackers series to looking at characters and narratives that normally float under the biblical radar; Covered work issues that,...
Bouncebackers, Week 2 — “Horrible Bosses”
Ever had one of these? I daresay that most of us have. Whether boss, coach, teacher, pastor, or politician, almost all of us have felt at the mercy of someone in a position of authority over us. And what do you do if that authority is unpredictable or malevolent or...
Most. Perfect. Gift.
A friend from Good Shepherd gave me this on Sunday. I'm just going to leave this here and let you bask in its truth, wisdom, and beauty.
Gideon’s Math. And His Aftermath.
Most of you who have heard of Gideon have done so because his name is on virtually every hotel room bible in the USA. But then others of you know him because of his math: he took an army of only 300 soldiers and defeated many thousands of Midiantes. That's Gideon's...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Reflections From The “Battle Of The Sexes” Movie
I'm not really Movie Review Guy. If you frequent this space at all, you know I'm much more likely to comment on music and books than I am on film. Yet last Friday Julie and I went to see the early 70s period piece Battle Of The Sexes. (We asked for and received the...
Bouncebackers Launch — The “Victor Of Circumstance” Sermon Rewind
This was a message with good content and good storytelling (David, Abigail, Nabal from I Samuel 25) and a good title, but ultimately in search of a bottom line. I started out with It's not your fault, but it is your chance. Then I moved to God adds his intervention...
Bouncebackers Launches Sunday — “Victor Of Circumstance”
We get knocked down. We get up again. You’re never gonna keep us down. Or so we hope. We’ve all been there – knocked down and presumably out for the count. For a lot of us the wounds are self-inflicted. For others, we’re victims. But when we’re down in spirit, in...
#TBT — Before Blog, Before Books, The Was “The Trentonian”
Before I ever had a blog, before Abingdon Press ever started turning sermons into books, before even seminary ... there was The Trentonian. Huh? Between 1985 and 1987, I was the tennis correspondent for The Trentonian, a tabloid-style daily serving Trenton, NJ and its...
Bible Lifting At Good Shepherd
Here's a great shot taken as I was beginning my sermon this past Sunday at the Zoar Road Campus of Good Shepherd: We're one church in two locations. Yet the mission, strategy, and values are identical at both locations and in both Spanish & English. So we...