Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Tom Petty Songs

I had another Top Five Tuesday planned. But then Monday happened and Tom Petty died. So here's a reprise of a post from 2011:  my Top Five Tom Petty Songs.   I admit that early on Tom Petty took some getting used to. First, there’s the voice. Unique. Sometimes he...

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Where Apples Fall, Week 5 — “Falling Well”

You knew we'd get here, didn't you? We've fallen apart, fallen alone, and even fallen hard, so it makes sense we'd take a look at what it means to fall well. To do so, we're changing Testaments, changing strategies, and even changing perspectives. I think it's going...

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Product Placement

Last night concluded a three-night Revival Series at the Morris Chapel United Methodist Church in Walkertown, NC, a bucolic town on the outskirts of Winston-Salem. I preached a two-night revival there in 2016 and was grateful for the return invitation and expanded...

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Preaching Without Notes

A lot of you have asked how it is that I give messages on Sunday mornings without using any notes. Actually, it's not just Sundays ... this week I've been preaching a revival up in Kernersville and those, too, I give without notes. Getting up and giving a message...

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Where Apples Fall, Week 4 — “Falling Alone”

Is it possible to have the people you love the most pay a steep price for your pursuit of good things? Huh? You saw that right.  Do the people you love the most have to pay a price for the time you spend pursuing things which are good, noble, and right. That's one of...

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Raising Funds Without Ever Fund Raising

Occasionally when I speak to groups of people within this church or beyond it, the subject of fund raisers comes up.  And that's when I most love the conversation. Because at Good Shepherd we have a very simple policy towards fund raisers: we don't have them. That's...

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A Book Launch. In An Art Studio. With Real Live Dummies.

The best part about last night's launch were my three assistants.  To my left is Crash, and to my right, in order are Test and Dummy. They spent some time indoors but more time outdoors, welcoming guests, posing for pictures, and even drumming up business. They even...

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