Talbot Davis, Author at Talbot Davis

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Just Some Questions I’ve Been Pondering . . .

Talbot Davis March 19, 2014 at 1:00 am 4

Here are a few questions running around in my head this week . . .

1. Based on the theory of Occam's Razor -- "among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected" -- isn't it most likely that the Malaysian jet had a catastrophic event related to equipment and not people? The chain of events is more easily explained by an electrical fire or sudden loss of air pressure than by a seven hour suicide plunge or, more remotely, a safe, secret landing in central Asia.

2. In the wake of a life in which he failed at everything he tried -- including the first two shots! -- how did Lee Harvey Oswald have such gruesome, lethal accuracy on that third shot on 11.22.63?

3. Why do people with Alzheimer's Disease remember details from 60 years ago with remarkable clarity but can't remember what they had for lunch today? Or if they had lunch today. Baffling and sad.

4. Why did SMU football's Death Penalty in 1987 somehow apply to its basketball team's NCAA hopes in 2014?

5. What do my colleagues on the UMC Left think victory for their cause would look like were we to change our official denominational teaching on same sex marriage and homosexual clergy? How would they lead a connection that was suddenly bereft of many of its churches and the dollars those churches contribute to keep the system intact?

6. Did the Pistachio Growers of America really think this was a good commercial?

7. Speaking of pistachio, why would anyone ever order any ice cream OTHER than chocolate?

8. Will Don Henley ever release another solo album?

9. Why is the level of blessing in my life so far beyond my level of obedience?

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Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Heroes Throughout My Life

Talbot Davis March 18, 2014 at 5:10 am 0

The people we choose to be heroes in our lives tell a lot about us, don't they?

What we value, what we long for, how we are wired, and even how we change through the years.

So I thought I'd take a quick tour of the different heroes I've had in the different seasons of my life. Enjoy:

1. Childhood. Batman. The campy version of this superhero's show starring Adam West came on television when I was 6 or 7. I was hooked. My mom made me my own Batman cape & mask -- and even had to tell me to wait until 3 p.m. for me to put it on so that I could spend at least part of the day being "Talbot." I broke my arm one time while playing Batman -- I was pursuing a "criminal," jumped on to the top of a fence, and while jumping to the other side of that fence caught my toe in a leash, and came crashing to the ground, elbow first. At least I got a cast out of the deal.

2. Early Adolescence. Roger Staubach. When I was a kid in Dallas, the Cowboys were labeled as "Next Year's Champion" -- in other words, they choked all the big games away. Staubach changed all that, beginning with the first Super Bowl win against the Dolphins, including the Hail Mary against the Vikings, continuing with the improbable comebacks against the Redskins, and concluding with the second Super Bowl win over the Broncos.

3. Adolescent / Young Adult. Arthur Ashe. Every tennis player of a certain age remembers where they were when they heard that Arthur Ashe beat Jimmy Connors in an upset for the ages to win Wimbledon in 1975. I was on court, playing a July tournament for boys' 14 and under in Waco, Texas!

I still get chills watching replays of that match point. Ashe's cool demeanor was in marked contrast to his high octane game -- he could be either a brilliant shotmaker or a frustrating error machine. Sometimes in the same match. Ironically, as it turned out, my own game had some similiarities: very good serve, good backhand, forehand that could be shaky in the crunch (sometimes mine was shaky BEFORE the crunch ever got there) and average volleys. His premature death in 1993 was a tear-inducing blow.

4. Young Preacher. Chuck Swindoll. We in Methodist circles aren't exposed to the ministry of Chuck Swindoll very often. But when I first heard his radio preaching in the early 90s, I was hooked. The baritone voice, the biblical depth, and the practical application made his sermons "must hear radio" for me. He has an uncanny ability to combine majesty and mirth in the same message, and his love for his life, his family, and his Savior is simply contagious.

5. Today. Well, my tastes have changed. I could include the effortless grace of Roger Federer's tennis or the unmatched insights of Andy Stanley's preaching, or even the unselfish legacy of Good Shepherd's founding pastor Claude Kayler. I instead gravitate towards folks you might not know and will probably never hear of. The GSUMC friend whose first plane flight ever was to take a mission trip to the Netherlands. The GSUMC staffer who I thought we were hiring for one reason but over the years I have seen God had completely different reasons for having that person join the team. The GSUMC LifeGroup member who moves from one health crisis to another with a joie de vivre that I can rarely match. I guess what I'm saying is this: while I found my childhood heroes on TV, I find my 50ish heroes living out the words of Jesus -- the greatest among you will be servant of all.

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Million Meal March In The News

Talbot Davis March 17, 2014 at 1:00 am 0

Yesterday's Charlotte Observer featured this story from Marty Minchin.

CHARLOTTE CHURCHES JOIN FOR MILLION MEAL MARCH

Charlotte churches are banding together this month to package 1 million meals to be sent overseas to needy people.

The Million Meal March originated at Good Shepherd Church in Steele Creek. Senior Pastor Talbot Davis said in 2011 the church had packed about 200,000 meals in one day for people in Uganda.
The church wanted to have another large-scale meal-packing event, but staff members weren’t sure if Good Shepherd could do it alone.
“We said, ‘What if we got a lot of church allies together?’ ” Davis said. “Then we might reach a million meals.”
The church contacted others churches nearby and Methodist and Lutheran churches in Charlotte. Now, 13 churches are hosting meal-packing events, some in lieu of Sunday worship.
The 13 churches also committed to donating money to pay for the meals it packs. Financial commitments range from $1,025 to $63,000.
Other participating churches include Providence United Methodist, Myers Park United Methodist, Lake Wylie Lutheran and Lifepointe Christian Church.
Meals are composed of dehydrated rice/soy and are fortified with vitamins and nutrients.
Almost 600 people took part in Christ the King Lutheran Church’s packing event on a recent Sunday. The church regularly draws around 500 to its three Sunday worship services.
“(The congregation) serves all the time in all kinds of ways in the community, but it’s always cool when you’re all together doing something,” said the Rev. Craig Bollinger, pastor of Christ the King. “We’re all in the same room, and you just see the joy on each other’s faces.”
The church committed to packing 80,000 meals.
Packing meals on a Sunday morning is another way the congregation can worship, Bollinger said. “It’s living out worship by example,” he said.
Good Shepherd Church, which has committed to packing 250,000 meals, will cancel its three Sunday services March 30 to hold its packing event.
Davis said the meal-packing event in 2011 had been a big success. One family came to church that Sunday for the first time expecting a worship service. “When they saw what was going on, the dad took off his coat and started working, and they’ve been at the church ever since,” Davis said.
Davis is preaching a sermon series called “Food for Thought” during March and April, looking at stories about food in the Bible.
The church, with an average attendance of several thousand on Sundays, will transform its worship center into an assembly line March 30.
“This is a great way for the people of the church not to hear the sermon, but to be the sermon,” Davis said.
The nonprofit organization Stop Hunger Now, which has a warehouse close to Good Shepherd Church, has arranged for enough trucks and containers to handle the 1 million meals this month. Davis said the meals could be sent to the Philippines to help with relief from the 2013 earthquake there.
The community is invited to any upcoming church meal-packing events, and churches also can host events as part of the Million Meal March effort.

You can see the story in original form here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/15/4760651/charlotte-churches-join-for-million.html#.UyX8C4Wa-Ig

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/15/4760651/charlotte-churches-join-for-million.html#storylink=cpy

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Food For Thought Launch — Love Stinks

Talbot Davis March 14, 2014 at 1:00 am 0

Whether it’s quick-serve or gourmet-prepared, home-cooked or store-bought, slow-cooked or microwaved-over, food is at the center of our lives.

It turns out it’s at the center of the Scriptures as well. Think of all the biblical history that centers around what we eat and what we drink: manna from heaven, the Passover meal, the Last Supper, and even the banquet feast of heaven. As food is in life, so food is with God.

So we’re going to head towards Easter at Good Shepherd by looking at some familiar and obscure “food stories” from the bible. Along the way, we’re going to pause one Sunday for an enormous Radical Impact Project – on March 30 we will worship by feeding as we take part in the Million Meal March.

Along the way, our prayer is that like those travelers to Emmaus, Jesus will be made known to us in the breaking of the bread.

March 16: Love Stinks

March 23: Completely Incomplete

March 30: Million Meal March

April 6: Food Poisoning

April 13: Is it I?

April 20: Round Trip

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Marching To A Million Meals

Talbot Davis March 13, 2014 at 7:26 am 1

Throughout March of 2014, a group of churches in the greater Charlotte area will celebrate worship with a great instead . . .

Instead of rows of chairs or pews in our sanctuaries, dozens of assembly line tables;

Instead of a band or choir leading us in praise, a gong that we will bang to mark every 1,000 meals packed;

Instead of a bulletin, ingredients for our Meals Ready To Eat;

Instead of a sermon, a hair net & gloves;

Instead of church folk asking “will this sermon feed me?” church people declaring “We will BE the sermon today as we feed others.”

Instead of starvation, nutrition.

Good Shepherd's Million Meal March day is Sunday, March 30, where we will pack 250,000 meals.

For more information on this next Radical Impact Project, check here.

Talbot Davis

Talbot Davis

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