everything that's on my mind

(as if there's not already enough people doing this)

Monday, October 31, 2005

 

The church search

It seems that the search for a new church home after returning back to Little Rock is more difficult than I anticipated. Our previous searches for a new church home have been resolved pretty quickly. Either we were looking only at one specific church in determining whether to leave our current church home, or, as in the case when we moved to Alabama, we visited multiple churches but one stood out pretty quickly as the one for us. This time around, it's proving to be much different.

We originally had four on our list of churches to visit. We eliminated one before ever visiting, simply due to location. We have been traveling 15-20 miles to church for all 10 years of our marriage. We decided that we wanted to try to find one closer to home this time, and there were so many choices near us in west Little Rock, we felt that we could do this. Whether or not this is wise to eliminate a place for this reason or not, I'm not completely certain. But it is the decision we made, and so we continue to search in the area of town where we live.

Until yesterday, we'd visited two of the remaining three, and I think we've eliminated one of those. The third we finally visited yesterday. We plan to visit for several weeks, probably until the end of November. Shortly after our visit yesterday, we managed to see some old friends in a restaurant who attend yet another church that we'd not yet considered. Based on what they told us, we have now added it to our list and intend to at least investigate it as well, and perhaps visit there in December.

There are pros and cons, if you will, to all of these church families. We have connections with at least a few people in all of them as well. There are things we like and dislike about each (so far), in reference to what we are looking for in a church home. And, of course, there are so many things to weigh as try to discern where God wants to use us and which group will be the best fit for us. One other factor in all of this is that, with our background being Churches of Christ, it's strange to be looking primarily at churches which are not of that heritage. Only one of the four we are looking at comes from that background. It's one of those situations where it may be that the place for us ends up being outside of what we've grown up with. While I believe that we are ready for that, there is an element of sadness in considering such. While new experiences and relationships lie ahead, part of us, I believe, would still miss certain things from what we've always known.

Ideally, we would be able to drive by church's gathering place and God would have a sign out front that said "This is it!" But that doesn't happen, as far as I can tell. We are three months into our search now, and are probably no more than halfway through. We were optimistically hoping to get settled in a particular group by year end, but that's unlikely at this point. So we continue in our search and look forward to eventually having a permanent church home and family again, trusting that we will be pointed to the right place.



Kyle Lake

A horrible tragedy occurred yesterday in Waco. Pastor Kyle Lake of
University Baptist Church in Waco was electrocuted during a baptism service and died a short time later. I just recently placed Kyle's new book on prayer in my "to read" list. This is likely devastating to his church family, and I suspect devastating doesn't begin to describe the effect on his wife and 3 young children (a 5-year-old daughter and twin 3-year-old sons). Please pray for this church, and for Kyle's family.



Chris Tomlin tour blog

I mentioned the Chris Tomlin concert last week. Here's their
tour blog and the post Jesse added regarding the concert here in Little Rock.



Peyton still can't get it done

I guess now I'm writing something about college football every week, so here's my "college football note of the week." Saturday evening in Knoxville, at their game against South Carolina, Tennessee retired the jersey of Peyton Manning. Now, here's the funny part (at least to me) - Peyton Manning played four years for Tennessee, and was 0-4 against Florida and their coach, Steve Spurrier. Peyton shows back up Saturday night for a Tennessee game against Spurrier's South Carolina team, and what happens?

South Carolina 16, Tennessee 15.

It appears they still can't beat Spurrier with Peyton in Knoxville. Maybe they should've waited until the Vanderbilt game to bring him back...

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

 

Indescribable Tour

First, let me say that I received my copy of Blue Blood in the mail yesterday. Since I was at the concert all evening, I haven't had a chance to start reading it, but anticipate starting tonight. Expect to hear more about it here in the near future.



It's been a couple of years since I was at a concert. The last two concerts I was at were 2 years ago in Huntsville - Alice Cooper in late September, 2003, and then Jerry Seinfeld a month later on Halloween. Both were excellent, but far different from the worship event last night. We went over to Immanuel Baptist last night to the
Chris Tomlin concert - the Indescribable tour. Chris had Matt Redman and Louie Giglio with him. I can tell you this, I've heard Louie speak before (although not in person), but he was excellent last night. I could've listened to him all night without the music. Here's somewhat of a review of the evening:

Basically, there were 4 parts of the evening, I guess. First, Tomlin and band played 3 songs, then he left and Matt came out and sang 5 songs. After this, Louie came out to speak, and I'd say that may have been the highlight of the night.

Louie spoke about how big God is and how small we are. He used pictures of the universe, many taken by the Hubble, and talked about how it related to us and God. He talked about how many struggle with the idea of life outside of our planet. If the universe is as big as we know it is, how can we assume that life only exists here? Wouldn't the universe all be just wasted space? His take was that perhaps the universe was not created simply as a dwelling place for us. Perhaps it instead was created to show how big and how great and how awesome God is. When you consider how large the universe that we know is, and how many light years it would take to visit parts of it, it's truly humbling. One image showed Earth as simply a very small dot amongst billions of stars. We are small indeed. And God is bigger than we can fathom. He is, indeed, "indescribable" with our human words.

But the most amazing thing about that is this - He knows my name. And your name. Despite how big He is, He cares about us. Louie called it "significant insignificance." Relative to the universe, how could we possibly be significant at all? Yet we are to God. Amazingly, not only does He know us and love us, His love was so great that He stepped out of his "bigness" and into our little, seemingly insignificant, world so that He could demonstrate that love in a way we would never have imagined in a billion light years - the cross.

As I said, I could've listened to Louie all night, but after he ended the music came again. Tomlin and Redman sang together on "The Wonderful Cross", then Tomlin closed out the concert with another 8 or so songs.

I think Chris's song "Indescribable" pretty much sums up the theme of the night - what an amazing and mighty and awesome God we serve. Here are a few of the lyrics:


Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God

Here's a complete set list for the night:

Chris
Forever
Holy Is The Lord
Famous One

Matt
Blessed Be The Name
Once Again
The Heart of Worship
[song I was unfamiliar with]
Dancing Generation

Louie speaks

Chris & Matt
The Wonderful Cross

Chris
The Way I Was Made
On Our Side
Unchanging
Enough
Indescribable
Your Grace Is Enough
We Fall Down
How Great Is Our God
How Great Thou Art


Tuesday, October 25, 2005

 

Comfortable ministry

I'm pretty excited about the Chris Tomlin concert tonight here in Little Rock. He'll have Louie Giglio and Matt Redman with him, so I anticipate a great night at Immanuel Baptist. Tomlin has been one of my favorites since his first album was released about 4 or 5 years ago. I've never seen him live, so I'm pretty pumped about going tonight. I'll try to write something about the event tomorrow.



This same theme seems to be coming back in everything I'm reading these days. I suspect there's a reason for that. No additional commentary now, but here's a quote from
flashbang : how I got over myself by Mark Steele:

In this day and age, our own lives are so screwed up, who has time to help sort out anyone else's? Even Christian lives are often lived every-man-for-himself because there is so little time to get our own house in order. Certainly, we don't actually SAY this. We say that outreach and missions and caring for our fellow man are some of the most important and often-implemented aspects of our lives. But, is this accurate? Do we actually attempt to look after the next guy as much as or more than the one standing in our own shoes? No. We don't. Because we have told ourselves that it would be tragic to affect so many other lives for the better only for our own to end in disaster. To this end, until our own lives feel finished, we hesitate to aid in the completion of someone else.

So ... we test the waters of relationships. We ease in to minimize discomfort. Therefore, our ministry is safe. We truly affect people, but only those who won't rattle our daily lives if the affecting doesn't change them. ... We outreach for our own sake and need - not looking for the neediest recipient but instead searching for the guilt-resolve that fits best within our schedule. There is an inherent problem with this sort of unreach.


Monday, October 24, 2005

 

SEC football and Ogre Tones

I was going to post something about college football in the SEC yesterday, but wasn't feeling good all day and never got around to it. I realize I said I was ready for basketball and that I was finding fewer reasons to watch, and that's true, but that doesn't include SEC games. SEC football is still the best to watch, and I can't just stop watching it in mid-season. It's like ACC basketball. There's no other conference that compares.

Basically, it was a very good weekend for watching SEC games. It was nice to see Arkansas actually stay in the game at Georgia. I expected a 3 touchdown (minimum) blowout, but they hung in until the end. Last week they forgot to play the 2nd half against Auburn, then they have a chance (albeit very slim, with no timeouts and no passing game) to win at the end in Georgia. You just never know what the Hogs are going to do (well, except for the losing part.)

Also, it was great, as it always is, to see Tennessee and Auburn lose. I feel bad (maybe bad is an overstatement) for the kid from Tennessee who essentially fumbled the game away near the end, setting up Alabama's final drive, but not for the Tennessee fans. And have I mentioned how annoying it is to hear "Rocky Top" over and over again? I really hate that song. They actually played it at least once on Saturday after a first down. Although, I suppose, considering the lack of scoring in the game, there weren't many other opportunities to play it - they had to take what they could get. But that doesn't make it less annoying. And it doesn't make it right.

Alabama may have been playing their's after first downs, too, but I'm just not familiar enough with it to recognize it. Also, it could be interesting to watch the Alabama-Auburn game this year. Alabama's kicker has kicked the game-winning field goal 2 weeks in a row, and Auburn missed five - yes, FIVE - field goals in their loss to LSU Saturday night. AU fans better hope it doesn't come down to the kicking game on November 19th.



One more album I love -
King's X new disc Ogre Tones. I've been a big King's X fan since around 1990 when Faith Hope Love came out. I've been a little disappointed in their last couple of albums, but I think with this one I can say they're officially "back". I have always loved the vocals of both Ty Tabor and Doug Pinnick. They're very different, and yet they're great together. It's no Gretchen... but it's very good nonetheless.

Track List:
1. Alone
2. Stay
3. Hurricane
4. Fly
5. If
6. Bebop
7. Honesty

8. Open My Eyes
9. Freedom
10. Get Away
11. Sooner Or Later
12. Mudd
13. Goldilox (Reprise)
14. Bam




Who's #1?

I heard that The Sporting News had placed Michigan State atop their preseason basketball poll instead of Duke, although I have not yet verified this. Yes, I'm aware that MSU is the team that knocked Duke out of the tournament last year, and has a lot of players back, too. But The Sporting News is simply wrong. And they should be removed from circulation immediately.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

 

Number one

Well, it's only a few more weeks now until the college basketball season starts, and it's about time. I like watching college football, but enough already. After last Saturday, it doesn't seem anyone will beat USC again, so I'm finding less and less reasons to watch anymore (except to hopefully see Tennessee lose every week). At the risk of offending everyone in the southeast United States, let me just say this: I'm ready for the real college sports season to begin.

As the start of the season rapidly approaches, the good news is that every poll I've seen so far (
ESPN, CNNSI, MSNBC, Dick Vitale) is correct - Duke is #1.

Duke managed to win the ACC tournament and grab a #1 seed in the tournament last year, despite having only eight scholarship players and no true point guard. Many said it was Coach K's finest coaching job ever, and they may be right. Duke lost only one senior of consequence, guard Daniel Ewing. They also lost the easily replaceable junior Shavlik Randolph (who has been less than outstanding in 3 years and, despite this, decided to leave for the NBA). However, they've added a great freshman class, which includes Josh McRoberts and Greg Paulus, who are both expected to make immediate impact and should more than make up for the loss of Ewing and Randolph. Not to mention the fact that they will have two of the best players in the country last year returning in seniors Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick. Oh, yeah, and the best coach in the country is returning, too.

Dick Vitale proclaims Duke will "cut down the nets" in Indianapolis. Dick is not always right, but he's been pretty good in recent years at predicting who will win it all before the season starts. He picked MSU in 2000, Duke in 2001, Maryland in 2002, Connecticut in 2004, and UNC in 2005. (I don't think he picked Syracuse in 2003). I'm sure a lot of people picked some of those teams as well, as they were all certainly expected to be there to the end, but probably not as many picked them all. So, hopefully, Dick will be right again and the basketball world will return to normal, with Duke accepting the trophy once again on April 3, 2006.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

 

Avoiding miracles

I attended chapel at my daughter's school today. She and a couple of other first graders were responsible for leading the Pledge of Allegiance this morning, so I went in late for work so that I could witness that event. Since it was near the end, there was no way to cut out early after she did her part and head on to work. I had to stay for the entire chapel period. As they began singing, their first song was "Light the Fire." I was taken aback a little at the beauty of listening to a school full of children sing this and other songs. I noticed on one of the later songs there were a lot of hand and body motions involved, and it seemed some of the sixth grade boys were a little too cool to join in on that. I suppose I can understand that - I was pretty cool as a sixth grader, too. But it got me to thinking about a child's faith, and some of the things I've been writing about recently.

My
post last Tuesday was primarily commentary on a quote about risk and God's will attributed to Erwin McManus, which I'd found in a book by Spencer Burke. I am also, as I've mentioned, reading a book written by McManus. This past weekend I reached the chapter called "Risk : Live Before You Die, and Vice Versa." McManus discusses the same things which were attributed to him in the quote in Burke's book. Here is a quote to follow up on my previous post:

"When you follow God, He takes you beyond your own capacities, forces you to go beyond your abilities. A part of divine adventure is experiencing the miraculous hand of God as He intervenes in your life. Failure is often the context for miracles. We all want miracles, but we try to avoid needing them. But only sick people need healing, only people who are blind need to see, only people who are deaf need to hear, only people with leprosy need to be cleansed. No one else gets to experience these miracles firsthand. Wouldn't it be great to be Lazarus experiencing the power of God raising you from the dead? Of course, there is a downside. You have to die for this to happen.


This paragraph reminds me of the song "Everybody wants to go to heaven", which says "Everybody wants to go to heaven, nobody wants to die." Isn't that the truth? The preference is to reach the destination without having to make the journey. The safe road is the road of choice.

That one line in McManus' quote in particular rings very true to me. "We all want miracles, but we try to avoid needing them." We want to see God act, but are often unwilling to chance anything to see what He will do. It could mean failure, embarrassment, losing a job, financial burdens, giving up something we love, endangering our lives or our families. So we hold onto what comfort and safety we have in this world instead of sacrificing for what may come from the next. It might be that He's waiting on us to take a few steps of faith before He does something that will blow our socks off. But instead we stand still.

Could it be that, by living "safe" lives and avoiding risk, that we are also avoiding miracles? Could it be that we are limiting our opportunities to see God act on our behalf? If we only use the abilities we have that we are confident in, and only take the chances that appear to have the most opportunity for success in our eyes, what might we be missing out on? Maybe instead of putting our faith in Him, we're really only putting our faith in ourselves.

It all comes down to faith. Perhaps how we live, the steps we take, the things we risk, is directly related to our faith. Maybe little risk equals little faith. Paul said in Philippians 4:13 "Christ gives me the strength to face anything." (CEV) Do we really believe it? And if so, do we live like it? If we can truly give up our faith in ourselves, dying to ourselves, then maybe we can be like Lazarus. We can see the hand of God move and really bring us new life.

If only as adults we could continue to have the faith of a child. As the children sang, I was praying that He would do just what they were singing - light the fire, fan the flame, in each one of them - and that they continue to have the childlike faith they now have when they become adults, because it's so much harder then. And that He would also fan the flame in me, because there are days when it feels like it's going out.

Monday, October 17, 2005

 

You may be right...

I want to put in a plug for my friend Dan's site. Dan is a friend of mine who I worked with at Intergraph in Huntsville for nearly 4 years. Dan's a great guy (even though he's an Alabama fan - haha, Dan :) and has some good stuff to say. I recommend visiting completelyhis.com.



Yesterday at the church we visited I was reminded of two different quotes from Rich Mullins. One was as the story of Balaam was mentioned. Rich had a professor at a Bible college in Cincinnati who once made the following observation:

The Lord chose to speak to Balaam through his ass, and he's been speaking through them ever since.
I suppose that may be offensive to some, but it still cracks me up. I don't recall if these two quotes were related, but perhaps they were. The second is in regards to the Bible and how we use it. I've grown up in a tradition that has placed the utmost importance on knowledge and correct interpretation. It seemed, at times at least, that nothing was more important than "being right" about certain doctrines. Rich said this:

I don't believe the Bible was given to us so that we could prove that we're right. The Bible was given to us to prove that God is right, and the rest of us are just guessing.
It seems to me there is a lot of truth in that statement. I've encountered a number of people in the past who were bold enough to say they are correct on every point of doctrine, although they sometimes framed it in more of a "I don't know of anything I'm wrong about" type of way. Of course, that seems a little silly - if you knew you were wrong, wouldn't you change?? I suspect everyone thinks they're right, but some are unwilling to accept that they could be mistaken. I'm just not willing to say I know it all beyond a shadow of a doubt. Not that we should be indifferent about study and discerning what God wants of us in regards to doctrine and how we interpret His word. I do believe it is of great importance. However, I believe we should be careful about how confident we are in our own abilities, not trusting in ourselves to "get everything right", but rather to trust in Him who we know is right.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

 

Go back to your car now

I was reading Keith's post on his blog this week regarding his son. The phrase in his post that stuck with me was this: "While those moments last, they must be cherished." I may be repeating some of Keith's thoughts here, I don't know, but here's what spilled out as I considered cherishing moments with my own children.

My daughter still likes for me to walk her into school each morning. At her school in Alabama last year, I walked her inside every morning for the entire first semester. But after the first of the year, I began dropping her off. Of course, I dropped her off about 10 or 15 feet from the door.

At her school here in Little Rock, you can't drive right up next to the door, and the drop-off point is more like 100 feet or so from the door. So, she likes for me to walk with her inside, and I'm happy to do it. How long it will be before she allows me to drop her off, I don't know. How long before I'll want to stop walking inside with her will probably be even longer.

It was only last week that, when we were less than halfway to the door, a friend of hers came up and began walking alongside her. They began talking and it seemed she no longer knew I was there. About that time, she turned and said, "Dad, you can go back to your car now."

It made me laugh a little as I told her goodbye and headed back to my truck. But I realized that as she continues to grow up, she'll be more and more independent and won't need (or want) me to do as much for her anymore. It seems like yesterday that she was her brother's age - 18 months - walking around the house in diapers and running to meet me at the door when I came home from work. Now, I get a "Hey Daddy" and that's about it. The years are flying by - not fast enough for her, probably, as she desires to be more and more grown up, but way too fast for me.

It occurred to me recently that, with her at 6+ years old now, more than 1/3 of my time with my her living at home is now in the past. The thought, quite frankly, scares the hell out of me. What if I'm not doing a good job as a father? What do I need to do differently from now on? What can I improve on? What things am I doing right and how can I make sure that I continue to do them right?

I suspect there are many answers to those questions. I am still asking them and still trying to determine the answers that will serve our family best in the future. But most of all I want to be able to, every day, let both her and her brother know how much I love them no matter what, and that God feels the same way. I want to let them know how important they are to me and how proud of them I am. And I want to spend time with them while I still can, because I know before long, these days will be in the past, too. It's those times together that will produce the moments that I will cherish the most.

It would certainly be easier to drop my daughter off every morning, like so many parents do. I wouldn't have to get out of the truck and I could get to work a little earlier. But if I stopped walking her in each morning, it would mean a few less minutes I would have to spend with her each day. And I look forward to the memories that might be made during those few minutes, even if the memory is her telling me I can go back to my car now.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

 

Priorities

I've heard from several sources that Randy Gill sang Derek Webb's song "I Repent" this past weekend at the ZOE conference. Webb's album i see things upside down is one of my favorites of those I've purchased this year. As I consider the thoughts I shared yesterday, and what is most important in life (or at least what should be), it seems appropriate to hear the words of this song again as well.

I repent
(words and music by derek webb)

i repent, i repent of my pursuit of america's dream
i repent, i repent of living like i deserve anything
of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife
in our suburb where we're safe and white
i am wrong and of these things i repent

i repent, i repent of parading my liberty
i repent. i repent of paying for what i get for free
and for the way i believe that i am living right
by trading sins for others that are easier to hide
i am wrong and of these things i repent

i repent judging by a law that even i can't keep
of wearing righteousness like a disguise
to see through the planks in my own eyes

i repent, i repent of trading truth for false unity
i repent, i repent of confusing peace and idolatry
by caring more of what they think than what i know of what we need
by domesticating you until you look just like me
i am wrong and of these things i repent



Morons

In the complete opposite direction, I suppose, you may recall that a year or so ago, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Latrell Sprewell claimed to be insulted by Minnesota's contract extension offer of around $30 million for 3 seasons. Apparently, he didn't think that was enough. He said - and this is a quote - "I've got a family to feed." Yes, he actually said that. "I've got a family to feed." What is he feeding his family that he can't get it done on $10 million a year?

This is not uncommon - professional athletes making ridiculous statements. So if you were wondering who would be the next out-of-touch-with-reality player to say something completely lacking in common sense, have no fear - Marcus Camby has stepped up to the plate.

As you may have heard, NBA Commissioner David Stern is looking to implement a dress code for NBA players in certain situations. The dress code might apply to players during post-game interviews, inactive players sitting on the bench, and possibly, on flights to and from games. It would likely include sports coats and collared shirts, and excludes blue jeans.

You may not believe me, but it's true - Camby actually said this: "I don't see it happening unless every NBA player is given a stipend to buy clothes."

Okay, you can stop laughing. Or crying. That's right; a man who makes MILLIONS of dollars each year wants a few extra bucks to buy clothes because the NBA might possibly institute a dress code.

Living in Huntsville and Little Rock, I guess I've not been aware of this, but evidently food and clothing is outrageously expensive in NBA cities.



So, what are your priorities? What's most important to you?


Tuesday, October 11, 2005

 

Risky business

Perhaps it's not just a coincidence that this has been on my mind so much recently, and the Beyond The Gates Of Splendor DVD was released last week. I posted a couple of quotes from Spencer Burke's book the other day and mentioned I would try to post some comments about it later. I've been thinking about them a little more. Also, I posted them on a message board I sometimes visit, just because I thought they were worth sharing. One person asked this in response: if living within God's will should involve high-risk, does that mean one living without much risk is possibly living outside of God's will?

I suppose to begin with, you have to agree with the idea that living within God's will involve great risk. If you do, then the above question might follow. Is it true? If we're living lives that are not involving some type of risk, perhaps even great risk, are we then living outside of God's will?

Certainly the early Christians lived with an enormous amount of risk. Their lives were continuously in jeopardy, and indeed many lost their lives because they lived out their faith in a society that was hostile to it. And there are certainly many, many examples today of those around the world living out the Christian faith and, because of that, living in great danger.

As I considered this, my thoughts were this - it seems to me that the American church lives without much risk at all. There are, no doubt, individual Christians and individual churches in this country that risk much more than most. However, as a whole, I'm not sure we have to sacrifice that much, or risk that much, to live out our faith, or at least live it out in the way that we do. I believe its no coincidence that we have religious freedoms in this country like no other. It has made it much easier for us to live out our faith in relative safety.

I mentioned atheist Michael Newdow in a recent post, and the cases he brought against the schools in California over the phrase "under God" being used in the Pledge of Allegiance. Every time I see something like this on the news, every news talk program on television - Chris Matthews, Larry King, Bill O'Reilly, etc. - brings in conservative folks of all types (but mostly Christian) to give their opinion, and you hear all about the Christian heritage of this nation, about the Christian principles it was supposedly founded upon, etc. Then you hear people like Pat Robertson and Sean Hannity going on and on about how, to borrow from R.E.M., "it's the end of the world as we know it." Our religious liberty is being taken away, and we're not going to stand for it.

Should we even be concerned about it? That's a question I'm beginning to ask myself. I don't recall Jesus having the disciples lobby in Rome for a more Christian-friendly empire. In fact, he told them it would be worse for them than it was for him. Should we be more concerned about what the government will and won't allow in terms of religious activity and expression, or rather more concerned with living like Jesus and being the church, regardless of what that might mean for our safety and comfort?

What would happen if suddenly all of our religious freedom was taken away? How many people would continue to show up at church buildings every week if it suddenly meant harassment and danger? Perhaps that's the real fear of those who object to the Michael Newdow's of the world - maybe they fear having to live out their faith in an "unsafe" environment. Maybe we as the American church have had things too easy, being able to go about our daily lives without fear of anyone challenging us or persecuting us, and the thought of risking all that we have and are for the sake of Christ is actually too frightening to consider. It would be better if we could keep the government on our side so we can go on with business as usual.

Maybe I'm way off here. Maybe the fact that my Christian existence (to my shame) has meant little risk is skewing my perspective. Perhaps things are not quite the way I see them. I'm just thinking out loud with all of this, but I wonder what God thinks of us? Are we really "in the middle of God's will", or is He expecting much, much more from us?

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

 

Quotes from Making Sense...

A couple of quotes from Spencer Burke's book Making Sense of Church, which I mentioned in my last post. Both are from a chapter called "Consumer To Steward : A Conversation About Ministry." No commentary for now, just a couple of quotes I thought were worth thinking about. I will try to comment as I have time.
I think AIDS is one of many issues that the world will look back on and ask "Where was the church?" Like it or not, I think we will be judged on how we handle the crisis. At present, our actions don't match up with our words. Our silence on the issue - and our lack of concern for the growing number of widows and orphans - is deafening. We talk about having love and compassion for the people of the world, but continue to pour the vast majority of our resources into ourselves - our church buildings and our programs. While we're paving parking lots and building auditoriums, African children are literally lying next to the corpses of their parents. It's tragic.
And this one, not by Burke himself, but a post he addressed from theOoze.com:

At a recent leadership luncheon, Erwin McManus boldly challenged the myth that "the safest place you can be is when you're in the middle of God's will." To the contrary, McManus asserted that living in God's will is a dangerous proposition, often involving great risk. One might conclude that the lack of such risk-taking has been one of the factors contributing to the modern church's decline.

Monday, October 03, 2005

 

Recommendations

Be sure and check out the Wallace & Gromit movie this week, especially if you have kids. Looking forward to seeing it sometime in the next couple of weeks with my daughter.



Work is keeping me quite busy the last week or so, working extra hours, and will likely continue to for a while, so I may not be finding as much time to post. However, I always list my
favorite books and music at the end of every year, and in anticipation of that, I'll give you a few things I'm reading now and music I'm listening to a lot recently. Since I mentioned Todd Agnew and Switchfoot recently regarding their new discs, I'm leaving them off. But here's 5 books and 5 discs I will recommend.

Books

Making Sense of Church: Eavesdropping on Emerging Conversations about God, Community, and Culture - Spencer Burke Nearly halfway through this... a mixture of commentary by burke on emerging topics as well as posts he selected from theooze.com commenting on the same topics. Very good so far.

Seizing Your Divine Moment: Dare to Live a Life of Adventure - Erwin Raphael McManus I mentioned this in my last post. Still reading through this and liking it a lot.

God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It - Jim Wallis I've read a good part of this, maybe halfway as well. Wallis has a lot of good to say, although I don't buy into everything he says. But it has been worth the time so far.

Flashbang : How I Got Over Myself - Mark Steele I've only read the first chapter of this. It was hilarious, so I bought it, with the anticipation that it will continue to be both hilarious and thought-provoking.

The Gospel According to Moses: What My Jewish Friends Taught Me about Jesus - Athol Dickson This was recommended to me, and the first chapter (again, that's all I've read so far) made me look forward to reading the rest.

Music

Clay Crosse - Eternity with you An album by the worship team at my sister's church in Memphis, where Crosse is the worship leader. Very well done album that our whole family listens to all the time.

Grace Church - Worship In The City Another church's album, by the team at Grace Church here in Little Rock. Got it a few weeks ago and I can't stop listening to it.

Lincoln Brewster - All to You Brewster releases his first live disc recently and it is very good. I was waiting for something new by him and it was well worth the wait.

Blind Boys of Alabama - Atom Bob I actually heard these guys sing on "Imus in the Morning" on MSNBC one morning several months back, and later bought this. I love this disc.

Project 86 - And The Rest Will Follow Project 86 is one of my favorites of recent years. It's hard and loud and Schwaub screams a lot. But I love it. My wife heard me playing it Saturday night and said "how could that possibly be enjoyable?" It is, trust me.


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