Here it is....comments encouraged.
Matthew 9: 10-13. “Doctor, Doctor, Give me the News”
In three verses there sure is a lot to talk about. These words of Jesus are powerful, but once you begin to grasp the historical and political contexts, the message of Christ is all the more scandalous. I’m going to explore the historical context first, then, I’ll bring us right up to today. I hope you don’t get too bored, but I plan to show you how people really haven’t changed in 2,000 years, how we’re still fighting the same fights, and that Jesus words are still as true today as they were when they left is lips. So here we go.
1. Setting the Scene/The What
Matthew’s gospel informs us that Jesus was sitting and eating dinner with other guests. Some translations use the word “reclining”. (interpreters bible, New American Standard Bible) That word reclining gives us a bit of a different picture- Jesus wasn’t having a power lunch, he and his disciples were guests- he was hanging out. And with whom? Tax-collectors and sinners. Today, the IRS isn’t a very popular institution and taxes really don’t make much sense to me, but at least they’re under the guise of honesty. In Jesus’ context, tax-collectors were some of the most hated people on the planet. Here in the Roman system, called “tax-farming”, rights to tax over a certain area were leased out to individuals who could afford it for a flat fee. Local aristocrats who obtained the rights would then try to collect more than the fee in order to profit by the arrangement, with an obvious potential for abuse. (New Oxford Annotated Bible) The actual TAX-COLLECTORS were sort of like underlings who were faced with lots of pressure to bring in as much money as possible and were thus despised by the populace. These are the people Jesus kept company with, verse 10: “And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting (reclining) with him and his disciples”
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Thoughts
1. My buddy Jeremy got married this past weekend. I'm starting to catch myself thinking about reception decorations, help! Seriously, it was a lovely weekend and i'm happy for the Ventresca's.
2. Saw Pirates 3. Basically, see my Spider Man review below and substitute pirates for super heros. Too much too much too much, ugh. They just added plot elements and expected everyone to know what they were (like the pieces of 9, what is that?) I couldn't keep up with all the backstabbing. Whats the deal with trilogy's man? The matrix- 1st one, one of the best movies of my generation. The other two? Bad news. Same goes with Pirates. Spider Man 2 suffered the same fate, I hope Shrek doesn't.
3. I'm currently reading "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whew, it's tough. Makes me feel like a weenie Christian.
4. Thats all for now, more thoughts later this week hopefully.
5. Oh ya, i'm preaching on Sunday. I'll post my sermon in sections, comments welcome. I'm also hoping to post some questions after Sunday for my congregation to check out. Aren't I trendy!?!?!?!?!?
2. Saw Pirates 3. Basically, see my Spider Man review below and substitute pirates for super heros. Too much too much too much, ugh. They just added plot elements and expected everyone to know what they were (like the pieces of 9, what is that?) I couldn't keep up with all the backstabbing. Whats the deal with trilogy's man? The matrix- 1st one, one of the best movies of my generation. The other two? Bad news. Same goes with Pirates. Spider Man 2 suffered the same fate, I hope Shrek doesn't.
3. I'm currently reading "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whew, it's tough. Makes me feel like a weenie Christian.
4. Thats all for now, more thoughts later this week hopefully.
5. Oh ya, i'm preaching on Sunday. I'll post my sermon in sections, comments welcome. I'm also hoping to post some questions after Sunday for my congregation to check out. Aren't I trendy!?!?!?!?!?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Updates.
-last weekend confirmed 27 seventh graders into our church. yes!
-last weekend, moved out of apartment as our lease was up.
-this weekend, attending former roomates wedding in Camdenton, MO.
-tomorrow, summer intern starts.
-tonight, picking up best friend from the airport, as he's been teaching in France for a year.
-preaching at our church, June 3.
i'm pooped. not much room for blogging right now, sorry.
-last weekend, moved out of apartment as our lease was up.
-this weekend, attending former roomates wedding in Camdenton, MO.
-tomorrow, summer intern starts.
-tonight, picking up best friend from the airport, as he's been teaching in France for a year.
-preaching at our church, June 3.
i'm pooped. not much room for blogging right now, sorry.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
New Project
2 things.
One, head over to www.espngod.blogspot.com to see something new, join me!
Howie, i've got a reply waiting in the the "edit post" section, and I just want to do a good job with it. Hold tight!
Later.
One, head over to www.espngod.blogspot.com to see something new, join me!
Howie, i've got a reply waiting in the the "edit post" section, and I just want to do a good job with it. Hold tight!
Later.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Spider Man 3 Review
(warning: quasi-spoilers ahead)
I'm proud to say I was part of the biggest box office opening weekend in history, and at $11 for a ticket, I certainly did my part. I was pretty excited about Spidey 3, and the entourage of friends from church and other various acquaintences totaling about 20. We went to the 10:10pm showing on "The Mega Screen" that our Galaxy theatre has. I'm pretty sure you could see this thing from space, so that was awesome. The line was literally to the parking lot, it was insane. I'd like to reccomend www.fandango.com for ticket purchasing, very convienient.
Ok, onto the movie. All in all, I was entertained and glad I saw it. That being said, I do have some thoughts.
Part of what made Spider Man 1 and 2 so great is that even though comic book movies are ridiculous, they treated them seriously. Dr. Octopus was one of the best villains ever, because they gave him dignity by showing more than him scaleing buildings and robbing banks (although that was really cool).
But Spider Man 3 doesn't do that. It has developed similar strategies as the latter Batman Movies, or as I like to call it: X-Men syndrome. IT'S ALL TOO MUCH. Rather than having 3 villains with 3 plots that didn't really get the proper time spent on them, why not have one AWESOME main villain, like Doc-Oc with Harry Osbourne as an ongoing sub-plot? I just thought that Sandman, Venom, and Hobgoblin were all too cool to have just thrown them together, and not really do any of them justice. Also, this movie is a little too self-effacing, and the cheese factor was just too high. There's one montage that spoofs "stayin alive" and Peter Parkers looks exactly like the dude from Brighteyes.
Ultimately, there was no way I wasn't going to like this movie. However, it's definately my least favorite of the Spider Man's so far, and I hope they do at least one more to redeem this cheesy effort. With record setting weekends, you know they will.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
The latest Beard Salute
In what is I believe our 3rd or 4th installment, i'd like to salute Baron Davis' beard. The Golden State Warriors point guard has worn a goatee for a while, but really is lettin the beard rock this year, and it's working. The Warriors are in the 2nd round of the playoff's, and pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NBA history beating the 1 seed Dallas Mavericks as a number 8 seed.
Good job Baron, and keep the beard lookin fresh.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Quote
In my post below, I hope I didn't come off as one of those "got it all figured out guys". I'm reading "Orthodoxy" by G.K. Chesterton and I think he has a great example of Christian SUPERnatural thought, vs. the naturalist explaination of the order of things:
"All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption: a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork...Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"' and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhpas God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy seperately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."
"All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption: a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork...Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"' and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhpas God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy seperately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."
Monday, April 23, 2007
The Problem
Hello blog people. I know entries have been a little spotty, but this should be a little thicker than posts of late. Last night John Drage from The Rock spoke at our High School youth worship, and he really put the capstone on lots of things that have been floating around my head, mostly from books i've been reading, which in the following paragraphs I will blatently plunder and pass off as my own thoughts.
In America, we've got phrases like "culture war" in our vocabluary. You can use that phrase for all sorts of trends/cultures/beliefs in our country, but I will present the "war" between Christianity and Naturalism (which we will define shortly). Just look at the litigation in recent years over curriculum in schools and separation of church and state, the whole "In God We Trust" on our currency, the battles over "one nation under God" in the pledge of allegiance, the recent "Lost Tomb of Jesus" stuff in print and on Discovery channel, TIME/People magazine going to the well for another "God vs. Science" coverstory every 3 months...I could go on. There's clearly a division among worldviews in our country. I will attempt to outline 2 in my meager way, and then reveal that we have the same problem on both sides of the spectrum.
I will define a Christian as one who believes in an eternal, personal God who is the author of creation, who revealed himself through the inspired holy scriptures (i'll leave what scriptures are included as scriptures and how they are interpreted up to the reader for simplicities sake) and ultimately in his begotten son Jesus Christ, and continues to reveal himself through the holy spirit. The Christian believes that the universe IS ordered and that there IS a moral/ethical absolutre and his name is Jesus Christ. I've tried to make this definition pretty generic, as most Christians couldn't agree what exactly a Christian is, which is kind of funny and sad at the same time. Anyways, moving on.
I will define a naturalist as one who does not believe in the existance of an eternal, personal God. The universe is a mysterious result of time + chance, yet this mystery can be "unlocked" or observed through impirical, observable evidence and rational reasoning. Mankind arrived through natural selection and therefore through his rational thought, progress, and advancement can make his own parameters about his past, present, and future with no absolutes other than whatever is existential.
Obviously, you can sense my bias towards the former, but here a goes.
The problem is this: Niether the Christian NOR the Naturalist REALLY believes what they say they believe. (or at least, not to the extent that they think they do. Read that last part again and see if it makes more sense the second time.)
The Christian is too lawless and the Natuaralist is not lawless enough.
As Dallas Willard points out, you can have a Christian family and a secular family living on the same street and you wouldn't know the difference. I'm not just pointing the finger here, i'm right up there with everyone else. If we REALLY think that Jesus REALLY existed and the story is not just a story with a nice moral code but a call to REALLY live wholly/holy and participate in the Kingdom of God then we are not doing a really good job, at all, across the board historically, and currently in every arena of American life- economically in our giving and stewardship, socially in our compassion, corporately in our churches, and MOST IMPORTANTLY personally in our relationships. We are too lawless- we are not living by Jesus command to love God and love neighbor, period. (is it neccessary to put an actually period after the emphatic word period that ends a sentance? Interesting digression...)
On the other end of the spectrum, the naturalist has not adequately dealt with his claims either. For if there is no God, no order from whence we were created, and as the naturalist doctrine claims- we are just a different configuration of natural elements, then there is no order or reason by which they can substantiate their very championing of reason and rationalization. Chaos does not move towards order. In less confusing terms, if we have no higher reason to think about any one but ourselves, then there is no absolute good and evil other than whatever we rationalize for ourselves. Therefore, whatever is immediately good for me and only me according to my "natural" instinct is how I should behave. Naturalists cannot claim that man has no higher purpose but then appeal to a higher purpose of reason in defense of man living for "the common good". The naturalist is not living as lawlessly as he contends the nature of the universe is.
The common thread is what Francis A. Schaeffer refers to as "Personal peace and affluence". We've all got it made. As Americans, and particularly where I live in West St. Louis County, we're comfy. Do I REALLY depend on God for "daily bread"? NO! Literally i've got bread thats probably to old to eat in my crisper drawer, and figurativley i've got all these plans and then try to include God somewhere in there. Other scholars (and this is what prompted my mention of John as he did a great job of outlining this for us on Sunday night) point to a historical period referred to as panem et circenses, or bread and circuses. Basically, as long as our needs are met and we're entertaining ourselves, we don't realize the rut we've gotten ourselves into, neither the Christian or the Naturalist.
So all of this "culture war" between religious/Christian and secular society is really just silly because both of us are in bed with our own comfort. As Christians, we will verify our claims to truth by the difference we make in our communities and the world (or rather, the difference God makes through us because of the difference God makes in us). So who cares if you're arguing about creationism vs. big bang vs. evolution vs. intelligent design if you don't LIVE LIKE YOU WERE INTELLIGENTLY DESIGNED (fearfully and wonderfully made!). Who cares what your kids are learning at school if you don't model it at home. For the Christian- we have a higher calling and we better act like it. For the naturalist- why do you really care if we all just die anyway?
But the problem is the same for both, we don't really behave like we believe. Jesus addressed this in his life on Earth, and perhaps we can have a nice discussion around this subject because i'm tired of typing and pretty much out of things to say right now. Peace.
In America, we've got phrases like "culture war" in our vocabluary. You can use that phrase for all sorts of trends/cultures/beliefs in our country, but I will present the "war" between Christianity and Naturalism (which we will define shortly). Just look at the litigation in recent years over curriculum in schools and separation of church and state, the whole "In God We Trust" on our currency, the battles over "one nation under God" in the pledge of allegiance, the recent "Lost Tomb of Jesus" stuff in print and on Discovery channel, TIME/People magazine going to the well for another "God vs. Science" coverstory every 3 months...I could go on. There's clearly a division among worldviews in our country. I will attempt to outline 2 in my meager way, and then reveal that we have the same problem on both sides of the spectrum.
I will define a Christian as one who believes in an eternal, personal God who is the author of creation, who revealed himself through the inspired holy scriptures (i'll leave what scriptures are included as scriptures and how they are interpreted up to the reader for simplicities sake) and ultimately in his begotten son Jesus Christ, and continues to reveal himself through the holy spirit. The Christian believes that the universe IS ordered and that there IS a moral/ethical absolutre and his name is Jesus Christ. I've tried to make this definition pretty generic, as most Christians couldn't agree what exactly a Christian is, which is kind of funny and sad at the same time. Anyways, moving on.
I will define a naturalist as one who does not believe in the existance of an eternal, personal God. The universe is a mysterious result of time + chance, yet this mystery can be "unlocked" or observed through impirical, observable evidence and rational reasoning. Mankind arrived through natural selection and therefore through his rational thought, progress, and advancement can make his own parameters about his past, present, and future with no absolutes other than whatever is existential.
Obviously, you can sense my bias towards the former, but here a goes.
The problem is this: Niether the Christian NOR the Naturalist REALLY believes what they say they believe. (or at least, not to the extent that they think they do. Read that last part again and see if it makes more sense the second time.)
The Christian is too lawless and the Natuaralist is not lawless enough.
As Dallas Willard points out, you can have a Christian family and a secular family living on the same street and you wouldn't know the difference. I'm not just pointing the finger here, i'm right up there with everyone else. If we REALLY think that Jesus REALLY existed and the story is not just a story with a nice moral code but a call to REALLY live wholly/holy and participate in the Kingdom of God then we are not doing a really good job, at all, across the board historically, and currently in every arena of American life- economically in our giving and stewardship, socially in our compassion, corporately in our churches, and MOST IMPORTANTLY personally in our relationships. We are too lawless- we are not living by Jesus command to love God and love neighbor, period. (is it neccessary to put an actually period after the emphatic word period that ends a sentance? Interesting digression...)
On the other end of the spectrum, the naturalist has not adequately dealt with his claims either. For if there is no God, no order from whence we were created, and as the naturalist doctrine claims- we are just a different configuration of natural elements, then there is no order or reason by which they can substantiate their very championing of reason and rationalization. Chaos does not move towards order. In less confusing terms, if we have no higher reason to think about any one but ourselves, then there is no absolute good and evil other than whatever we rationalize for ourselves. Therefore, whatever is immediately good for me and only me according to my "natural" instinct is how I should behave. Naturalists cannot claim that man has no higher purpose but then appeal to a higher purpose of reason in defense of man living for "the common good". The naturalist is not living as lawlessly as he contends the nature of the universe is.
The common thread is what Francis A. Schaeffer refers to as "Personal peace and affluence". We've all got it made. As Americans, and particularly where I live in West St. Louis County, we're comfy. Do I REALLY depend on God for "daily bread"? NO! Literally i've got bread thats probably to old to eat in my crisper drawer, and figurativley i've got all these plans and then try to include God somewhere in there. Other scholars (and this is what prompted my mention of John as he did a great job of outlining this for us on Sunday night) point to a historical period referred to as panem et circenses, or bread and circuses. Basically, as long as our needs are met and we're entertaining ourselves, we don't realize the rut we've gotten ourselves into, neither the Christian or the Naturalist.
So all of this "culture war" between religious/Christian and secular society is really just silly because both of us are in bed with our own comfort. As Christians, we will verify our claims to truth by the difference we make in our communities and the world (or rather, the difference God makes through us because of the difference God makes in us). So who cares if you're arguing about creationism vs. big bang vs. evolution vs. intelligent design if you don't LIVE LIKE YOU WERE INTELLIGENTLY DESIGNED (fearfully and wonderfully made!). Who cares what your kids are learning at school if you don't model it at home. For the Christian- we have a higher calling and we better act like it. For the naturalist- why do you really care if we all just die anyway?
But the problem is the same for both, we don't really behave like we believe. Jesus addressed this in his life on Earth, and perhaps we can have a nice discussion around this subject because i'm tired of typing and pretty much out of things to say right now. Peace.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Cards Game
Got some sweet tickets to the Cards game last Saturday. 17 rows behind home! It was freezing and we payed way too much for hot chocolate, but it was still a blast. They're above .500 now! In other news, i've finished Rob Bell's Sex God. Despite the provocative title, it's a really good book.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
23
Is it just me, or does Don Imus look like Magneto's grandpa?
In other news, i'm 23 years old today. Kind of a lack luster birthday. One of the only real implications is whether i'm in my early twenties or my mid twenties now. I contend that i'm in my late-early twenties. Car insurance will drop at 25, so I guess i'm looking forward to that!
In other news, i'm 23 years old today. Kind of a lack luster birthday. One of the only real implications is whether i'm in my early twenties or my mid twenties now. I contend that i'm in my late-early twenties. Car insurance will drop at 25, so I guess i'm looking forward to that!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Easter Eve
It's about the 3rd post in a row i've started off with a "gosh I haven't posted anything in a while" mindset.
If you'd like to check out some devo's and something with a little more depth, check out www.lwyouth.org
If you'd like to hear some random thoughts i've had, read on.
People I think are creepy/annoying:
-The guy from the UPS "whiteboard" commercials
-The Dyson vaccum guy
-Joakim Noah (Florida Gators basketball star)
Stuff that i've recently found (or continue to find) awesome:
-www.phonezoo.com
-men's wearhouse
-Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs
-power tools (i've recieved a drill for my upcoming birthday)
-dual meat dishes (chili dogs, chicken cord-on-blue, etc. I think i've went over this a while ago.)
-no easter sunrise service
-lo-carb energy drinks
Other thoughts:
-blades of glory was hillarious
-remember when raising the roof was cool?
-Easter should be the same weekend as passover
-turning 23 isn't that cool, can't wait until 25 when the car insurance drops
-the more I learn about taxes, the more I learn i'm getting screwed. although, here's something I do...i know that the US gives foriegn aid to Africa and other places. I just imagine that all the money out of my check goes there! it makes paying 30% of your check almost fun!
-the Cardinals need to raise the payroll, geez. 1-4. awesome.
Well, I guess thats all for now. I hope everyone has a blessed Easter.
If you'd like to check out some devo's and something with a little more depth, check out www.lwyouth.org
If you'd like to hear some random thoughts i've had, read on.
People I think are creepy/annoying:
-The guy from the UPS "whiteboard" commercials
-The Dyson vaccum guy
-Joakim Noah (Florida Gators basketball star)
Stuff that i've recently found (or continue to find) awesome:
-www.phonezoo.com
-men's wearhouse
-Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs
-power tools (i've recieved a drill for my upcoming birthday)
-dual meat dishes (chili dogs, chicken cord-on-blue, etc. I think i've went over this a while ago.)
-no easter sunrise service
-lo-carb energy drinks
Other thoughts:
-blades of glory was hillarious
-remember when raising the roof was cool?
-Easter should be the same weekend as passover
-turning 23 isn't that cool, can't wait until 25 when the car insurance drops
-the more I learn about taxes, the more I learn i'm getting screwed. although, here's something I do...i know that the US gives foriegn aid to Africa and other places. I just imagine that all the money out of my check goes there! it makes paying 30% of your check almost fun!
-the Cardinals need to raise the payroll, geez. 1-4. awesome.
Well, I guess thats all for now. I hope everyone has a blessed Easter.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Back in the Motherland
We made it home from Mexico, to check out photos/videos go to lwyouth.org
I'm pretty tired.
Finished Dan Kimball's "They Like Jesus, But Not the Church". About 1/3 through Sam Harris' "The End of Faith". Whew.
Also was able to keep up with ESPN's Pardon the Interruption through podcasts. Sound good cause they free!
More, later?
I'm pretty tired.
Finished Dan Kimball's "They Like Jesus, But Not the Church". About 1/3 through Sam Harris' "The End of Faith". Whew.
Also was able to keep up with ESPN's Pardon the Interruption through podcasts. Sound good cause they free!
More, later?
Monday, March 19, 2007
Mexico
What up guys.
I'm in Mexico, with my computer and wireless internet! Cool!
Check out the youth web page for blog entries from south of the border, and some pics. As I write this they are taking a long time to load.
Again, sorry for the lack of posting, i've been busy boy. Who isn't?
Peace.
I'm in Mexico, with my computer and wireless internet! Cool!
Check out the youth web page for blog entries from south of the border, and some pics. As I write this they are taking a long time to load.
Again, sorry for the lack of posting, i've been busy boy. Who isn't?
Peace.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
New stuff
Hey gang.
Check out:
http://www.lwyouth.org
Thats what i've been doin the past couple days.
Leavin for Mexico on Saturday. I hope to have kids post things from there, maybe throw some pics up. More later.
Check out:
http://www.lwyouth.org
Thats what i've been doin the past couple days.
Leavin for Mexico on Saturday. I hope to have kids post things from there, maybe throw some pics up. More later.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Air Guitar
A month or so ago, the Blue Note in Columbia MO held an air guitar contest. I'm friends with the dude featured in the story, pretty hillarious. Check out the story here.
Customer Service
As a young male, it really bothers me when I walk into a store and am ignored by the employees who have obviously sized me up and deemed that I won't be a "big spender" and am therefore unworthy of courtesy. The worst examples of this are probably music stores. Where the dudes working treat you like an idiot and try to sell you some Fender Squire if they even talk to you at all. Arg!
Other exhibits include the odd glances and glassy stares of the cologne-perfume-behind-the-counter-ladies at Famous Barr/Macy's/Dillards/etc. As an "unkept" looking indvidual I often get passed over, or perhaps they're just intimidated by my man-size beard. I recall being at one of these stores as a child with my Father, trying to purchase some perfume for my Mom for her birthday or something. After no sales associates were of assistance my Dad literally got out his gold card, waved it above his head, and loudly proclaimed "I'VE GOT MONEY!!!"
Classic Brent Mustoe. I love it. Clearly a disdain for poor business practice is in my genes.
So, there's some background. Today I get on the phone with a guy from "Mac Headquarters" to ask them about whats wrong with my powerbook. After answering my query about how late they were open (which I asked in a very friendly tone by the way) I said: "So I have a couple more questions for you, can I just tell you whats going on with my Apple?" or something like that. He responds with some non-intelligable noise and then retorts in a demeaning tone "Uh....I guess". So I say: "I'm sorry, am I bothering you? I just want to buy some memory". Sensing my agitation, he makes up for it with: "Ya, I said I guess." Whatever.
The point is I hate when I.T. or computer dudes get all high and mighty as if you're an idiot. As a customer, I don't think I should get the impression that i'm inconviencing this guy when all i'm trying to do is drive half an hour to his store and buy a really expensive piece of plastic and copper. I can't stand indignant techies who are so mortified by the pleabians who can't do anything computer related for themselves.
The point? We can't do this as the church. "We" can't be like snobby Apple guy and get all high and mighty using our big fancy words and then scoffing when those who are new to the fold (or have made up the fold for quite some time for that matter) don't possess the same knowledge and passion for "our" terminology, history, and particular, granular theology. This certainly needs to be tempored with education, discipleship, and a call to conviction as sinners but let's not pretend that we're above that mentally or practically.
People in the church aren't customers and we shouldn't discriminate like the people at retail stores according to socioeconomic status...or even worse judging people's hearts and sinfull tendancies by outward things.
I hope my church models the value of every individual simply because they're created in God's image, not because we want another tither in our midst or a number to my attendance chart at youth group. Nothing repels a person more than being treated like they don't matter or maybe worse like they only matter because of their possible benfits.
Thats how people get treated in the economic realm, not the ecclesial one. (killer last line huh!?!?!?!)
Monday, March 05, 2007
Back in the saddle
Hello all my blog people.
Well, this officially ends my longest blog drought to date. Much like my friend Adam, I don't think i'll come up with some big apology. I haven't really had the muse upon me to blog, there's been a period of trial and sickness both in our congregation and my family, plus, I just got my laptop fixed today (more RAM, system re-install...UH, YOU'RE WELCOME!).
Also, I came to to the realization that not much of what I say matters. The blog is a great way to function, communicate, vent, ponder, share, etc. All of those good things. But at the same time...if I don't post for a month the world somehow soldiers on. That being said, i'm back!
I just finished "Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches" and it was a good read. I also have been emersed in C.S. Lewis and got back my Sam Harris book from whom I leant it, so I've got some pretty good material lined up I think.
So, hopefully more will be coming. Thanks for checking back.
Well, this officially ends my longest blog drought to date. Much like my friend Adam, I don't think i'll come up with some big apology. I haven't really had the muse upon me to blog, there's been a period of trial and sickness both in our congregation and my family, plus, I just got my laptop fixed today (more RAM, system re-install...UH, YOU'RE WELCOME!).
Also, I came to to the realization that not much of what I say matters. The blog is a great way to function, communicate, vent, ponder, share, etc. All of those good things. But at the same time...if I don't post for a month the world somehow soldiers on. That being said, i'm back!
I just finished "Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches" and it was a good read. I also have been emersed in C.S. Lewis and got back my Sam Harris book from whom I leant it, so I've got some pretty good material lined up I think.
So, hopefully more will be coming. Thanks for checking back.
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