I love Venn diagrams. The visual representation of all logical relations between a finite collection of different sets is just the coolest. Don’t you think?...
As we enter a new year of “inviting all people to grow into a Christ-centered life in God’s family” Good Shepherd staff members have brainstormed three key areas vital to living out that mission....
Every year at this time, the Weekly is filled to the brim with various opportunities in the life of our church. By my count, there are 23 opportunities this week alone! A recent member of the Good Shepherd family recently e-mailed me to share of the fun...
Next Saturday, August 25th, our elders are meeting for a bi-annual retreat day. We do so every January and August, and they have become two of my absolute favorite days of the entire year, not only because we have a lot of fun together, but also because I learn so much from each one of the leaders on the team....
Last week we welcomed over 220 kids for VBS. This week, our Middle and High School students are on Catalina at Campus by the Sea for a week of summer camp. Different settings, to be sure, but the same goal....
VBS week is like no other week on campus. It’s not even close. All week, over 220 Pre-K through 5th graders have been making crafts, engaging in science experiments, playing games, watching skits and singing. And singing. Then, a little more singing...
When we discovered Jen was pregnant with our first child we were still in Princeton, NJ, entering the last year of our seminary adventure. It was the summer of 2000. In the fall of that year we traveled back home to southern California. We celebrated Jen’s birthday...
The Red Sox and the Yankees. Tom and Jerry. UCLA and USC. Batman and the Joker. Coke and Pepsi. The Hatfields and the McCoys. Classic rivalries are all around us. Here's one you may have never thought of: 9am Classic and 10:45am Modern...
Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willamon’s book Resident Aliens opens with these words: Sometime between 1960 and 1980, an old, inadequately conceived world ended, and a fresh, new world began. We do not mean to be overly dramatic....
In 1926, the United States Supreme Court made a well-intentioned ruling that affects our everyday lives - perhaps for the worst. The justices ruled that the town of Euclid, Ohio could bar the development of land which had been slated for an industrial-use...
In recent weeks, in this space, we have both reflected upon 2015 and looked ahead toward 2016. It’s an important exercise, not only looking ahead to the future, but processing where we’ve been. Just this week, I ran across a quote from John Dewey...
Keep ReadingIf you’ve ever been trapped in a hotel room and a man named Gideon had been there first and you opened the book he left behind, you would find on the first page these words: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was...
Keep Reading2015… What a year in the life of Good Shepherd! It was a flurry of activity the whole year through! Think of all we’ve gone through in just the past twelve months… At our Annual Congregational Meeting in January, the Covenant Partners of our church...
Keep ReadingAs we continue to celebrate God's greatest gift this Christmas season and look to the future He has for us in 2016, I am reminded of a familiar phrase you have no doubt heard before. It was boldly declared at the outset of a New Year, just months...
Keep ReadingAs we continue our Advent series The Greatest Gift, I am so grateful for your generous, sacrificial giving throughout 2015, continually responding to God's gift of Jesus. In the midst of denominational, pastoral, and staff transitions, your financial giving...
Keep ReadingThis season gets a little crazy. I only have 2.5 kids (the new baby is due in early April!). Huds and Harry have different schools. That’s 2 Christmas parties, 2 mornings drop offs and pick ups (I am so thankful for my wife being a full time stay at home mom!...
Keep ReadingThis Sunday in our worship gatherings we continue our Advent series The Greatest Gift, turning our attention to Mary's interaction with the angel Gabriel in Luke 1: In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in...
Keep ReadingAt a Coffee with Curtis a while back, someone in attendance asked a question about stewardship (forgive me: I can’t remember the specific inquiry!). I replied with a story I heard long ago about a pastor and a church embarking on a capital campaign....
Keep ReadingA few weeks ago, special guest Steve Stiles joined us on campus with his video camera, documenting our worship gatherings, classrooms, and life together. He did so as a part of an ongoing series sponsored by the Southern California Presbytery of ECO....
Keep ReadingThis week you should have received a letter, pledge card, and envelope you can use to commit to Good Shepherd for our upcoming calendar year. We will have an opportunity to present these pledges in either of our worship gatherings on Sunday, November...
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