Interactive Sermon

Wishing You Big Buts For The New Year

{Borrowed this post from www.bigbutsofthebible.com - Internet home of the word BUT, Lord of all conjunctions. Have you bookmarked that site yet?}

 

Sure, for years it's been singing a chorus of Auld Lang Syne.  I propose a new tradition: Meditating on some New Year's appropriate Big Buts.  I offer a handful in these few verses:

On forgetting the past and moving forward ~

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:12-14

On learning from past mistakes ~

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. -Hebrews 12:10-11

On trusting in God and living in faith ~

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him--but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. -1 Corinthians 2:9-10

May the Lord bless you and keep you in 2010 and always!

Remix

Fifty-two months worth of blogging; fourteen-hundred-thirty-two posts; eighteen-hundred comments; one-hundred-four-thousand-three-hundred-forty-seven blog visits--and only one overhaul during that time (that in April of 2007).

It's time.

Blogging has changed.  So have you.  So have I.  Interactive Sermon Remix debuts January 2nd.

A new look ~ Simple.

A new approach ~ Simpler.

A new decade ~ Simply Interactive.

Thank you for sharing the journey with me.

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Hot Topix

Should the Lord's Table be restricted?

Noted theologian J.I. Packer spoke to this a year ago in an interview with Christianity Today.  You can read the article here.  In summary, Packer believes that Communion should be restricted in two instances--first, that those who are not believers in Jesus Christ should not participate, and second, those who are known to be living in sin should be restricted.

If you look at the article that I've linked, take a run down through the comments below it.  You will see that this is an emotional issue.  Is this a red-rope, VIP sort of a ordinance in the church?  Can we be judging who is worthy to come when Jesus, himself, was so inviting? 

In eighteen years of Pastoral Ministry and twenty-six years of church leadership involvement, I've seen this done well--and I've seen this done very poorly.

With regard to communicants being a genuine believer in Jesus Christ, I think this is a no-brainer.  The Apostle Paul warned (in 1 Corinthians 11) that those approaching the table should consider themselves, and especially in light of the body and blood of the Lord.  It would be contradictory for someone who wasn't relying on Jesus Christ's body and blood for their soul's salvation to participate in Communion--recognizing that sacrifice.  The thing is, I cannot look at someone and clearly see their heart's embrace (or lack of embrace) of the gospel.  The best I can do is share that warning from Scripture and leave people to discern for themselves if they should participate or abstain.  At that point it's between them and the Lord.

Some congregations (churches and denominations) have decided to fence the table around their particular membership. I know a Protestant believer who went forward for Communion at a Catholic church and literally had the Priest take the 'host' back out of her hands upon learning she wasn't a Catholic.  "Give me back that Jesus!"  {An aside: Shari and I enjoyed a midnight Mass this Christmas Eve, and were welcomed by Father Don as "fellow believers in Christ" to participate.}

Where the matter of sin is concerned, I tend to agree with Packer.  And again, I've seen it done well and not so well over the years.  Packer uses the phrase "serious offense" in his argument.  In my experience, the best scenario has involved the leadership of the church identifying for an individual areas of "willful, known, unrepentant sin" in their lives.  I think that phrase is crucial.  If it's simply a matter of pointing out sin in someone's life--well, get in line.  I'll point at your sin.  You point at mine.  The budget for bread and juice will get pretty small as none of us will be able to partake!  It's not a matter of sin.  Hear me: It's NOT A MATTER OF SIN.  It's a matter of "willful, known and unrepentant sin" in someone's life. 

When it's been pointed out that these are the issues; these are the places where your choices and behavior are at direct odds with God's will; these are the issues that have put your testimony as a believer in Christ in doubt--and the individual refuses to acknowledge there is a problem and take steps to remedy it--we've got a problem.  That's the place where I believe the leadership of the local church is charged to determine this is a case of "willful, known and unrepentant sin." 

Packer points out one more item in his thoughts--that of differing interpretations of what constitutes a serious offense.  Thankfully, in all the cases I've seen go right, the leadership has been very much in agreement.  But I'd take it a step further.  What happens when leadership in different congregations, see it differently?  That's an issue that was unknown to first century churches--a member determined to be in "willful, known, unrepentant sin" in one congregation, slides across town and is welcomed to the Lord's Table in another without question.  Why just twenty years ago or so, when someone left one congregation and surfaced in another they were expected to produce a "letter of transfer" from one congregation's leaders to the next.  "This family is of sound testimony and left in good standing", and so on.  No more.  I'd suggest that is a breakdown beyond the scope of Packer's thoughts.  Perhaps a matter for another post.

Back to the matter at hand, fencing the table: Yes?  No?  Done well?  Done poorly?  Ever had a Priest rip the Jesus from your fingers?

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon,Communion,The Lord's Supper,Mass,Church Discipline

Christmas Gift

Need a little laughter this Christmas?  Here's a gift!

Christmas Memories

Christmas 1976.

Like every other nine year old boy in America at the time, there was only one present that I wanted to find on Christmas morning.  Whether it came from Mom, Dad, one of my siblings or Santa Claus himself--didn't matter to me.  Kiss Destroyer!  Had to have it!

Bobby Patterson had a copy.  We had been listening to it for weeks.  To plant the notion that I really wanted this album in my parents' minds, I had taken to singing through the album my every waking hour.  "I.... want to rock-n-roll, all niiiiiight... and party ev'ry day..."  They'd look at me like I was crazy.  "Shout it!  Shout it!  Shout it out loud!"  They'd shake their heads.  "Beth I hear you callin', but I can't come home right now..." Dad would ask, "Who's Beth?  And why doesn't the bum go home?"

Mom assured me that there would be no Kiss albums in our house.  "That's the band that spits blood and fire!" she'd protest. 

Well, yeah!

Part of the problem was where my parents would have to go to get a Kiss album.  They weren't selling this stuff at Sears, after all.  In our neighborhood, a parent would have to venture into The Head Shoppe.  They'd have to make their way past the hippie at the counter, pass all the bongs and rolling papers, hit the incense rack and hang a right, stepping through a wall of beads to get to the records.  If you made it that far, Kiss albums were easy to find.  They were right beneath the KISS ALIVE poster--the one with a life size Gene Simmons, blood pouring down his chin. 

Every nine year old boy's dream!  My parents' nightmare.

Christmas morning, 1976, I opened all the presents under the tree.  No Kiss record.  But then Dad pointed me to a present with no name tag on it.  A big box.  He told me to open that one.  Sure enough--cleverly wrapped to disguise it--here was my Kiss Destroyer album.  I was thrilled.

Fast forward a few decades. 

I can barely remember that record.  Other than the few hits mentioned earlier--no recall.  But here's what I do remember: my dad demonstrated love for me by going to such lengths to get it.  You can't imagine how amazed I am that the man who bought everything at Sears--he really believed that if Sears didn't sell it, you didn't need it--braved a place like The Head Shoppe... for me.  My dad walked past the hippie.  Then he had to come back to the counter and pay the hippie!  For a Kiss album, no less.  Unbelievable!

For me, looking back, the gift was about a father demonstrating that he loved his child.

Pales in comparison, but...

Christmas this year, and every year... a gift.  A Father stepping into a place you would never imagine Him humbling Himself to go.  Demonstrating His love.  For me.  For you.

Droid Data

Three weeks ago I added Droid to my technology stable.  Yes, me, the guy who has lived by the mantra "telephones are for calling people" went robotic.  I could blame it on my brother Dave.  At our last family get-together he was teasing me,  "You?  With all your blogs and writing and Twitter and... What?  You carry a cell phone to call people?"  You'd have thought I was still sporting a 1980s mullet or something.

I also blame in on Motorola's advertising.  The Droid commercials caught my attention.  "Oh, you mean like R2D2?"

But in the end, it was my desire to maximize AND minimize that finally drove me Droid.  It's been three weeks.  I'm SOLD! 

Here are my favorite FREE apps so far:

Twidroid ~ A Twitter app that allows me to choose how I'm informed, what I'm informed about, and who I'm informed about.  It also allows me to post, search, follow and find, as well as offering up all the normal Twitter functions--@, D, and RT, etc.  While I like this app and am somewhat satisfied with it, I'm hearing that Seesmic has an app out there, and as much as I've liked their functionality on my PC, I plan on trying them out on the Droid soon.  I'll let you know.

Facebook for Android ~ The Facebook app... functional but not the wow factor.  Again, Seesmic may be my future here, too.

Pandora ~ Internet Radio via Pandora is awesome.  I've set up my channels and love them.  As I type this I'm listening to a Nat King Cole holiday music channel.  YES!  Of course, the Droid allows me to run Pandora in the background while many other apps are open simultaneously, so music is my companion throughout the day.  (Try that with your iPhone Dave.  Wait... you wearing a mullet?)

MyPOD ~ I've selected MyPod as my podcast player.  It's a new app for me (just a few days old).  So far I love it's functionality.  I've organized the podcasts I subscribe to, as well as having search features I can use--I'll be adding more, soon.  What a great thing!  (By the way, in setting up MyPod I noticed the stats on my Historical Fiction podcast Chronicles of War--up over 4000 subscribers.  WOW!  I better get back to producing more episodes soon.)

Andread ~ This is a RSS Feed reader for Android.  Pretty basic.  I loved it initially, but have noticed a couple of quirks just today.  I'm still getting to know this app.  The idea, however, of gathering blog RSS feeds (and other feeds) in the Droid for convenience and sorting is a welcome tool for me.  In addition to writing a flock of blogs, I regularly view dozens of them.  Remember--maximize AND minimize.

Aldiko ~ This is one of many eReader apps available.  I tried it first because it was listed as "five stars" among users.  No complaints so far.  I've added a small library of books and I've used this app a few times when I've been caught in a waiting room or holding pattern.  It's making me rethink my desire to purchase a reading device like Kindle or Sony Reader.  I might just hold off on that purchase if I can get more use out of Droid in this manner.  Time will tell.  I hear many ePublishing companies are developing apps.  I may give a few more a test drive.  Will keep you informed.

Action Complete ~ This is a task planning and personal managing app.  I've utilized it so far in organizing my daughter's college application process.  It's been useful.  The jury is still out on whether I would get regular use out of such an app.  And, I about freaked when I was driving down the road and heard a British woman's voice say "You have work to do!"  Took me a minute to realize it was Action Complete talking to me.  Thought at first I was hearing voices.

Google Maps, Google Street View, Google Earth and GPS ~ Utilizing the Google OS, I have all the navigation I could ever imagine needing.  So far I've used Google Maps a dozen or so times to find my way out of holiday traffic jams, and I've used the GPS twice.  I give both high praise.

Key Ring ~ I haven't had luck with this app yet, although a friend of mine swears by it.  You're supposed to be able to add all your "keys" into your phone and flash them at the cash register scanners in stores to avoid carrying all those discount cards in your wallet or on your key ring.  I've only got two of those anyhow.  And I tried one at Stop and Shop.  Didn't read it.  One of these days I'll play with it to see if I set it up wrong.  But in the meantime... maximize AND minimize... going back over the set up isn't high on my priority list.

Movies ~ Times, locations, viewing trailers, prices, ticket ordering and more all in one... awesome.  Where has this been all my life?

Barcode Scanner ~ This app allows me to scan barcodes in a store and have a product description, details, and even competitive pricing displayed in the blink of an eye.  Awesome when I'm in one of those "we match our competitor's pricing" situations.  "You will?  Well, my robot tells me that Target sells this thing for a dollar less than your price!" 

Bible ~ By Lifechurch, A ton of versions, really every one you could ever imagine using, as well as notation possibilities (preachers like this).  I couldn't be happier with it.  I've used it a lot already.

I'll share more in the coming weeks.  So, what technology finds can you recommend that are helping you maximize AND minimize?

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon,Droid,Social Networking,Technology

Countdown To Christmas

It was as we cleared the Thanksgiving dishes that I turned on Christmas music.  A whole month away--seemed like a long time.

Guess what?

Four Sundays in Advent are behind us.  Studies in the Theology of the Incarnation are complete.  We've considered (1) How it was that God became man, (2) Why it was necessary that the Savior was God, (3) Why it was necessary that the Savior was man, (4) Why it was necessary that the Savior was both God and man in one, and hopefully we've come out the other side better prepared to... come and adore Him.

The Christmas Eve service at Christ's Church will be built around our singing traditional Christmas hymns and carols, considering the birth narrative of Jesus Christ, and what it means to each of us.  We'll begin at 6pm and we'll close by candle-light before 7pm.  As usual for our Christmas Eve gatherings, we hope to enjoy more of a family altar gathering than a church service feel.  I hope that you'll plan to join us.

Facebook: The Confessional of the Post-Church Era?

A confessional is a small enclosed booth used for the sacrament of penance, often called confession.  In traditional confessionals, the priest and penitent are in separate compartments and speak to each other through a grid or lattice. Confessions are usually whispered. A crucifix or cross may be placed near the penitent as an aid to prayer. Many modern confessionals have two or three lights outside that can be controlled by the priest from inside, or are automatic... a green light shows that the priest is in and available for confession, while a red light shows that he is already occupied. (From Wiki-pedia)

A little green light shows that the priest is available.

I've noticed an upturn, recently, in people "messaging" me through Facebook.  The conversations are a wonderful connection.  I get a message from someone who wants me to pray for them about a specific need that has arisen mid-week: "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.  Can you pray for me?"  Sometimes the message is a question about something I said on a Sunday: "What was that book you referred to in your sermon?"  More and more, it seems, the chat moves into a real meaningful dialogue: "My spouse suffers with depression and I don't know how to help. Where's God in all this?"

When I'm on Facebook, there is literally a little green light next to my name that tells anyone who cares to look--I am available.  And I'm finding that folks are seeking dialogue there.

You need to know, I used to think that green light was a bad thing.  I used to worry that if people saw me--worse, if they messaged me--I would be trapped into spending valuable time I didn't have to waste.  I've changed my mind on that.  Now I build time into my week to be online, green light illuminated, for just such opportunities.

As a pastor I think we need to be where people are.  Love it or hate it--you better own it--people are on their computers, online, and on Facebook.

And while we're thinking about this, what of some similarities?

That description of confessionals mentions a partition.  The internet offers a bit of a lattice.  It seems to me (someone who admittedly has never participated in the Catholic manner of Confession) that it would be easier to be introspective, honest and to say hard things to a minister you weren't looking at face to face.  That grill or lattice serves that purpose.  It makes it easier for people to open up.  Even though you know that minister, and he knows you (hopefully), there remains some semblance of anonymity in that there is a partition between--you could step out and walk away.  Similarly, online, you're not caught in the conversation.  You don't see one another.  And, one can always step away, "Hey, someone's at the door..." and bring an abrupt end to the chat.

The whispering?  Typing into a dialogue box has to be the digital equivalent to speaking under our breath.  We don't have to worry about others hearing our words--people sitting on the other side of the room hear nothing but keyboard clicks.  "What are you writing?"  "Oh, nothing, honey."  We don't even have to worry about hearing our own voices form difficult words--type, send, and when it's all over, delete!  Not to mention the fact that the really internet-speak-savvy utilize a new form of shorthand--who needs words anymore?  OMG, K?

Lastly, in the description I notice the mention of a cross or crucifix nearby "as an aide to prayer."  The cross or crucifix is aimed at helping the penitent draw nearer.  "Here's something that might help you feel more closeness."  I'd suggest that a wise utilization of new technology/social networking would afford the same opportunity--helping people draw nearer.  How to segue the virtual confessional into real meaningful relationship and community--now that's a question worth pondering, and an aim worth pursuing.

Your thoughts?

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon,Technology,Facebook,Confessional

Lyric, Poetry or Something

Not sure what I'll do with it, but this spilled out of the pen at eleven last night, while I was praying for some friends:

In an instant it all changed; blink of an eye and nothing is the same; it's as if I've been ripped from one story and dropped into the next

I didn't choose the story I find myself in

It's an effort just to catch my breath; so unannounced are matters of life and death; it's as if I've been torn from the pages

I didn't choose the story I find myself in

There's no denying, the darkest hour has dawned, I'm free-falling from where I've belonged; it's as if my story has turned on me

I didn't choose the story I find myself in

But I'm going to make the most of it; determined to make the most of it; going to get a grip, not let it get a grip on me

He will make the most of it; He promises to make the most of it; going to get a grip, not let it get a grip on me

I will embrace this story I find myself in

Yeah, I know... it needs a guitar solo by Jesse.

Technorati Tags: Interactive Sermon,Lyrics,Poetry,Random

Had To...

Saw this YouTube video posted at Brad Boydston's blog--my favorite Uke-playing-blogger.  Taking the Beatles to a whole new level: Desmond has his barrow in the marketplace; Molly is the singer in a band...