MONDAY MEANDERINGS!
- Great worship yesterday! Invited people to "bring the sacrifice of praise" into the house of the Lord! Hand waving, hand clapping, standing up and praising the Lord expressive kind of worship. Ah yes - good stuff!
- Also, "be still and know that I am God" kind of worship. Sweet!
- World Cup Soccer - Scores like 0-0, 1-0, 1-1???? Really???
- ML keeps telling me to quit griping about the humidity. UGH!!!
- 3 months til elk hunting - but who's counting?? Unfortunately I didn't draw a bull tag, only a cow tag. Pass the anti-depressant. Sad, so sad. Thought I was a shoe-in this year.
- If the Big 12 loses 2 teams , does it become the Big 10? And if the Big 10 gains 2 teams, does it become the Big 12? College sports - ruined by greed!!
- Went fishing with my dad and brother last week. Ask me about the one that got away! Should have thrown the net on the other side of the boat. A good time none-the-less.
- Wheat harvest has begun in the area. (rain has stopped it for now). Reminds me that the fields are ripe for harvest but the laborers are few.
- How many cats roam the streets in Mulvane? Too many!
- Did I mention that I like cherry pie?? And thanks to you who have given me advice where to buy a good hamburger.
- So, what are you reading lately?? Me? Extravagant Worship by Darlene Zschech.
- Busy week this week - getting ready to go on vacation, but first, a wedding (James and Susan) on Saturday.
- Jesus is Lord!! Amen??? Amen!!!
6 comments:
Interesting thoughts! We need more active worship. When can "traditional" service do 'These are the Days of Elijah'? Looking forward to some new worship hymns mixed with the "old classics."
No comment on soccer, humidity, or elk hunting!
I'm reading "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. He's an interesting guy!
Yes it was a great worship service. I was surprised that nearly all of the adults participated!
The workshop was very good but by 3 pm I think our digestive systems were demanding most of our energy. I think it was a good summary of the book -- I'm not sure I should list the title and possibly scare anyone off! The lesson, the pizza, Michelle's wonderful salad and Mary Lou's scrumptious cake -- hard to beat that! The rest of you: be alert for future training opportunities.
Bummer about the elk tag. Still, cow elk will taste good on the days we have those 12 hour blizzards.
I'm not watching the soccer games, but I did think that the scores aren't much different from the percentage of (pick a European country) people who attend Christian worship on Sunday.
Recent reading:
1) The aforementioned assigned book. There were several valuable insights about today's culture and approaches that no longer work. Those were eye-opening. I would never have guessed most of them. I guess that says I don't get out into the world much.
2) The Great War by Cyril Falls. Definitely not a church topic, but my arm was twisted into giving a talk on its consequences and lessons. In the Middle East, WWI sowed some seeds and was the cause of much of the politics and sectarian divisions we see today. It reminds me of the late CBS commentator Eric Severeid's "law": "The chief cause of problems is solutions."
[I hope this next one does not create issues; I mention it to stimulate objective thinking. Remember, we Methodists do not check our brains at the door!]
3) Quitting Church by Julia Duin. It is pretty depressing, and the survey data needs to be taken with some salt, as with any survey data. Nevertheless, she does point out some areas where there is hope for improvement, if we focus on living the Gospel, loving our fellow congregants, and loving our neighbors.
For my taste, she spends too many words on the Acts 2 and 4 situation in the early "The Way" church as if it were a model. I agree with those who say it is a DE-scription, not a PRE-scription. I note that it was not mentioned again, so it seems to have been a short-lived phase. Considering that the church grew from 70 to over 5,000, there would have been enormous need, including many full-time pastors!
I found part of myself in the chapter on singles. My concern is for the youth and young single adults. I think we need to facilitate mixing & meeting other young United Methodists. Facilitate; NOT a dating service. Some work in that direction has occurred and I pray it continues. One insight was that too many seem to classify marriage as 'Special and Rare' while Mrs. Duin implies that we should treat it as 'Special and Common'. We can see it in the birthrates: we are losing to a group that is anti-Christian and another that is mostly nominally Christian.
To "anonymous": Yeah, Rob Bell is an interesting character. Has some good insights however.
James- Good thoughts. We are definitely a "post-Christian" society. Job security as it pertains to sharing the faith, huh?
Too many cats in Mulvane? you just ruined it for me. Kind of like michelle and snakes. Cats and me......we just don't mix.
Jo, did you know that "somewhere in the Bible" the devil was once a cat? That explains it!
Where somewhere? I gotta read that!!!!! Totally explains my fear!!!
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