Interactive Sermon

Preparing Our Hearts

Jesse and members of the World Famous Christ's Church Worship Band are preparing to lead us in song tomorrow morning.  Those songs will be aimed at both proclaiming God's glory and ministering assurance to our souls.

We will also worship the Lord tomorrow in observing the Lord's Supper at both services.  1 Corinthians 11:17-34 gives us much to consider as we would pause en route to the table.  I am particularly interested tonight, as I glance at that text again, in verse 34.  The admonishment to wait is more than a courtesy - like when you would wait to eat until everyone at the table has been served.  It is an admonishment to consider the brethren and to dwell in unity with them as you would come to the table.

For our consideration of the word tomorrow morning we will not be far from that 1 Corinthian text.  We will continue that idea of dwelling in unity as we parse our way into chapter 12.  If you'd like an advance read, that chapter should do.  While you're at it, give some thought to the phrase Church Distributed.  We'll talk in the morning.

Whether you attend the 9am or the 11am service, I look forward to sharing in worship of the Lord with you.

What's On My Mind?

McLaren's New Book ~ Bob Hyatt wrote down some of his thoughts on Brian McLaren's newest book entitled Finding Our Way Again.  You can check his thoughts here on his blog.  (Bob's blog is a regular stop for me.  While I'm at it, let me commend it to you.)  I am looking forward to picking this latest McLaren book up to read it myself.

The Distributed Church ~ I'm planning to teach on the Distributed Church on Sunday morning at Christ's Church, and then to revisit the message the following Sunday morning when it's my turn to bring a message at Grace Baptist.  I don't recall whether I've mentioned the developing friendship between the congregations at CCA and GBC here on the blog.  Short version: We learned back in December that the congregation at Grace was experiencing some trying times and could use some encouragement.  We have covenanted with them to assist with some pulpit supply and musicians for a season.  The result has been a real blessing.  Anyhow, back to the Distributed Church - I was listening to a message from 8 years ago about a relationship between two churches.  The preacher of one of those churches promised that the relationship basis of the Distributed Church was "for the long haul".  Those two churches really don't have a relationship today.  I've been praying.  What will the relationship between CCA and GBC look like in ten years?  Beyond?

Straight Six 200 ~ Yep, I've been thinking about the 1967 Mustang that has been patiently waiting in my garage for me to get back to her.  I have been thinking about it - it's time to get back to the restoration.  The engine is done.  The tranny and front suspension, too.  Body work is probably about 35% done.  If I could throw a couple weekends at it, I'd have it ready for the body shop.  I'm thrilled with the engine decision I made - staying with the original six cylinder, but powering it up.  Clifford Performance milled the head for me; increased her breathing; match ported the exhaust for headers running out to dual exhaust; provided a hotter cam; refurbished lifters, roller rockers, and performance push rods; a new balanced crank and hotter compression pistons.  I've also moved from the old Auto-lite 1 barrel carb to a Holley 2 barrel; added a performance ignition system and water and oil pumps.  She should be fun to drive.

Bachelor Days ~ Shari is off to visit her mom in Ohio for a bit.  That means pizza.  Burgers.  A bucket of chicken.  Grocery shop?  Who has time for that?

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Oops!

What do these two have in common?

Click here to find out. 

Technorati Tags: Michel Fournier,Dorothy

The Distributed Church pt. 8

The third tenet of the Distributed Church is an embrace of the importance of difference and distance to our overall identity.  We human beings tend, instead, to be drawn to assemble along lines of affinity and proximity.   

Start first with the matter of difference.  In the Apostle's Creed the church affirms our belief in the "holy, catholic church", noting the small 'c' - the universal church - believers of all times and places.  Yet, in practice, the church has been divided into numerous homogeneous factions.  Our unity, by and large, is evidenced along lines of affinity.  You've heard it said: The Sunday morning worship hour is the most segregated hour of the week.  People tend to assemble together on Sunday mornings with people who are very much like themselves - race, culture, preference, persuasion and so on.  But, it is relationships of difference that offer the most to our own identity.  Think about it, if it weren't for Presbyterians, we'd have no Baptists.  You Baptists should all give a Presbyterian a call and say, "Thanks, Bro!" 

Texts like Ephesians 4:7, 11-12 and 1 Corinthians 12 have most often been interpreted (preached and taught) as applicable within the context of a local congregation.  You can make a solid case, however, from the record of the book of Acts and by cross-referencing many of the epistles of the New Testament that the early church would have interpreted them outside of the local expression of the Body of Christ.  One of the most moving subplots, and often overlooked, in the New Testament beginnings of church history is the collection for the believers at Jerusalem from among all the gentile congregations the Apostle Paul visited.  It was a solid testimony of unity across as broad a line of difference as one could imagine.  And one of distance as well.

So, consider the matter of distance.  Most of the organizational/institutional structure seen in the church of our experience fosters to a very close-to-home perspective.  This is most often voiced, "I understand that there are starving children in Africa, but aren't there needy people right here at home, too?"  The answer is yes.  There is no shortage of needy people anywhere in the world.  But, it's not about meeting needs.  It's about being the Body of Christ, and an individual congregation being responsive to the doors the Lord opens.  In other words, not every local expression of the body is going to be presented with a door to a congregation in Africa.  Maybe the Lord will call a congregation to go somewhere really scary... like Canada!  This close-to-home mind set, if not challenged, can grow into a very healthy self-preservation instinct in the local church.  It can narrow from even the local community to the church property and within the four walls of the building quicker than the drop of a hat. 

The development of relationships of difference and distance serve to stimulate and compliment ministry in the local church.  God uses them to pull local expressions of the church beyond their comfort zones, to challenge their self-certainty (which I have found to be a very good thing... a conversation for another time and place) and to mature a much larger view of God, Himself.  The Distributed Church will not only think outside the box, it will begin to live outside the box.

If the philosophical exchange we need to make in the last two segments are from singular to both singular/plural (pt. 6), and from either/or to both/and (pt. 7), then the exchange we need to make here is from an us/them to simply an us mentality.  Where there are collections of souls naming the name Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are our brothers, and we are one with them.  The sort of unity that goes beyond rhetoric to action speaks, as John 17 tells us, of Jesus Christ.  For that reason, brothers and sisters of difference and distance are... us.

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon,Distributed Church,Ecclesiology

Preparing Our Hearts

As we prepare to gather and worship in the morning, give Leviticus 16 a read.  Not only is that the text we will consider together, it is also a text laden with instructions for the Old Testament era priests in preparing to enter into the Lord's presence on the Day of Atonement.  Those instructions aren't meant for us today, but they do speak of God's holiness and our depravity.

Speaking of which, Peter and the music team have a great set of music prepared for us to sing, including a David Crowder song that speaks of that very holiness and depravity.  There are a couple of great old hymns on the list - rich lyrics for us as we praise and worship our God.

Whether the 9AM or 11AM service at Christ's Church - or if you're among those who gather at Grace Baptist tomorrow with Richard and members the world famous Christ's Church Worship Band - I look forward to sharing in worship of our Lord together.

3 Chords & A Holiday Weekend

What else are you going to do with your Friday night? 

3 Chords & A Cloud of Dust is scheduled to play Shenanigans Restaurant & Bar tonight in Milford.  It's been more than a month since we've last played, so I'm excited to be back at it, and to gather with our friends again.  We've got four full sets ready to go tonight complete with many of your favorites and a few of our originals mixed in. 

I hope you will give your friends a call and plan on coming out for an evening of rock-n-roll and fun with us.

Shenanigans is located in Milford, one block west of the 101 overpass on 101-A, in Lorden's Plaza (where Shaw's Supermarket is located).

See you tonight!

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Celtic Way of Evangelism pt. 3

Currently reading and reviewing here on the blog.

In chapter two of Hunter's book, entitled A New Kind of Community, A New Kind of Life, the author shifts his attention to the spread of Irish Christianity over the generations following Patrick's death using these communities of believers.  A notable difference became evident between the Celtic church and the Roman church - the Celtic was more a movement and the Roman more an institution. 

The apostolic entourages mentioned in chapter one became Celtic monasteries.  They differed significantly with the monasteries of the Roman church.  Roman monasteries were organized for devout people to escape the world.  Celtic monasteries were organized with the express purpose of penetrating the world.  The Roman monasteries were intended as a retreat where religious people could cultivate their own souls.  Celtic communities of believers were intended to save other people's souls.  Roman monasteries were located in isolated locations.  Celtic bands settled in as close a proximity to communities or crossroads as possible.  Whereas monastic life in the Roman setting was filled with monks and nuns, the Celtic model had far more use for teachers, scholars, craftsman, artists, farmers, families and children.  Whereas one was an ecclesiastical enclave, the other was essentially a lay movement.  The Celtic way was a shared journey more than an individual's religious experience.  And, people got it.

The center section of this chapter speaks of a different zone of human concern into which Celtic Christianity seemed to speak.  While the Roman church had spoken to the empirical and sacred arenas of human life, the every-day existence level of the human experience went largely unaddressed.  Questions over the unknowns of the past, the crises of the present and the uncertainties of the immediate future weren't touched.  The Celtic community, however, shared the road of this every-day level in a way that satisfied.  The community, together, contemplated the things of their existence.

With the remainder of the chapter, the author includes contemplative prayer examples - settings in which the people prayed and considered the every-day in sacred terms and could interact with each step of their day in a sacred way.

My thoughts in, through, and over this chapter, moved to the church in a post-modern culture.  We've emerged (many of us) from an age (or manner of doing church) where things looked a lot like this chapter's Roman model.  That word emerge connotes an emerging out of something.  It also connotes emerging into something.  The picture painted of the Celtic model seems a type of the new paradigm we appear to be embodying - or at least, one we might prefer to the old manner of doing things.

Any thoughts? 

Do pray for me as I move on to chapter 3.  I'm really enjoying the content of this book.  I'm getting a migraine from the continued use scare quotes.  I may just write a strongly worded complaint to the publisher when I complete the read - or file a small claims lawsuit to cover the cost of Advil.

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon,The Celtic Way of Evangelism,George Hunter III,Ecclesiology

Heartbreak - Please Pray

Tragic news.  Join me in praying for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family.

Separated At Birth?

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon,The Joker,Chelsea Clinton

Chronicles of War pt. 10

Another segment of my historical fiction story.  You can find them all under the category Writing.

Fort Hindman stood some two miles inland from the swampy bivouac that Job Trites and the other Union soldiers had called home that January night. The advance against the fort would be nearly a steady incline. A half mile shy of Fort Hindman, a network of Rebel rife-pits and breastworks provided a last line of defense. These figured to be a most formidable obstacle to taking Arkansas Post.

Simple math advised Churchill that the Post was in peril – roughly 6000 Rebel troops were under his command to protect Fort Hindman. Nearly 32,000 Union Troops were forming beneath them. A dispatch to Churchill ordered that he and his men defend the Post until reinforcements arrived, or until the last man had died.

Admiral Porter ordered a few of his ironclads upriver at sun-up, passing the fort, drawing the attention of rebel artillery as Union troops began to take up their positions. The Union soldiers were to take their positions by ten o’clock in the morning, though the actual advance wouldn’t begin until nearly one in the afternoon.

The terrain produced its own obstacles for Smith’s regiment as they maneuvered into position. First there was the swamp and marsh to traverse. At the end of the marsh a rather steep incline thick with brush and moss waited. They were to hold at the tree-line for the general advance to begin. Beyond that tree-line stood an open field – a field purposefully cleared before the rife-pits and breastworks that defended the fort. The rife-pits themselves were enveloped in trees and brush, allowing for clear rifle fire out, but extreme difficulty in firing in. Beyond that line of defenses stood another clearing before Fort Hindman, an unprotected approach staring straight into the southern casemate of the fort and its biggest guns. Smith was experienced enough to know that these two clearings would be the most daunting challenge of his company’s advance.

The mood of the men was surprisingly upbeat. Word had circulated that General William Tecumseh Sherman, himself, was on hand to lead the men on the right flank of the advance. His name was well known. His presence, it seemed, gave credence to the importance of this mission. It was said that he had been in Vicksburg, but was dispatched here by General Grant to take Arkansas Post – a prelude to victory there. Job was thankful to be moving in a manner that made sense – no longer marching back and forth with no apparent destination in view.

Job rested against a tree. They were in position. Now they had a three hour wait. It was eerily quiet. It was a beautiful morning. The sun had not been brighter and warmer since he left home. He took out his lead and scratch paper. “My dearest: I am presently experiencing the proverbial calm before the storm”, he began.