10.28.05
Beside the folks I’ve met and the folk’s who’ve known me
What will be left when I’ve drawn my last breath
Besides the folks I’ve met and the folks who’ve known me
Will I discover a soul-saving love
Or just the dirt above and below me
I’m a doubting Thomas
I took a promise
But I do not feel safe
Oh me of little faith
Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face
Then I beg to be spared cause I’m a coward
If there’s a master of death
I bet he’s holding his breath
As I show the blind and tell the deaf about his power
I’m a doubting Thomas
I can’t keep my promises
Cause I don’t know what’s safe
Oh me of little faith
Can I be used to help others find truth
When I’m scared I’ll find proof that it’s a lie
Can I be led down a trail dropping bread crumbs
That prove I’m not ready to die
Please give me time to decipher the signs
Please forgive me for time that I’ve wasted
I’m a doubting Thomas
I’ll take your promise
Though I know nothin’s safe
Oh me of little faith
Nickel Creek
10.22.05
Words
Does the term “churched” bother anyone else?
As in “They don’t come from a churched home.” or “He’s not churched”.
Is this the goal? To get someone churched? What does that even mean? Does that mean they act right and dress right and come to the church building when its doors are open? It obviously doesnt indicate any kind of personal spirituality, otherwise we wouldn’t use it in the “churched home” sense.
Is it our goal just to get people “churched” or is it our goal to have people radically changing their lives in order to realize the Kingdom of God? If it is the latter, why do we still use that terminology?
The whole church growth movement, which focuses on getting people in the doors, is a good place for this term. We don’t care what your lives look like as long as we’re getting you to church. Church is good.
The other night, while talking about Fundamentalism in class, one of the ladies (a former fundie who belonged to Operation Rescue – a militant anti-abortion group) mentioned she had been to a church in columbus that represented the “enclave mentality”. This is when a group (mostly religious) begins to feel its under attack and puts up defenses in order to preserve a way of life. This is the beginning of fundamentalism. Some of them withdraw from the world while others devise ways to try and include the world. This is the church growth movement to me. We’ve devised ways to get the world in, and thats all that matters. Anyway, she was describing this church, with TV’s in the floor and a kid’s climbing area, food court, barber shop. I laughed and said “Grove City?” She looked a little shocked that I knew. Even more that it was a part of the denomination I am a part of.
When will we stop with the magic show and start demanding that our lives be like Christ commanded? When will we stop advertising (see post below) and start being the community? When will we get it in our heads that getting “churched” isn’t the goal?
10.21.05
Focus on what?
“Nearly every pastor is a salesman or a marketer of one kind or another because…we have a philosophy to sell. The best marketers and best salesmen will have more converts, will have more people, will take in more money.”
–H.B. London, Jr. – vice president of pastoral ministries at Focus on the Family
Prom Night
Corbin had a good idea to contact the principal of the Catholic school in Long Island who cancelled the prom and tell him we’ve got his back. Well, read the following two letters that the principal sent to “concerned” parents and you’ll have his back too. Fantastic:
March 05 Letter
September 05 Letter
To contact the school and it’s principal (Kenneth Hoagland):
Telephone: (516) 292-0200
Fax: (516) 292-0877
Postal Address: 1400 Glenn Curtiss Blvd., Uniondale, NY 11553
E-mail: info@kellenberg.org
10.18.05
Another one
Patron: “I want to know what books you have by Vince Flynn.”
Me: “Let me take a look for you. Was there a specific book you were looking for?”
Patron: “No, just wanting to see which ones you have.”
Me: “Ok, we have…” (then I list all the books)
Patron: “What was the one with ‘Kill’ in the title?”
10.13.05
in the reins
in the reins
Originally uploaded by Brandon Sipes.
Yeah dude. I’ve got it in my hands.
10.07.05
My friends…
Have you ever put writing off because you simply know you don’t have the words to express what happened? I haven’t written on here about my last two weeks because I simply haven’t had the words to say it properly.
My little chronological entry last time was a way of trying to skirt that. It helped remind me, and maybe some others, of what we had experienced together, but it certainly wouldn’t help those of you that were not a part of it.
I’m glad that Curt got to see Columbus. He had only really experienced Gahanna as columbus. He instead ate some of the best food and saw some of the best places. Excellent. But I think the best moment for me when he was here was the Denison Witmer show at Borders. Man, there was so much community, so much Kingdom present. Lots of people were in town and hanging out because of the pause (pregnant) between the redcay wedding and the wharton wedding. I’ll bet of the 60 or 70 people there, a third were LPers and friends from out of town. Sitting around, listening to Denison talk about his life, his music. And then talking afterwards with each other. Just some really excellent “being”…
This past weekend was Doug and Molly’s wedding. I don’t know what to say. I’ll have pictures soon enough. Missy and I went to the rehearsal dinner, saw our beautiful friends again. We hung out on the farm where doug and molly were to be united (offically at least…I kind of feel like the final uniting happened in the Springfield/Yellow Springs area – which had nothing to do with Missy and I, we only provided space). We ran through the ceremony, then went to dinner. An excellent dinner. Missy then went with the girls and I went with the guys to Victorian’s Midnight Cafe. What a good time. Pipes and scooter helmet. Blake singing. Eric and Chimay. Open Mic dude. Do it.
We arrived at the wedding the next day in the early afternoon. We helped set some stuff up, threw some frisbee, ate some Johnny’s, and generally hung out. Kyle thinks the Kingdom is looking more and more like the 70’s while Doug thinks Kyle looks like he and Kelsie are off a Boston album cover.
The wedding.
Those of us who wanted to sat on quilts right next to Doug and Molly. We were WITH THEM as they united. We were all united. One being, one body, one truth, one Kingdom. People read poetry, prose, sang, cried, laughed, smiled, ached, hurt, and announced the Kingdom through it all. Especially powerful were the comments made by Nicole and Kyle about their friends Doug and Molly who were now sitting with the rest of us on the ground. They could have been comments about us all. In fact, they were comments about us all. About all of our love, our hurt, our suffering, our joy. We were all one love brother, one heart. And the rest of the day we knew it…we lived it.
I’m still living it. I’ve realized so much in the last few weeks how much I’m connected to all of you…every single person who is reading this, and others who are not. You are my joy, my pain, my happiness, my suffering, my love, my history, my future, and especially my present. You are the Kingdom my brothers and sisters. I love you.
