A Good Shepherd friend told me this week that she is “a poster child for our mission statement.” Meaning? “I knew about Jesus,” she said.  “But I didn’t know what it meant to have a living relationship with him til I got here.” And:  “I’m not just a poster child for the mission statement; I’m Read the full article…

I don’t hear many pastors of churches our style talk about funeral ministry. Sometimes I get the impression that if your church is somehow “contemporary” or “large” or even “mega,” then people in the congregation don’t die, so pastors don’t have to devote much time or attention to funerals and memorials services. Well, however hyperbolic Read the full article…

How could we . . . a) receive “promise cards” (aka, pledge cards) for 2017 generosity; AND b) distribute “movie tickets” for our short film Sunday next week?   Answer:  “In The Long Run” (yes, title borrowed from chorus of an Eagles’ song), a sermon with this bottom line bottom line you’ll see below. The Read the full article…

In my occasional dark nights of the soul, I wonder:  “is what I’m doing anything other than some motivational speaking on a Sunday morning?” Seriously: do people come to Good Shepherd or to any church simply to have their ears tickled and the hearts touched?  To feel like they’ve made some connection with a vague “something” Read the full article…

As a lot of you know, first time guests to Good Shepherd get a coffee mug delivered to their front door later on Sunday. We’ve been doing it that way for well over 20 years. What’s unusual is to receive a thank you note in return for the mug.  Yet that’s what happened last week: Read the full article…