Simul justus et peccator That’s the Latin phrase Martin Luther used to describe the state of the human soul:  simultaneously justified and sinful. And while I’m less Lutheran than I am Wesleyan, nevertheless, I wanted the people of Good Shepherd to catch at least a sense of the ambiguity and dilemma of that phrase. So Read the full article…

How much is a soul worth? Yours?  Mine?  The one belonging to the person you don’t know and likely will never meet? What is the ultimate value of that part of us that endures, literally, forever? Those are some of the heavy questions we’ll address during The Value Of A Soul.  And this is one Read the full article…

Last week, Devin Tharp, who is our Pastor Of Student & Family Ministries, asked what I thought was a most interesting question:  “when you were 17, what would you have been like to have in youth group?” I immediately thought two things: What an interesting question. That’s a blog post if I’ve ever heard one. Read the full article…

One time several years ago, I was at the local YMCA and while doing my little workout eavesdropped on a couple of guys doing their big workout. And one said to the other, “If you work on the stuff no one sees, you really help what everyone sees.” In other words, if you want big Read the full article…

We all have deadlines, but then again, we all have distractions, too. So what are some ways in the digital age to increase productivity, in ministry and otherwise? Here are five that are helping me: 1.Screen off, music on.  I realized on Monday night that I got more done in 90 minutes at home while Read the full article…