This is Pastor Greg Lunsford’s last week as our Lead Pastor. I am very pleased that although he is leaving that position, he and Lara and Ransom are not leaving us. Still, it is a leaving that we feel and to which we should respond. I came across a liturgy recently about leavings that...
The possibility of transformation is the essence of hope. Psychologist Aaron Beck says that the single belief most toxic to a relationship, be it a marriage or a friendship, is the belief that the other person cannot change. John Ortberg, in his book The Life You’ve Always Wanted...
As I hope you heard last Sunday, the theme for this year’s Global Partner Emphasis is “An Invitation from the King.” It’s taken from Jesus’ parable of the great banquet. When the invited nobility refused to come to his banquet, the master sent his servants into the...
Our church’s purpose statement (which, if you are part of our church family, I hope you can quote without looking) is “…helping people follow Jesus together.” It’s our version of Jesus’ command to his church to “go and make disciples.” And when he...
I recently rediscovered a spiritual mentor from my young adulthood. He and I didn’t meet regularly for discipleship, in fact, I don’t think we ever met at all. The only relationship I had with him was through his books and one seminar my wife and I attended where he was the speaker...
By Wayne Williams-- “Shepherd” is one of the main metaphors of the Bible. Unless it’s talking about the actual occupation of sheep herding, “shepherd” is always a metaphor for leadership. Whether it’s family leadership (parents), religious/church...
By Wayne Williams-- I am always inspired, motivated, encouraged, and convicted when I hear the stories of what God is doing around the world through our Global Partners (GPs). Stories about how one of them has led relief efforts in the Philippines after the islands were hit with a trio of...
By Wayne Williams-- I really liked Jane Lewis’ excellent blog last week about lament. Did you read it? If not, go to our GPBC website and read it now. I liked it so much that I want to continue the theme this week. Jane began her blog with a quote from Psalm 13, “How long...
By Wayne Williams-- 2020, The Year of the Interrupted Life. This is the year that people all over the world will be telling the next generations about, about how our lives became unpredictable and about how adapting to new circumstances and new information became an almost daily necessity. The...
By Wayne Williams -- Hey campers! This is our annual church campout weekend! This is the weekend I’ve looked forward to every year for almost 30 years. I love the smell of campfire smoke. I love sitting around the campfire with friends old and new and talking about things heavy and...