Category: hmm… thoughts

Just a random thought here this morning. As I’m eating my Cheerios I’m having one of those "deep thoughts" moments. Do you ever wish humans had tails?

With our dog Stoney and our cat Violet, we can tell a lot about their mood just by watching their tails. Violet had a low tail as she swept in to the breakfast table to knock over Paul’s milk for a drink. Stoney then had a high wagging tail as he came and drank the spilled milk off of the floor. Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks about tail wagging.

Think about this. Wouldn’t it be cool if humans had a tail to express body language with? Wouldn’t it be cooler to have a nifty tail to help us keep our balance?

Back to the Cheerios

This may come as a surprise. But I am certain that Bob and I have been a part of every step of Phase 1. I’m not bragging or saying that have ever played a significant role, but it’s been fun for both of us to take off our khaki’s and lend a hand where ever we’ve been able to.

After months of simple labor projects here is my observation: I’m in the right business. I don’t like getting my hands dirty, but I’ll do it if I have to. I am not good at being both strong and gentle, so I break stuff. Little details of construction are lost on me. I have a strong respect for those who do construction… even stronger after the taste tests I’ve gotten.

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

Going Faster in the Christian Life by Dennis Rupert

Fasting: A Study in the Scriptures by Diane Dew