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...
My family and I live on a quaint little street near El Dorado park. It’s common on weekends to drive by epic birthday parties and large family reunions sprawled out in the vast open space of the historic park. My children, 4 and 7, always feel left out of playing on the...
The story has been told of a pastor who began his ministry at a new church with a brilliant sermon. Everyone loved it. The next week, however, he preached the same sermon. The exact same sermon. Same text, same illustrations, same application....
My brother and I called it “Big Church.” And it happened every Sunday. Really. Every Sunday! Starting in the 2nd grade! We went to Sunday School, then Big Church. Luckily, most Sundays we’d get a donut in between. But even after a donut - or maybe especially...
Keep ReadingA couple of weeks ago lay leader Diana Klimek and I introduced a new ministry during our worship services. If you were absent that day, what follows is a brief overview of our recently launched Care Response Team (CRT)....
Keep ReadingOur current sermon series is inspired by the prayer Jesus taught us, a prayer we pray together every week: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”...
Keep ReadingIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter...
Keep ReadingI’m one of those weird people who doesn’t like coffee. I like the smell but not the taste. On the rare occasion I visit a coffee shop I order tea or hot chocolate. My aversion to coffee does offer the benefit of saving money and freedom from caffeine addiction....
Keep ReadingThe story has been told of a Christian college here in Southern California that once sent its students door to door to talk with people about spiritual issues. Can you imagine how difficult that would be!? I hope that these students, by merely attempting...
Keep ReadingIn his award winning book The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey describes holy week traditions (or lack thereof) in his childhood church community. He explains that they never held a Good Friday service. Nor one for Maundy Thursday. No, they “skipped past...
Keep ReadingSouthern California is one of the most beautiful, idyllic places in the world. Where we call home is sought after by people around our country - even world! We may forget that from time to time, or even take it for granted, but it’s true. Case in point...
Keep ReadingI've mentioned in sermons that my family and I live in a little fixer upper just across Katella/Willow into Long Beach, a few streets over from El Dorado Park. We love our neighborhood primarily because we have great neighbors, some of whom we get to worship...
Keep ReadingThe truth is, every church needs young people. Their passion enriches the soil around them. The curiosity they bring to Scripture and the authenticity they bring to relationships keep your church’s teaching fresh and fellowship fruitful....
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