The Numbers Are In . . .

Yesterday at Good Shepherd:

2300 people prepared & packed . . .



192,320 meals for Uganda while they also donated . . .



1800 non-perishable items for local hunger iniatives.

Our children's ministry also made up 275 care bags for our upcoming Room In The Inn season of hospitality to people who are homeless.



I guess it is possible to do good on the Sabbath . . . and to make radical impact on our globe and in our community.

Origin Of An Idea

I received a very nice voice mail this week from a Methodist preacher friend congratulating me on the Charlotte Observer article on our Fed Up Sunday project.

During the message, my friend gave some nice words about the creativity I had to "come up with such an idea."

There's only one problem with that thinking.

It wasn't my idea.

In fact, when some of my colleagues on the staff first mentioned devoting a Sunday to something other than the usual Sunday fare (music, message, creative element), I hemmed. I hawed. I retreated into the silence that usually tells people, "he's not agreeing with this idea."

Yet bolder heads prevailed.

I gradually came to see the wisdom of this particular Radical Impact Project, especially one that follows so closely on the heels of the launch of our mission: inviting all people into a living relationship with Jesus.

Because if people can't live in the first place they can't even begin to think about a living relationship with a living Lord.

Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

Not my idea. Maybe that's why it's such a good one.

Fed Up Sunday FAQ

Fed Up With Hunger Sunday
Frequently Asked Questions

What Are We Doing?
We are harnessing all our Sunday morning people and energy to prepare and package over 150,000 Meals Ready To Eat (MREs).

Where Is All This Food Going To End Up?
After we prepare and package the meals, Stop Hunger Now will ship them to famine-stricken regions of Uganda, a country in East Africa. Stop Hunger Now (www.stophungernow.org) is a faith-based hunger relief agency out of Raleigh.

Why Aren’t We Having Church?
We ARE having church. We are worshipping by feeding. Instead of hearing a sermon, we are being the sermon. Pity watches what compassion does.

Will We Have An Offering Sunday?
Yes. Please look for greeters with giving baskets as on a usual Sunday. The first $43,000 of today’s offering goes to this project to pay for the food products and the shipping.

What About Helping Close To Home?
We will battle Charlotte-area hunger today with a non-perishable food collection. We have receptacles throughout the campus.

What About My Kids?
Children & youth 6th grade and up will be your co-laborers in the Worship Center this morning. For space and safety sake, we ask that parents take pre-schoolers through 5th graders to their normal Sunday morning space in the K-Zone where there will be age specific service projects. Our nursery area will function as normal.

How Does This Fit In With Inviting All People Into A Living Relationship With Jesus Christ?
Inviting All People is our big “what.” Our strategic “how” involves LifeGroups, Serve Teams, Worship Gatherings, and Radical Impact Projects. Sunday is a Radical Impact Project.

In The News

This piece was on the front page of the Lake Wylie Pilot on Tuesday:

Steele Creek church looks to make ‘radical impact’ on hunger
John Marks - jmarks@lakewyliepilot.com STEELE CREEK --

It isn’t going to be a wafer and juice cup kind of Sunday.

Good Shepherd United Methodist Church has a heartier helping in mind. Specifically, helping famine relief efforts in Uganda. The traditional Sunday 8:30, 10 and 11:30 a.m. service times will be replaced by a “mass assembly line” of congregant workers packing as many as 200,000 meals.

“The notion of worshipping by feeding really appealed to us,” said Talbot Davis, pastor at Good Shepherd. “Pity watches what compassion does. We are hands on.”

Good Shepherd is a multi-generational, multi-ethnic church that brings in about 1,600worshipers on a Sunday. Regularly the church hosts “radical impact projects,” where it challenges members to put their faith into practice. At a time often reserved for angels and shepherds, the Christmas Eve service at Good Shepherd last year addressed human trafficking. The service raised $207,000 toward anti-trafficking efforts in Cambodia and Thailand.

On Sunday the “radical” notion will be that a church service can be about public service, even service to foreign countries. In August the student ministry at Good Shepherd held a smaller event, where about 200 people prepared 50,100 meals. They also collected $525 in change, good for another 2,100 meals.

“We have a rare group of teenagers who are about more than themselves,” said John Pavlovitz, student ministry pastor. “It was just such a great experience. It’s a festive atmosphere when you’re packing these meals.”

The church partnered with Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief organization based in Raleigh, N.C., serving 76 countries. To date they’ve helped package more than 52.6 million meals.

“It’s just mindboggling to see all these people come together packing these meals, and just the pure joy of anybody from the age of 5 up to 100,” said Brandon Faulkner, program manager for the Stop Hunger Now Charlotte sharehouse.

Other churches in Fort Mill, York and other nearby areas have held smaller events, but seldom does something on the scale of Sunday’s service happen. Even when Good Shepherd isn’t packaging meals, it’s helping Stop Hunger Now financially. In the past 18 months they’ve been responsible for about $300,000 of relief sent to four different countries.

“This is by far one of the largest ones we’ve done in the Charlotte area,” Faulkner said. “If you want to talk about being the sermon, this is being the sermon.”

Good Shepherd still asks members or guests to attend a one-hour time slot, just as they would for a traditional service. The church concedes that the effort won’t look at all like a recognizable Sunday morning, but they aren’t making apologies for it.

“Instead of a praise band, we’ll pound a celebratory gong every time we pack 1,000 meals,” Davis said. “Instead of a bulletin, we’ll pass out bags of rice. Instead of a sermon, we’ll put on hair nets. And instead of starvation, we’re praying for and doing something about nutrition.”

Davis believes the food packaging can be “every bit as worshipful” as sermons and songs. Pavlovitz sees the “tangible work to help people” as a way for his students to “actually live the message instead of just hearing it.”

“We just want to be a church that lives what it believes,” he said.

Yet ironically, it’s that statement of belief through service that also makes for perhaps the most inviting opportunity to try out Good Shepherd regardless of belief. Some people believe in God, some in Jesus, Davis said. Sunday’s service provides an opportunity to serve with whatever beliefs volunteers bring to the table.

“Most people believe in feeding hungry people,” Davis said.

You can read the piece directly from the Pilot here or in the Charlotte Observer here.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Methodist Doctrines

Having spent several days last week at Asbury Seminary and a couple of days this week at the Lake Junaluska Assembly, I've got Methodism on my mind.

What is it about this movement-become-denomination that captures my heart and keeps my attention? Even when the prognosis for its long-term survival seem dire, what are those theological emphases that make it worth saving?

Here goes:

5. Faith & Works. At its best, Methodism does not separate passionate belief from vital action. Its why we've long been known for teaching both a "social gospel" and a "personal gospel." It's also why Good Shepherd is worshipping by feeding this coming Sunday, October 30.

4. Holy Spirit Focus. From its early days in the religious revival of 18th Century England, Methodism has long had a strong emphasis on the Third Person of the Trinity. We believe in the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, and the indwelling presence of the Spirit. Historically, I have found many connections between the "Second Blessing Holiness" teaching of 19th Century American Methodism and the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" as taught and lived by modern day charismatics. Both perspectives remind us that what the Spirit does in our soul and to our character after conversion is an essential part of the conversion itself.

3. Assurance. Following the teaching of I John 5:13 -- "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know you have eternal life" -- we Methodists believe that people can know they are saved and have a place reserved in heaven after death. The assurance comes not because we are good enough to achieve it but because Christ's work is sufficient enough to accomplish it. Based on what I believe are correct readings of the entire book of Hebrews as well as 2 Peter 2:19-21, assurance stops short of what our Baptist friends call "once saved always saved" and what our Calvinist brethren label "perseverance of the saints."

2. Prevenient Grace. God is at work in your life long before you are aware of it. Genius doctrine. I believe because it is biblical (Luke 15) and because I've lived it. God was chasing me well before I ever decided to follow him.

1. Free Will. My initial church experience after coming to faith was in a highly Calvinist congregation . . . and that's why I'm a Methodist today. Even as a naive 17-year-old in that north Dallas church, I knew there had to be someone out there who was smart, biblical, and believed that God gives people free will as opposed to electing who is saved and who is damned. So I started a search for that "smart, biblical, free will" person -- and it led me to John Wesley and the Methodists. If I Timothy 2:3-4 is true as plainly written -- "this is God and pleases God our Savior who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth" - then it's very difficult for me to see how Calvinism's double predestination can be true to the character of God. Why would he "want" (desire, long for) what he has made impossible by predestination? I don't think he would; that's why I land on the side of free will and in the realm of Methodism.

Worshipping By Feeding

So yesterday we made the announcement: next Sunday, October 30, we are worshipping by feeding.

Huh?

As part of our strategy of Radical Impact Projects, we will convert our Worship Center into a mass production line on Sunday morning to prepare and package over 150,000 meals that we will send to famine-ravaged Uganda.

We're working with our partners at Stop Hunger Now.

Here's what we showed to bring the project home:



So next Sunday, whether you come for the 8:30, 10, or 11:30 "shift" the people of Good Shepherd can expect the following . . .

Instead of rows of chairs in the Worship Center, dozens of assembly line tables;

Instead of a band leading us in praise, a gong that we will bang to mark every 1,000 meals packed;

Instead of a bulletin, ingredients for our Meals Ready To Eat;

Instead of a sermon, a hair net & gloves;

Instead of starvation, nutrition;

And instead of pity, compassion.

Fashion Statement, Week 2 -- Suburban Outfit

Colossians 3:1-12 is one of my favorite sections in all of Scripture:

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Last week, we saw that 3:12 makes no sense without 3:11 -- "Christ is all and is in all." That realization landed us at this truth: Your ethnicity is not your identity. Your Savior is.

So with that as our foundation, we begin digging deep into the fashion statement of Colossians 3:12 this coming Sunday. We'll take an interesting look at becoming "clothed with compassion" -- and as part of that we have one of the most exciting announcements in my time at Good Shepherd.

I can't wait.

Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

What Baptism Means At Good Shepherd

We showed this to conclude Week One of Fashion Statement.



Enjoy.

And get baptized.

The Pastor As Prima Donna

I've noticed some disturbing things about myself recently.

Such as a growing frustration with people who are simply minding their own business on a Sunday morning.

Such as an increasing impatience if I have to wait even an extra minute before going over "my part" of the service with the technical team.

Such as an unhealthy need to have everything "just right" before I begin.

In short, I've noticed that I can be a prima donna.

There are times when I've become the very thing I promised I'd never be.

The absurdity of pastor-as-prima-donna came home to me this week while singing some classic hymns as part of a conference I attended. I realized that I was going to remember the words and the feeling of that great hymnody with much more clarity than I would remember the words of the sermon that would follow.

And so I did. And so I have.

In the same way, the people of Good Shepherd are probably remembering the theology embedded in "Our God" and "In Christ Alone" better than they remember the nuances of Colossians 3 as I explained them to open Fashion Statement.

The whole service -- actually, the whole worship experience from the parking lot in -- makes a theological statement and packs emotional energy, not just the sermon.

In other words, I'm just a small part in a big thing God is doing.

If anyone should demand things be "just right," let it be Him.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five College Fight Songs

Having spent part of the last weekend in Chapel Hill for Parents' Weekend, I found myself thinking of college fight songs.

First, there was "Late Night With Roy," a UNC Basketball kickoff extravaganza complete with dancing, skits, Stuart Scott of ESPN, and, oh yeah, a bit of basketball.

Then on Saturday, there was UNC vs Miami at Kenan Stadium underneath a glorious, cloudless sky.

But the soundtrack of the weekend was the Chapel Hill fight song . . . which actually makes my list.

5. I'm A Tar Heel Born, UNC Chapel Hill. It's maddening, it's catchy, and then there's a "Duke Salute" at the end.


4. Peruna, SMU. Of course, this one is really my favorite, but even I have to admit there are other, more anthemic tunes out there. This one never fails to transport me back to the Cotton Bowl for a football game or to Moody Coliseum for basketball.



3. Boomer Sooner, Oklahoma. If ever a song could make you long for 40 acres and a mule, this is it.



2. Notre Dame. I can hear Lindsay Nelson narrating the exploits of Ara Parseghian, Joe Theismann, and even Joe Montana with this tune as the backdrop.



1. Hail To The Victors, Michigan. It's not even close. They may be frequent victors on the field, but eternal victors in the fight song game.

Too Close To Home

This sad, strange, and very scary story happened within about 300 yards of our house.

Check here.

Fashion Statement Launch

Throw on a scarf here. Add some bling there. Don’t forget the shoes – they make the man, you know.

We all make our own fashion statement. Some are more adept at it than others. We often pile on the accessories in hopes of elevating our outward appearance.

It happens in our spiritual life, too.

But Jesus isn’t an accessory. He’s the whole wardrobe.

Come discover what that means. Fashion Statement.


For a sneak preview of the catalog, check Colossians 3:1-12.

10.16.11 Undressed to Kill

10.23.11 Suburban Outfit

10.30.11 Fed Up With Hunger

11.06.11 Dos and Don’ts

11.13.11 The Devil May Wear Prada, But Jesus Wears . . .

11.20.11 Cool Threads

11.27.11 Hand Me Downs

When A Sermon Is From The Bible . . . But Not Biblical

It is quite possible to preach a sermon that appears to be from the bible ... but is not at all biblical.

How do you do that? By taking interesting, provocative, preachable verses, yanking them out of their immediate surroundings in the text, and preaching them that way.

Psalm 46:10 is case in point: "Be still and know that I am God."

Sounds easy right? Put together a nice, comforting sermon on stillness, waiting, patience, and listening and how through those disciplines you will discover God.

The problem is, if you read the rest of Psalm 46, it has very little do with any of those things. The Psalm is much richer and deeper than than this single sentence.

So will a sermon that takes the whole Psalm into consideration rather than focusing solely on verse 10.

These thoughts are certainly nothing new. One of the first mantras I learned in seminary -- only to graduate and discover that all kinds of people in all kinds of places use the same phrase -- was C.I.E. Context Is Everything.

This phenomenon of sermons from the bible that are not truly biblical is on my mind because I almost prepared just such a sermon for delivery this coming Sunday. I thought that I had completely figured out what the sermon would be about BEFORE I even opened up the Scripture.

Once I did that, it turned my world and my sermon upside down.

But the end result, I believe, is far better, far richer, and far more biblical than my simplified version ever would have been.

To see what I'm talking about -- and to see if you can figure out the mistake I almost made and the solution God gave -- read Colossians 3:1-12. All of it.

Marathoning And Sprinting

Sometimes ministry is like running a marathon.

Slow, plodding, relentless. These are the weeks in which a pastor can devote time to relationship building and long term planning.

Last week was a marathon week for me.

But then there are other times in which ministry is much more like a sprint. Breathless, frenetic, and heavy on deadlines.



This week has been a sprinter week, not only for me, but for all of us on staff.

There's been a confluence of death, funerals, illness and surgery that makes a number of us just a little bit frantic.

In a sprinter week, it's nice to be part of a good team. And nice to remember that at some point in the future another marathon week is coming.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five John Mellancamp Songs

Early on, I didn't like John Mellancamp.

First, there was the name. What was it? John Cougar? Johnny Cougar? John Cougar Mellancamp? Johnny Mellancamp? Mellan Johnnycamp? Why couldn't he just settle on one?

Then, musically he seemed to me at first blush to be a poor man's Bruce Springsteen. A Midwesterner trying to cop an East Coast attitude.

And finally, the politics. Mellancamp is the stereotypical rock activist who professes his concern for the poor from the back seat of his limousine. He can be maddeningly and simplistically self-righteous.

But then Julie and I went to a concert in 1999. And about half way through the show I realized, "I like all these songs. They are really, really good."

So since that night, I've been a fan. I'll go for seasons where his CDs are all I listen to. The amplified acoustic guitar, the gravelly voice fueled by nicotine, and the insights that make often make Christians squirm all combine to make him one of my favorites -- whatever his name is.

So here are my Top Five John Mellancamp songs:

1. Authority Song. Now I love authority. I almost never fight it. Yet this song never fails to make me smile, especially the narrator's conversation with his preacher. And by the way, there is profound theological truth here: authority does always win.



2. Little Pink Houses. Is this America? Check it and see. Love the opening guitar line.



3. Peaceful World. One of the best songs of the 00s for sure. From the much underrated Cuttin' Heads CD.



4. Walk Tall. Somber, reflective, and beautiful. Those of us who follow Jesus need to heed the line: "be careful of those who kill in Jesus' name, who don't believe in killing at all."



5. Wild Night. Yes, it's a Van Morrison cover. And yes, the vocals of Me'Shell Ndegeocello make the song. But Lord, how good does it sound even 17 years after its release?

The Next Series

We were going to show this particular video promo at the conclusion of Sunday's service.

Except it didn't really fit the mood that developed at each of our gatherings. We concluded our worship time with an old fashioned altar call, and then sat back and watched as God worked in people's hearts.

Something about that moment and people's response didn't lend itself well to a clever video to follow.

So I waited a day. Here it is: the promo for our next series, Fashion Statement.



To discover why we'd give a sermon series such an odd name, check Colossians 3:1-12.

Inviting. All People. Into A Living Relationship. With Jesus Christ.

A series on the church's mission culminates where it must: "with Jesus Christ."

We'll explore names, meanings, objections, and truths.

I've been looking forward to this one for a long time.

Invite someone to come with you because I believe this conversation has some potential.

Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

A Recent Staff Mantra

I've been saying it so much to staff recently that they've begun repeating it back to me with wry smiles.

The most important part of your job is not your job. It's helping this team be the best team it can be.

Inspired by Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions Of A Team, the mantra has helped us as a staff to have a marked increase our "cross departmental" cooperation.

It's why Maintenance Staff helped with last Sunday night's BigHouse Uptown Mission.

It's why Music Staff and Youth Staff are lending major assistance to this Sunday's Life Group Launch.

It's why Children's Staff serve key volunteer roles at BigHouse.

It's why Congregational Care Staff helps everyone do everything.

We've got a long way to go, but I like the direction of people recognizing that their job is much bigger than their area of ministry.

What's the most important part of your job?

Jaw Dropping

This past Sunday evening, our Good Shepherd youth descended on Uptown Charlotte to put hands and feet to a living relationship with Jesus Christ.

In lieu of their customary BigHouse Gathering in our Corner Campus, 220 students and volunteers ventured to the uptown area where they delivered 400 sandwich meals, 100 toiletry bags, and scores of hoodies to people who are homeless or struggling.

You read those numbers right.

220 students and volunteers.

400 sandwich meals.

100 toiletry bags.

Scores of hoodie sweatshirts.

Hundreds of prayers.

Here's what your Uptown Mission Team looked like at evening's end:



And, of course, they found time to act like teenagers as well:

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Potential Sermon Series

This will be a very different kind of Top Five Tuesday.

For one, they are five things that haven't happened yet.

For another, you'll help determine which ones actually happen and possibly even the order in which they happen.

Here's what's going on: I already have the next three sermons series mapped out. Fashion Statement followed by Christmas Lights followed by Forty Days In The Word if you're one of those people who simply must know.

But beyond that time (early 2012), I have a number of ideas running around in my head that you can help me prioritize.

So here are some potential series titles along with a few words on what each might be about. I then invite you to comment on which you feel is the most urgent for our community and why. Enjoy!

1. Freeze Frame. A series on nostalgia, regret, and how decisions made in the heat of the moment end up having consequences that last a lifetime.

2. Royal Pains. A series on the kings of Israel and what they teach us about sin, redemption, leadership, and family.

3. Angry God. A series on what makes God angry and how we might share his passion for justice and freedom for all his children.

4. Rock, Meet Hard Place. A series on difficult decisions and the role they play in our spiritual maturity.

5. Upgrade. A series on the New Testament book of Hebrews which, quite honestly, I have been trying to figure out how to preach about for years now.

So where's the urgency for our corner of the Carolinas now? Let me know and I'll take it under advisement.

An Irrational Love

In John Irving's novel The Last Night In Twisted River, the narrator makes this observation:

But family histories – chiefly, perhaps, the stories we are told as children – invade our most basic instincts and inform our deepest memories, especially in an emergency.

I can't let go of that sentence. It's one of those narrative insights into human nature that makes good fiction more "true" than real life.

Because isn't it true? The stories we are told as children shape and determine what we value as adults?

For me, on this day, that's a heavy truth with a light application.

Because what story was I told most frequently as a child? To love and support SMU football.

As my dad was a member of the faculty there, we went to home games at Cotton Bowl, we watched away games on television when we could, and we died a thousand deaths every time our Mustangs lost to the Longhorns, Aggies, or Horned Frogs.

Now I didn't go to SMU myself. I haven't lived in Dallas since 1980. I didn't even go to seminary there -- which I could have since it is obviously a "Methodist" school.

So why did I call my brother when SMU jumped out to a big early lead against nationally-ranked and highly regarded TCU on Saturday?

And why did I text my son to make sure he was keeping up with the same game?

And why was I nervous as a cat when SMU blew a large lead and the game went into overtime?

And why did I react just as these players did when the Mustangs held on that final fourth down to secure their first win over a ranked team in, well, ages?



I know. Because of the stories I was told as a child.