So here was yesterday’s bottom line:  delay criticism to deliver affirmation. And how to apply that, concretely, in the immediate aftermath of the sermon? By placing a blank piece of paper in the program and allowing people time to write notes to people in their lives who may have received more “advice” than affirmation.  All Read the full article…

In William Skidelsky’s Federer & Me: A Story Of Obsession, there is a chapter devoted to Federer’s nemesis/foil/kryptonite, Rafael Nadal. Here’s the opening page of that chapter. If you are not a tennis fan, you’re bewildered. If you are a tennis fan and a Rafael Nadal fan, you’re angry. If you are a tennis fan Read the full article…

In the early part of November, Good Shepherd teammates Ron Dozier, James-Michael Smith, and Shannon Schauber carried our mission of inviting all people to India.   (Because of security concerns, we kept much of the trip on the social media downlow.) What did your representatives do while on the subcontinent?   Here are five answers Read the full article…

In lieu of a sermon yesterday, we played the Billy Graham Association’s short film, The Value Of A Soul. This is the third such short film Sunday we’ve had — in 2014 it was Defining Moments and in 2015 it was Lose To Gain. Each of the films weaves together art, pathos, redemption, and faith Read the full article…

Some of you know that this past Monday (Nov. 14) was my birthday. As happens in the age of Facebook, I was inundated with birthday wishes. And one note in particular was especially interesting.  It came from a friend who was on my high school tennis team in Dallas.  Though we are Facebook friends, I Read the full article…