Forward To The Past

That's what we're doing on January 1.

One service only at 10 a.m.

It will help explain so much of why we do what we do here.

Numerical Milestones

2011 was a year full of milestones for my family and for our church. Some of those milestones are best captured by the numbers . . .

Four. That's how many sets of reading glasses I now must have scattered around my life. One for the kitchen table to read the newspaper, one on my desk at work to prepare sermons, one in my car so I can read a restaurant menu, and one extra in case I lose one of the other three.

Fifty. That's how old I turned in 2011. It's also how old my own father was when I was born. In this case, not like father like son.

1,659. That was our average worship attendance for 2011, up from 1,540 in 2010. After a couple of years of flat growth, this increase is deeply rewarding. Special kudos to our 11:30 crowd which has grown more than any other.

One. That's the number of new mission statements at Good Shepherd: Inviting all people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. The statement brings clarity, focus, and unity to all we do . . . and we've only just begun to flesh it out.

Two. That's the number of graduates in my family, as my son Riley graduated from high school and my daughter Taylor graduated from college.

$50,191. That's the average weekly offering at Good Shepherd in 2011. We had unusually strong December giving -- a phenomenon common in many churches but one we haven't had here before -- that raised us above the $50,000 per week mark for the first time ever.

192,320. That's the number of meals you packed on October 30 when we worshipped by feeding.

Ten. That's the number of message series in 2011: My Life Stinks, The Forgotten God, Lines, Jesus Tweets, The Comeback Kids, Elements, Boundaries With Kids, It's A Living Thing, Fashion Statement, and Christmas Lights.

1,440. That's the number of shoeboxes you donated in November through our partnership with Operation Christmas Child.

27. That's the anniversary Julie and I celebrated in June.

Ready To Fly

Many years ago, as our then-four-year-old daughter Taylor took a readiness test for kindergarten at Charlotte Christian School, the admissions counselor said to us, "she's ready to fly."

And so she is again.

After graduating from college in May and working as a Web Copywriter at Red Ventures here in Charlotte since then, she recently accepted an account coordinator job with a public relations firm in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Why am I giving you this more-than-usual family information?

Because we spent the last two days apartment hunting in the greater Atlanta area. I know now more than I ever expected to know about Dunwoody, Roswell, GA Hwy. 400, and how much it costs to rent a washer and dryer in an apartment complex ($35 a month, in case you're interested).

I also found out that virtually every leasing agent at an apartment complex lives in that same complex and has done so for years. That's what they say.

And I discovered that aparment complexes aren't called complexes anymore. They are communities.

After the two days of hunting, I believe we found a good community in a good community.

So we're set for some more flying to begin.

5, 7, 9. Oh, and 10.

It's been building to this.

Christmas Eve Services:

5 p.m.: Children's Worship Experience, complete with worship leading by G-Force singers and pre-school bell ringers.

7 p.m.: Candlelight Praise and Worship with a message called "Night Light."

9 p.m.: Candlelight Praise and Worship with a message called "Night Light."

Christmas Day:

10 a.m. One unified service with carols, families, singles, friends, and a message called "Morning Light."

A Night At The Transportation Center

Last night I joined about 25 of our BigHouse students for an evening of impromptu ministry at the Transportation Center in the heart of uptown Charlotte.

We set up tables, handed out gloves, socks, & scarves, gave out cups of hot chocolate and bags of cookies, and offered prayer to any who would receive it.

Your students were bold, compassionate, and faithful. I love it when they lead us in that way.

We finished the evening with some guitar-based caroling under the canopy of the Transportation Center.



That part was fun while it lasted. Unfortunately we met the same fate as U2 on the top of an LA office building way back in 1987.

If you're not sure of that reference, check this out:

The Value Of Values

It's good to know why you do certain things. It's true for both individuals and organizations.

Which is why we put language to the values that support the mission of inviting all people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you attend Good Shepherd already, our hope is that you have sensed and felt these values long before you read them. We pray that when you see the list, your response will be, "Of course. That's been obvious to me from the day I walked in."

So here they are:

We are full on, full color. Worship at Good Shepherd will look like worship in heaven. Every tribe, every nation, and every tongue sings one song of praise here.

We are awake to the Holy Spirit. We celebrate and acknowledge the power of the Holy Spirit to change, guide, and inspire us. Growth here will be spirit-led and not man-made.

We accept and challenge. We will freely accept one another’s brokenness and challenge one another to move toward healed wholeness.

We are “in here and out there.” We will give compassionate care to needs inside our walls without ever compromising our commitment to reach out to care for those far from Christ.

We engage the mind and the heart. God’s Spirit speaks through our intellect and our emotions. We will be rigorous and deep in our teaching while creatively touching hearts.

We speak the old through the new. We harness modern culture and technology to teach ancient truths. The Lordship of Christ and the authority of Scripture will never change; the ways we effectively and creatively communicate the good news will always change.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Rock & Roll Christmas Songs

These five are not exactly "Away In A Manger," but by and large they sure are fun.

1. Paul Simon, Getting Ready For Christmas Day. As I posted back in April, I loved this song from the first time I heard it. Why does a non-observant Jew sample an African-American sermon into a song about the birth of Christ? And why did he release it in the springtime instead of November? I don't have an answer to those; I just know the product of that multi-religious brew is intoxicating.



2. Band Aid, Do They Know It's Christmas? Rock's response to the Ethiopian famine of 1984. Most people find the music rife with cliches, but I never fail to be moved by the refrain's anguished plea: "Feed The World." On a lighter note, love the mullets in the video!



3. Bruce Springsteen, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. I lived in New Jersey from 1980 - 1987, so how could I not get caught up in this particular expression of the Christmas spirit? With Clarence Clemmons' recent death, this one is especially poignant in 2011.



4. John Lennon, Happy Christmas (War Is Over). A haunting glimpse into the melancholy this season often brings.



5. U2, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). U2's cover of Darlene Love's hit was part of the band's large-scale homage to all things American in the era of "Rattle & Hum."

An Adventure In Not Preaching

So yesterday I didn't preach.

You might think that odd, since the Sunday before Christmas Eve is historically one of the most well-attended of the year. Which is precisely why I didn't preach.

I thought it was an extraordinarily important time for the church to hear from another voice on our leadership (more on that in a moment).

So instead of preaching, I wore a purple shirt.

Huh?

People in purple shirts are volunteers in our Children's Ministry. At 8:30, I served the dual role of Large Group Storyteller and then leader of a small group of first & second graders.

I have to say . . . it was a blast.

They came up with their own idea to put on a Christmas story puppet show, using some figures we made in craft time. I couldn't say no to that.

Then I was surrounded by their enthusiasm, peppered with their questions, and treated to the details of their lives. Through it all, we focused on the Bottom Line for yesterday's lesson: God gave us the greatest (or "bestest" as one of them said) gift when he gave us Jesus.

I was able to join the "main service" for our 10:00 hour. As I said earlier, I thought the church needed to hear a complementary voice on this Sunday -- in this case, John Pavlovitz, our Student & Family Pastor.



John was at his provocative, witty, and insightful best yesterday. He has a rare gift with wordsmithing, and so I almost always take notes when he speaks. Here's some of what I got from his talk:

We would worship Jesus more if we weren't so busy trying to compete with him.

Helping you to believe in yourself is the job of Disney or Oprah; my job is to help you believe in the light.

Be content to be the moon and not the sun.

You are the light of the world, but you're not THAT light.

Christmas Lights Week Three -- You Are The Light But You're Not THAT Light

In honor of our series Christmas Lights and this week's emphasis on the kind of light reflected by those who follow Jesus, enjoy this one from DC Talk.

In the world of Contemporary Christian Music, still one of the earliest, coolest, and best:



Sunday. 8:30. 10. 11:30.

World Not Worthy

Hebrews 11 conludes its "Hall Of Faith" -- a recitation of the many biblical characters who, ironically, did not "receive what was promised" despite a lifetime of obedience -- with these words:

"the world was not worthy of them."

What a thought: that we as God's people might construct lives of such radical, counter-intuitive obedience that the world in which we live becomes "not worthy" of our presence.

I believe Hebrews' point there is that the world, when confronted with such people, tends to spit them out: "they were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated . . . " (Hebrews 11:37).

While I certainly don't long for such an end, I'd love to become a "world not worthy" person.

What might that look like?

Give to God's work not simply out of abundance but to the point of sacrifice.

That's world not worthy.

Spend more time in communion with God than being entertained by ESPN.

That's world not worthy.

Expand the territory of our friendships to include people across the spectrum of cultures, colors, and economic conditions.

That's world not worthy.

Spend Friday nights with Room In The Inn.

That's world not worthy.

Help a refugee family get settled in Charlotte.

That's world not worthy.

Let someone who is missing from God know how you got found by Jesus.

That's world not worthy.

Learning A Name And Finding A Follower

This past Saturday morning, as part of the clean up crew for our Room In The Inn ministry, I met someone who attends the church.

It turns out that I had met him in passing before, but it had not registered.

Anyway, I began a litany of questions for my new friend.

How long have you been coming to the church?

Where do you live?

What kind of work do you do?

Did you have a church background growing up?

He finished by telling me that he would quiz me on Sunday morning to see if I remembered all that I had discovered about him. (I passed, by the way.)

But that's not the best part of the encounter. In the process of my questioning (harassing? peppering?), I found out that my new friend had served our Room In The Inn neighbors on Friday night as well as Saturday morning.

And that he was leaving Room In The Inn to head straight for our Habitat For Humanity Build Da that we hosted in connection with Olympic High School.

Hmmm . . . Friday night at Room In The Inn. Saturday morning at Room In The Inn. Saturday during the day at Habitat For Humanity.

That's someone whose following a higher power.

That's someone who has a living relationship with Jesus Christ.

That's someone whose name I'm going to remember.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Memory Lane TV Shows

As I was born in 1961, I'm part of the first legitimate "TV Generation." So what are those shows that shaped my childhood and even today fill me with fondness as I traipse down memory lane?

Here are the Top Five:

1. Leave It To Beaver. Few things make me more nostalgic than hearing the words, "Starring Barbara Billingsley . . . Hugh Beaumont . . . Tony Dow . . . AND JERRY MATHERS AS THE BEAVER." When my own children were much younger, I tried to get them to watch this with me, but the slow pacing and stationary camera angles were too much to overcome. They don't know what they missed . . .



2. Batman. I didn't merely want to watch Batman; I wanted to be Batman. Has there ever been a better opening sequence and theme song?



3. Mutual Of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. As close as we got back in the day to Nat Geo Wild, this was the perfect Sunday night show.



4. Alias Smith & Jones. A TV take-off of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. I'm the only person I know who liked this series . . . and I loved it.

4.

5. Gilligan's Island. The longest three hour tour of all time.

The Polarities Of Pastoring

In the aftermath of a memorial service that we held last week, I began thinking about how different tasks in ministry require vastly different mindsets.

On the one hand, as that memorial service suggests, we are with people in the most vulnerable times of their lives -- times of sickness, divorce, addiction, and death. In those moments, pastors embody the ministry of presence, the subtle reminder that God is active and caring even when life is overwhelming. In such situations, pastors need to be available, trustworthy, and, well, liked.

On the other hand, we are often called upon to make decisions regarding church direction, worship style, staffing, and programming -- decisions that require an entirely different skill set than what I've mentioned above. In these moments, pastors embrace the ministry of leadership, the confidence that God is moving and it's time for the church to catch up. These are the times when pastors need to be bold, provocative, and able to live with the inevitable fallout that will make them, well, disliked.

Can the same person be effective at both poles of ministry? Can the same person who thrives on being liked survive being disliked? Can leaders be present and can those who are present lead?

Many experts would say no. Choose one style or the other, but don't try to be both. After all, most "name" preachers -- the ones with the largest congregations and the biggest platforms -- are much more at home with the ministry of leadership than the ministry of presence. Those who excel at the ministry of presence, this thinking goes, will simply have to trust that their impact for the Gospel will come in ways that can't be measured by attendance, offering, or publicity.

Yet after giving the matter serious consideration, my own spirit can't abandon the hope for "both / and" rather than "either / or." My prayer continues to be that we at Good Shepherd can navigate a congregational and pastoral life that involves both of the poles of leadership and presence.

I suppose I'm holding out on the belief that the most effective leadership emerges out of the most committed presence.

Christmas Lights, Week Two -- The Night The Lights Went Out

Light.

Dark.

You've got to understand the one to appreciate the other.

You've got to expose the one to live in the other.

That's what we'll explore the Sunday as we move into Week 2 of Christmas Lights.

I like what we have planned -- especially because we an experience of the Body of Christ ministering to each other.

To see what I mean, Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

Best Christmas Song With A Banjo EVER.

Our Australian brethren at Hillsong came out with this one recently. Enjoy:

A Role Model In Church

Last Saturday, as many of you know, we had our First Serve ministry in which the people of Good Shepherd fan out through the city of Charlotte to take part in projects that help under-resourced neighbors.

For example, I took part in a foot washing and shoe outreach that helped our Bhutanese friends.

Anyway, all the volunteers from the different serving teams gathered at 9 a.m. at the church before being sent out to serve.

And I noticed a girls' softball team there.

They were all wearing their red team sweatshirts, and looked to be about 10 or 11 years old. (It actually made me think back to when our daughter was in that season of life.)

So why did we have an entire girls' softball team at First Serve?

Because one of the team members is also part of Good Shepherd. And Saturday was her 11th birthday. And for her birthday party . . . she wanted the team to take part in First Serve. So they did. No presents, no cake, no streamers. Just a collection of 11 year old girls serving people with less.

Happy Birthday.

As we say around here, people who have a living relationship with Jesus Christ serve in love.

And we're learning that from our kids.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Things About Our New Prayer Room

This Sunday marked the opening not only of our new Christmas Lights series, but also the opening of our new Prayer Room as well.

Located in a discreet yet visible section of the lobby, we gave the room an "ancient-future" kind of feel:





Here are the Top Five Things I Like About It:

1. It make an unashamed statement that people who have a living relationship with Jesus Christ are united in prayer.

2. It's open whenever the building is open for personal prayer and quiet conversation.

3. We'll have trained Prayer Guides present there for prayer support and spiritual direction every Sunday morning.

4. We won't have classes, meetings, or conferences in there -- just prayer.

5. The people of the church will be able to record the mighty acts of God as well as leave written prayer requests.

Christmas Lights Launch

We climb ladders, armed with staple guns while risking life and limb, in order to put them on our houses.

We loop them through the trees we put in our living rooms every December.

We sit in nighttime traffic jams, hoping to catch a glimpse of them as they adorn the streets of a neighboring town.

Every year, we watch re-runs of Clark Griswold’s personal battle with and triumph over them in Christmas Vacation.

What are they? Christmas Lights.

On our houses, in our trees, covering neighboring towns, and celebrated in our movies, Christmas lights in many ways define the season. You could even say, "No lights, no Christmas."

So we’ll look at the light this year. We’ll see the dramatic connections Scripture makes between the birth of the Savior and the gift of light.

In the end, we’ll realize this isn’t a light that will blind you. This light will save you.


Christmas Lights.

December 4: Light Show

December 11: The Night The Lights Went Out

December 18: You’re The Light But You’re Not THAT Light

December 24: Night Light

December 25: Morning Light

First Serve Weekend

When First Serve coincides with the winter kick-off of Room In The Inn, our weekly ministry with neighbors who are homeless, you know there's a lot going on.

We believe that people who have a living relationship with Jesus Christ serve in love, and so we provide abundant opportunities for you to do just that.

To be part of the ministry on either Friday night or Saturday morning or both, click here for a list of opportunities.