So, I was following a link and tracking an IP address for a new member of YMX. (Standard, sadly) Anyway, I came across Command Pin. Not sure what it’s trying to say, but apparently you are supposed to wear the pin to support the Ten Commandments and the American Flag.
In the words of a TV personality we all know, Give me a break!
Tommorow we are talking about our the changes we go through as we pass from life to death to eternal life. Here is a sample of the imagery we’re using to help create the worship environment.
Long, but good day. We celebrated Kristen’s dad’s 58th birthday and we sent off 25 pews to the great state of Florida. Don’t feel bad about either of those. Kristen’s dad is as young as ever… he ran 21 miles to celebrate his milestone and is set to compete in next month’s Boston Marathon. And while the pews story has ended here in Romeo, they are beginning a new life in Florida.
It’s finish time for me. It’s a great week for finishing projects. There are few things nicer in life than looking at a big project and saying "Yep, that one’s done… what’s next?"
The really cool thing is that until I get back from vacation, there is no "next" project. I have a few days to just get normal things done and then we’re off to Florida.
p.s. Kristen and I are joking about showing up at the church in 2 Sunday’s that has bought our pews… wouldn’t it be fun to find our favorite pew in it’s new location at pop a squat?
Sometimes in my world I get caught up with thinking that it’s just youth pastor’s who wrestle with their jobs. That’s just not true. Ray Pritchard, our former pastor in Oak Park, writes about something he calls "Resignation Fever" in the pulpits of America.
Almost everywhere I go, I talk to pastors who are frustrated and church
members who are upset. It’s hard to quantify these things, and I do not
think that it’s harder to be in the ministry today than it was five
hundred years ago. It’s not like Martin Luther had an easy time of it.
Jonathan Edwards, arguably the greatest theologian America has
produced, was voted out of his own church. As Howard Hendricks says, if
you’re going to be a shepherd, you’re going to get sheep dung on your
sandals. Call it an occupational hazard. And sometimes ugly things
happen that embarrass us all. There’s no fight like a church fight. [Read the whole entry]
I think he’s right. This feeling of uneasiness creates an impatience in the pews with their pastor’s and the pastor’s always feeling pressure to perform somehow. Can we all just relax? Just for a little bit can we all just be human? Why is it that everyone looks at this from a nuclear position… as if there weren’t going to be conflict in churches or something… when there is a conflict… do we always have to put pressure on everyone? Why not just BE and allow I AM to be God for a while?
One of my lifelong passions is to reach out to LDS missionaries. You know, the guys on bikes with ties who talk to you about the book of Mormon. I don’t know why, but I’ve always both admired these students but also had a heart to share true and free grace with people who are tied up in a polytheistic and works based faith.
Anyway, this is the image I’ve always seen. Particularly in the film "My Best Two Years" you get very acquainted with the uniform and routines of missionaries. Kids with black pants, white shirts, ties, backpacks, and mountain bikes.
Well, this morning on my way to the library I saw 4 20 somethings pile out of a car in khaki’s and backpacks. At 10:00 am on a Monday morning, this struck me as odd. Upon further review, they are clearly wearing the LDS "elder badges." These 4 guys look more like preppy punk rock wanna-be’s than anything else.
It’s no secret that LDS is one of the many "new things" popping up around Romeo. I know that they’ve had some hard times finding a place to meet in town as everyone either says no, or the place they choose isn’t zoned correctly. It will be very interesting to see how the new LDS push in Romeo turns out. I pray that many will not fall into her trap.
I saw this over on Dan Kimball’s blog and thought it was pretty relevant to us in Romeo. Good stuff.
The Theology of Pews
As I posted yesterday, today is my first day of fasting for lent. I just have a quick observation. It was unwise of me to go to Static Age to work on my talk. They make the best sandwiches and I am just sitting here drooling! Note to self: Next week go to the library.
Perhaps the world just missed this, but I didn’t… Lent started last week. Lent is 40 days of preperation for Easter. Now, by prepare it has traditionally been "identify with Christ’s suffering." Somehow this got translated over the years to being "in lent I give up something." I think that sell the significance short, but it is on the right track.
Self-denial is good. It doesn’t make God love us any more, but it does help us get the connection better between what we think we can provide for ourselves and depending on God. How do I observe lent?
This year I will be fasting from dinner on Tuesday until dinner on Wednesday. It’s not a big deal, but I have found this to be a good way to seperate the "what I need" from the "what I want." The reality is that we can pretty safely fast for days at a time… we just don’t think we can. I am hardly a fasting expert, but in my own experience this has been a time of intense concentration, preparation, and communication. I am looking forward to fasting through Lent.
Your Personal Guide to Fasting and Prayer by Bill Bright
Protestant Fasting on Wikipedia
The following is an article I wrote for the Romeo Peach. (Our church newsletter)
We’ve just completed our first week of 3 Story Life groups here at church. Our goal has always been bold. We want to equip 100 people with skills for sharing their faith in 2006. With the groups we have going right now, the number is already nearing 50.
It is an accident that we’re starting 3 Story during the Olympics, but I’ve also gotten caught up in its symbolism. I’ve had the pleasure of traveling in the Swiss and Austrian Alps, I’ve been on some great ski mountains, and I have to be honest and say that I was terrified by the challenges I faced. The very first time I went skiing I got on the wrong lift and ended up on a very steep ridge, far beyond my skill level. (You can’t snowplow down something nearly vertical!) It was a beautiful trip to the top of the hill but when I got to the top and looked at all the skiers hurriedly gliding to the edge so they could start their descent… I had to stop to catch my breath. Reality had just smacked me in the face. Of all the times I had watched skiing on television it never sunk in how high or steep the hills might be. I was very afraid of what would happen. It was at that moment that I realized that since I had no idea what I was doing, I was taking a huge risk. My mind raced with pending realities. I could get hurt! I would likely get laughed at. I would fall; it was just a matter of how hard I would fall and how much it would hurt to fall.
With no way out but going down the hill I had to swallow my fears and head down the mountain. Just as I had imagined I fell several times on my way down the mountain. I was laughed at, I got some bruises, and I learned some hard lessons the hard way. But I also lived to tell the story. Oddly enough I even found that while it wasn’t easy, it was worth it. When I made it to the bottom I found that, while I still had a healthy fear of the mountain, it was exhilarating to swallow the fear and take the chance!
This is the same look I’ve seen in our 3 Story groups. A little bit of fear, a lot of excitement and some expectations that learning to share our faith with people we already know may come with bumps along the way. Paul writes, "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6)
For those who are now in 3 Story groups, thank you for counting the cost, swallowing your fears, and heading down the mountain! For those who haven’t "headed up the mountain" yet, there will be more opportunities later this spring.
It’s not been a great day for getting things done, but the church is in hardcore "construction" mode with contractors and church people madly working on Phase 1. Last week we repainted the sanctuary and this week we are rebuiliding the stage. The stage part has gone very well as we’ve removed the old one and framed up the new one. We just have to run some electrical/sound wiring and we’ll be ready to put up the sub-floor. Early next week the new hardwood goes in on the stage and a lower platform gets built. After this it is carpet time in the sanctuary and the pews will have to be taken care of to match the new interior.
The outside renovations have hit a bit of a snag with some colder weather. We are at the point where the contractors really need the weather to be about 40 degrees and we’ve been lucky to get to 30. But this is also coming along and we hope to still have this all wrapped up by Easter.