Yesterday represented the most unusual of opportunities for me at Good Shepherd.

I was there but I was not on.  Meaning: another member of our team handled the preaching load (more on that below).

So here are some not-necessarily-connected reflections from a Sunday in which my primary responsibilities were to shake hands and be friendly:

• Few things make me more grateful than to see one of my colleagues from the Good Shepherd staff deliver a message with no notes, using the ME-WE-GOD-YOU-WE format that leads to a single, memorable point.  That's exactly what Chris Thayer did yesterday, starting out with both a child-centric demonstration AND Dodge Viper nostalgia and leading us on a journey that landed at the point:  Your hope is not in your reflection.  It's in your assignment.
• For the fourth year in a row, we ONLY had the 10 and 11:30 services on the last Sunday of the year.  Although we tried to communicate that schedule adjustment as well as possible, we still had a surprising number of people show up for 8:30.  We may reconsider this "last Sunday of the year" schedule next year.
• It was a blast to speak a bit of Spanish during the Welcome.  Our Latino community worshipped on the main Moss Road campus and heard a translated version of the sermon via headphones (like the UN!).  That was our format from 2004 - 2012, when we began our Latino Worship Service in the Corner Campus.
• Speaking of our Latino presence, the morning's most glorious moment came when we sang "How Great Is Our God" in Spanish -- "Que Grande Es Dios."
• Speaking of singing, I was actually able to do so yesterday.  On most Sundays, I clap but don't sing because I need to save my voice for three morning sermons and a nighttime LifeGroup.  No such worries yesterday.  As good as our music is to listen to, it's better to sing with.
• NOT preaching today makes me all the more eager to launch into Beyond next Sunday with a message called "Beyond Me."
• Most rewarding moment:  after the 11:30 service, I spoke with a friend from another ministry in Charlotte who happened to worship at Good Shepherd on his day off.  He said, "I thought it might be [racially] diverse, but I wasn't at all prepared for just how diverse it is."  As I've said before, our racial and ethnic diversity isn't a cause; it's a result -- a result of lifting the name of Jesus as high as possible.  

We played this on Christmas Eve as a way of celebrating 2014 and anticipating 2015:



Beyond These Walls

Beyond This Corner

Beyond Our Imaginations

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Before we go Beyond, we have one more Sunday in the Baby Invasion series.

This one is called "The Man In The Mirror."

And remember: as is our custom on the last Sunday of the year, we will worship at 10 and 11:30 only on December 28.  Our 8:30 gathering will return in full force as we start Beyond on January 4.

Here is a reprise of a 2011 post that has obvious seasonal value:

These five are not exactly "Away In A Manger," but by and large they sure are fun.

1. Paul Simon, Getting Ready For Christmas Day. As I posted back in April, I loved this song from the first time I heard it. Why does a non-observant Jew sample an African-American sermon into a song about the birth of Christ? And why did he release it in the springtime instead of November? I don't have an answer to those; I just know the product of that multi-religious brew is intoxicating.




2. Band Aid, Do They Know It's Christmas? Rock's response to the Ethiopian famine of 1984. Most people find the music rife with cliches, but I never fail to be moved by the refrain's anguished plea: "Feed The World." On a lighter note, love the mullets in the video!













3. Bruce Springsteen, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. I lived in New Jersey from 1980 - 1987, so how could I not get caught up in this particular expression of the Christmas spirit? With Clarence Clemmons' recent death, this one is especially poignant in 2011.






4. John Lennon, Happy Christmas (War Is Over). A haunting glimpse into the melancholy this season often brings.





5. U2, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). U2's cover of Darlene Love's hit was part of the band's large-scale homage to all things American in the era of "Rattle & Hum."