MeWorld

I thought this was a great post by a blogger I follow. Give it a quick read.

back to work?

I don't know. I have an interview for a job I think I'd like, but mostly I'm like any fresh from college kid right now. Completely unnecessary and with the 10 years to wait for the economy to improve. Only I don't have 10 years cause at 51 I WILL be past my prime(mom). Read this.

which Republican?

This was a good post and I really like Michelle Bachmann. I'm scared she won't get the nomination but I know she is the kind of person I would support for President. Remember, unless conservative, thoughtful Jesus followers vote the chasm continues to grow between what we once were even as far back as the 80s to what we are now.

no perfect work

I just had a job for a day. I neglected to tell people about cause I didn't know if I should be excited or worried. It was at Costco and I worked(for the day) front end. Now I knew that this was a retail business and even though I've tried to avoid retail, times have been tight, for everyone, and I haven't worked in a while due to residency issues. So, after standing in a job fair line for over an hour, I got an interview that called me back for a second interview. And I was hopeful that I could do it.

Obviously I interviewed well the second time and I liked the warehouse manager and was offered the job. But while there are some things I know I can do that are out of my education and experience, this wasn't one of them. My time as a glorified bag boy, hurried packing awkward giant boxes into a cart or boxes like a game of Tetris viewed from the top, was miserable. So many people, so fast, such impatient managers, and I knew upon leaving for the day I probably wouldn't be back. I want to work but this was just overwhelming.

Now before you consider judging me remember I'm not like you. We all have different personalities and gifts and sensitivities. This job was just outside of my range. I hope to find something soon. I learned something about myself so I hope that was the important thing.

Onward and upward

just a little

How sweet are words of encouragement from friends. Thanks.

don't be an egg-no-ray-moose

I don't want to write the whole great article I just read, like some pastors that would reteach their sermon in the closing prayer, but this is one of the most important things I've read about the church as it is today. It seems you're either one of two churches, one that does things as they've been done since the 1950s and one that wants to attract people that have never been to church before. But if you're the second one what do you do with the people that aren't historically part of the culture? Biblical ignorance is rampant and it really affects the church because ultimately people's daily lives aren't being changed.

Anyway, here's the article. My biggest passion is empowering people to be unpaid pastors, at work and in their local church. Not knowing the Bible is the biggest impedance to doing that.

Onward and upward

Your resurrection

Since going to Beulah Camp Meeting this last week, this revelation has changed my life. It really shouldn't have changed my life, since I've been reciting the Apostle's Creed for years, but I guess you can say something from memory and not connect with it in any meaningful way. But Dr. Steve Lennox preached really deep sermons on the Creed and I feel like my faith has gained something new. Nobody ever talked about a bodily resurrection at any time during seminary and I guess I've truly stayed the faith of my youth, and we certainly never talked about it.

Well, I just finished reading Miracles by CS Lewis and look forward to Keith Drury's Common Ground and Mike Licona's The Resurrection of Jesus. Good cigar books probably but I look forward to them.

Anyway, if you want to know more, here's a brief synopsis of my excitement on a site I often visit. Hope it changes you too.

CH Spurgeon on books

One of my cigar smoking brothers that I'll be excited to meet in heaven, CH Spurgeon, believed in the value of books. I've got lots of them. I think they're of great value for smart people as well as people that want to be smart. I'll get rid of lots of things with my next move, but my books won't be one of them.

Mark Driscoll

This doesn't encourage my hope in the megachurch. Apparently Mark Driscoll can say whatever he wants. Now I'm not exactly following this guy or holding him up as a banner of the faith, but I do believe men need to be men. But just what are we going to do to teach the ones that aren't our children or part of our youth ministries? Surely not what Driscoll does.

No bully pastors. I don't see it in the Bible.

Onward and upward

what were you thinking?

If you'd never been to church or had any friends or history there, what would you expect it to be like? It seems the only attention the church is given in movies and TV is the Catholic church, and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've been in one in my life. So, what is a place you would want to go and just hang out?

I bet it would be like a combination concert/sporting event/bar. Cheers always said a place "where everybody knows your name." For me, it would have to have great music. I mean, at least semi professional level musicians-people that wouldn't be out of place in a bar band. There would need to be general excitement and proper publicity for when these meetings were going to take place. There would also need to be elements of my world there-a little of the regular music I love, the TV and movies I watch-that kind of stuff. This would be included in the sermons, and we'd all get to preach if we wanted to. I mean, not all at the same time but there shouldn't be significant separation between the people and the staff of the church. Sermons would cover growing as a follower of Jesus stuff as well as becoming a follower.

There would also need to be places where we could get together apart from these big group meetings. Places and times designed to help people really get to know each other and be open and honest. Getting together over good food and adult beverages and maybe an after dinner cigar. Opportunities for people to let their hair down in a Jesus-following environment. I'm kind of an academic type so I like to read really good books on philosophy/apologetics-type stuff and I'd love to talk about them with other like minded people. Seems it might be nice to me to do this with other guys since I know my wife might like a similar experience with other women.

Anyway, pleasant dreaming, no?

Onward and upward

on being the new kid

Everyone will probably be one once. The brand new person that nobody knows anything about. Nowhere to sit in the lunchroom-you don't know what other kids are like you. But it happens all your life. And so few of us will ever have a chance to let people know who we really are without an extended introduction period that lasts until the natives say it's over. And that can last literal years. But isn't it so nice when one of those natives accepts you ahead of time? Maybe you've had that experience-when someone reaches over and makes you feel welcome before their friends think you deserve it. Or starts including you in things before you have proven yourself worthy to other friends and colleagues.

If you're a Christ follower, be that person. REALLY love your neighbor-at work, at school, at church, and that club/thing you lead.

onward and upward

a package deal

I don't know which is harder for people, going through bad fundamentalist phases as a Christian kid or finding out there are parts of the Bible you don't like as an adult. I know the cold alienation I got as a high school kid that told his friends they were living a wrong lifestyle. I didn't get invited to many parties where I would get the opportunity to turn down drinking, drugs, and premarital sex. But it must also be hard to have lived a life where most things were acceptable to find out since connecting with Jesus that some of your current lifestyle has always been holding you back. Or finding that you can't be as open minded as you thought you needed to be to be the coveted "politically correct" person you so value. Jesus never said being a Christian would be hard. He said it would be impossible. We do it with God and other Christians.

Why Worry, Atheist?

I thought this was a good article for those of us accustomed to being accosted by the atheist's fight against anything reeking of faith in God.

assume the best

I think the internet has been really tough on personal relationships. I believe that those among us that are introverts and passive-aggressive conflict avoiders are much quicker to interpret what's been said as posts on twitter, Facebook, and blogs like this one. I would rather you dialog with me as to what I mean exactly rather than jump to conclusions that you know what I'm talking about. This blog is just me and my sometimes internal ramblings which may be raw and nervy at times. If we're really friends in the first place just talk to me if you think I'm going crazy. Having said all this...

I go to a great church. Ministry as a staff member AT ANY CHURCH has not been a good thing for me. All churches are limited by what they can do with secular, non-Jesus familiar people and therefore can't really do ministry as the New Testament speaks about. After all, we don't have community possessions and live together. That might make working out problems with each other a little easier. And a little harder. Working out problems with others is just hard, but if they're brothers and sisters in Jesus it's what we have to do. And hopefully we all care enough to do that.

Onward and upward

whatever is necessary

I kind of wanted to follow up on a post the from the other day. I don't know if the unrest I'm feeling is that I'm getting ready to start a church or just dissatisfaction. I just see ministry being done so poorly it just really makes me want to do it myself. As I said before, for me ministry is not in the church, and if all my work week is spent planning worship services, am I really hanging out with people that need to know Jesus? I don't think Jesus or Paul spent all week planning a worship service or their next series of sermons. I think it was spent hanging out with people that wanted a life change. I know pastors have to stick with denominational standards so they can't exactly hang out with non-followers of Jesus in a bar or where "evil" things might happen. I and others that feel like me don't have those hangups. I feel that I learned a lot of these ideas from Blue Like Jazz, which as I understand will be out in theaters as a movie soon. I think it changed me forever, maybe some not in a good way.

not legit

I have a lot of friends who are in the ministry full-time, as a life and career choice. It was a choice that I thought I'd made too at one time in my life, but God had other plans, and I was driven off from almost every ministry job I ever had. Maybe I never had the personality to be a pastor, because I'm sure they know that the sheep are not always docile. I felt a need to confront people on their attitudes and behaviors, but maybe that's not what one does. Anyway, for me, I did not feel it was a legit career. Let me explain.

I did not like planning and reading. I loved preaching a weekly sermon but I still feel that the average church attender thinks pastoral staff only works one a day a week. I also wanted to be around non-Christians more, even though many of the people attending are nominal or non-Christians. So, if I ever do it again...

It won't be my day job. I will work at something that allows me to build relationships with those that don't know Jesus. I will eat with them, drink and smoke cigars with them, be a friend and confidant, and hopefully their preacher on the weekend. My faith will never be watered down and my character won't be compromised. Because this is my understanding of the early church fathers and even Jesus-they stood out for being different in character. But they related to normal people on their level, whatever they happened to be doing.

Singing tonight in a voice recital. My first ballad.

onward and upward

Ministering from the Outside

I hope this topic stays with the theme of my blog but I'm writing it on here anyway. It's very difficult to have been in professional ministry, whatever that is, and go back to being a church paean. I have so many ideas about things that would make the mission of the organization fulfilled, but no one to talk to about them. Or if there is talking there is no implementation.

I just read an interesting article by Perry Noble, the guy who pastors a complex of churches in South Carolina, about the things he wants from the people he works with. Where does that leave the people outside the professional staff? Did Paul or Jesus only work with the professionals or all those who were committed to the cause of seeing people become Christians and grow in that life? I'll bet it was the second one...

So, to all the pastors out there, remember those who were in ministry full-time but had to leave it for good reasons; maybe we have some good advice to offer. Or maybe we've already offered it and you haven't followed through. If you want those people to hang around maybe you should involve them. If not maybe they'll go somewhere they can be more involved.

But maybe this is just advice from someone that desperately needs a job to stop thinking about dead end issues, like what I used to do and where I used to be. I sure hope not.

Onward and upward.

Still seeing the Enemy

I thought I was through discussing the school I worked for here but I guess not. I seem to keep running into people that worked there or had dealings with me as principal and just wish I could disappear. I rehearse all the things I did during that one year of work and always feel that I did what God would have me do, and yet when I see someone, I always feel ashamed. I responded with integrity and prudence and still feel embarrassed. I put up a quote from Buddy Hackett recently about not holding a grudge cause it's only hurting me. The other person is dancing. I don't want them to suffer or even acknowledge that they've done wrong. I just want to feel that I did my best there and that God approves. But God is very quiet. And even those old "friends" all feel like enemies now.

I just want to stay home.

Love Wins review

Another great review by a Christian philosopher of the Rob Bell book. I hope you'll like it too. I'm also looking for a great book reminiscent of the writing style of CS Lewis or GK Chesterton if anyone would like to make a recommendation.

a smart review of Love Wins

I'm so glad someone intelligent did this, but a real Bible scholar cared to review Rob Bell's new book. I don't mind saying I'm not super Bible literate, although I've been reading it or listening to stories and sermons about it my whole life. I loved Rob Bell's sermon "Covered in the Dust of the Rabbi" that I heard years ago, but he seems to be interested in the whole emergent "we're all one family" thing. That has just never set right with me.

Anyway, here's the review.

the Kiss

I guess since I'm up early, I might as well blog.

Well, since Victoria Jackson, former SNL funny lady, has blogged about the gay kiss on Glee this week, I thought I would at least support what she's saying. She may be branded as a bit of a loony but I think she's OK with that. People on youtube are absolute sheep in the culture war and condone the "anything goes" attitude that says you can go beyond posting that Rebecca Black's "Friday" video is "terrible pop music" to "you should kill yourself."

Jackson is right. It's not OK for 2 men, or women to kiss each other. The Bible is clear about this and other sins. It's just tough for those of us that once thought this was a Judaeo-Christian culture to see what it is now, and that seems to not just be secular but anti-Christian.

And while you're over on youtube, you should watch and comment on my singing. I would really appreciate it. It's relatively wholesome.