worship service

If you have been 'reared' in a church-going family, there are a lot of terms you have probably incorporated into your language along the way.... (or at least heard a lot)

'til the next appointed time'
'guide, guard and direct us'
'separate and apart....' (that one may be indigenous to the church of Christ)

and, my all-time favorite:

'worship service'

I recently heard about a group which may have, for the first time in modern churchianity, actually met the meaning of that ill-conceived and misapplied phrase...

I noted with great interest a story in the local paper about a church youth group who worshipped together on Sunday morning... but it was quite different than what you are probably thinking about; and, frankly, quite different from what they were used to... Instead of the attending the conventional worship assembly last Sunday, they went out and committed random acts of kindness.

They found people who needed help (lawn raking, gutter cleaning, painting, etc) and helped them! I wanted to find fault with them... but when I looked to scripture to define what 'worship' is, I came to the conclusion that there was no higher form of it than helping others!

As my friend Jimmy Blagg likes to say, “I can’t say enough about that”

God Bless!

a church's operating hours...

Just wondering about the value of advertising....

After noticing a church's advertisement in our local paper, I got to thinking... what would I put in a newspaper ad if I had a chance to place an 1/8th page spot?

There were actually a couple which grabbed my attention; one was placed by a local church which has had the same size (and design) advertisement for the past 20 years... it has a picture of their building and the 'service times' and names of staff members, as well as the topics for the upcoming sermons... It seemed to be patterned after other business ads (like a tanning salon) detailing its 'hours of operation'...

Another church ad (which purports to 'earnestly contend for the faith') was essentially a 300 word essay (the 4th in a series) dealing with the evils of churches supporting orphanages...

Still another ad told of an upcoming gospel meeting with a somewhat famous guest speaker...

And so I got to wondering: what is the purpose of these church ads?

to inform?
to instruct?
to correct?
to incite?

Furthermore, what do you think our modern-day church advertisements say about the churches placing them?

...which led me back to my original question: what would I 'say' if I had the chance to place an ad? Better yet, what would Jesus have placed in an 'ad' for His church back in His day?

First of all, I am convinced that Jesus would be using the latest technology to spread the Good News... if email had been available during His era, for instance, I truly think he would have used it to the full!

Extrapolating an answer from His life and His ministry could be helpful in this exercise...

Maybe He would have wanted people to be drawn to him (John 12:32), so He might have tried to convey the depth of His love for those reading His ad...

or, perhaps His 'ad' would have been a simple announcement about the upcoming 'healing' service (although those seemed to happen without preamble or planning)...

His 1/8 page ad could have been a simple call for all believers to help those in need, or to 'love the everlasting God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, then love your neighbor as yourself'...

Whatever He might have said in His weekly newspaper ad, I tend to doubt He would have wasted the space and investment on 'service times' or pictures of buildings or theological arguments (He typically saved those for the misguided, self-appointed religious leaders of the day)...

Let me encourage us to 'advertise' the church in such a way (whether we actually buy an newspaper ad or just live it out loud) that people don't get the wrong impression:

that 'church' is 'open for business' from 9 am to noon and 6 to 7 on Sunday, and 7 to 8 on Wednesday nights... If I understand church (ecclesia - 'the called out') correctly, it (WE) are 'open' 24/7/365!

So what's your 'ad' look like?

Just wondering.....

Garage Sales

So we are having our annual spring garage sale today. It has become a tradition to climb up in the attic and go through our closets to see what we have collected; to decide if someone else will actually pay me a dollar or a quarter for stuff I don't use or wear anymore.

It's sort of a cathartic exercise for us... and it usually takes us for a couple strolls down a memory lane or two! 'do you remember when Caitlin wore this?' or 'Can you believe Cara used to wear this to school?' or 'How did I ever fit into that?!?!??'

Anyhow, it reminded me that most of us need to 'clean out' our 'junk' once in a while...

yep, here comes the analogy...

What if we made a habit of going through all the emotional stuff in our own personal attics on a regular basis? How healthy would it be to clean all that out from time to time?

Old grudges - gone! Worn-out traditions - see ya! Bad feelings about your brother - out! Unhealthy habits - trashed!

We are packrats, though, aren't we? We typically fight change... we resist 'different'... we become enamored of our old, comfortable 'junk'... we even make excuses to keep our oldie goldie 'stuff', whether it is reasonable or healthy to hang on to it.

'I might need this again' we reason... 'what if I have to have this again?' we say...

Well, I'm convinced we are simply sojourners through this world... so, to plagiarize the title of Lucado's book, we had better learn to 'travel light'!

Let us endeavor not to hold on to stuff (whether it's an old sweater or an old hateful feeling). Let's clean it out!

God Bless you!

Newsboys concert - WOW!

OK, you don't have to like their music (I am a new fan!) ... but you gotta love their ministry! The Newsboys have been touring for almost 23 years spreading His Gospel in song throughout the world....

While I admit that I am probably 15 years past truly appreciating the VOLUME with which they delivered their message (we were 8th row right in front of the stage, right beside the runway Peter uses during the show), I gotta say their show was SUPERB!

The three opening acts (NEWORLDSON, Article One and Rush of Fools) were spectacular, then the Newsboys ROCKED THE HOUSE for about 90 minutes!!! It was awesome!

And now I have about 3 new favorite songs! But by far my mostest favoritest of them all is "Your Love is Better Than Life"... I was the only one in the van on the ride home who was playing that song at top volume, so I had the headphones on... here are some of the lyrics:

I dunno nothing that I haven't been taught,

I dunno why I was born into the family I’ve got,

I dunno if I ever had an original thought,

maybe not, maybe so, maybe later, I dunno

I dunno how I can end a prayer, then turn on a friend,

I dunno what I was thinking when I just pressed send,

I dunno why I still criticize the things I dunno

I dunno, I dunno, I dunno, but this one thing I know

YOUR LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE

(Without your love, I’m just a broken machine)

YOUR LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE

(Without your love, it’s all a mindless routine)

YOUR LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE

(Without your love, I’m in another free fall)

YOUR LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE

(Without your love, I’ve got nothing at all)

a really energetic song... I am addicted to it!


God Bless!

you gotta check out Joy and Lynn's blog!

OK - just a quick note: go check out Lynn and Joy's blog... it's a terrific journal of their Eurrail trip through Europe! How exciting!

http://www.riversideinpanama.blogspot.com/

The Oprafication of America - Oprahligion

OK, so I have never been the biggest Oprah fan... though most of my family has watched her show pretty religiously since she came on the talk show scene in the 80s...

I always believed she was just another purveyor of the tripe that passes for daytime TV... when she first started, she would have the same sort of guests as all the other hosts: the transvestite freak show mud wrestler who explained how he/she turned out the way he/she did because his/her momma spanked him/her...

But I have to admit... her show has changed a great deal since the early days... and she seems to have graduated to telling more 'real' and compelling stories as her popularity has grown. And I gotta admit, this very very wealthy woman is incredibly philanthropic.... she gives away more stuff and money in a week than most people can imagine earning in a lifetime! She has improved the lives of literally hundreds (if not thousands) of families across the world...

However... there is still a sort of frightening side to this wealthiest of wealthy women... she is incredibly powerful! And any whim or idea she cares to pose will be 'swallowed whole' by the vast majority of her vast audience....

At present, she is on a quest to spread her own 'oprahligion'.... she is hosting weekly webcasts touting the principles espoused by her latest 'book club' selection... Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" is the follow up to his "the power of now", and "challenges us to dare to live in the present moment and thereby to transform our consciousness and live in the 'joy of Being.'" (Incidentally, this book has sold 3.5 million copies since Oprah announced it as one of her 'book club selections... 7 weeks ago!!!)

I am not finished with the book, so I will reserve my summary and review (as if anyone cares) until I am finished...

At first blush, however, it seems to involve a lot of 'new age' thinking... Tolle quotes the Bible (and other 'religious' texts) to make the point that people should let go of their ego and 'live at peace and harmony' with one another... all good things, to be sure...

It would seem, however, that the book is conveying that there are many 'paths' to this 'salvation'... I don't read any mention of Jesus as Savior or Lord or that He died for us to make this 'peace' possible... Jesus is treated as just another good prophet or preacher... and that's troublesome.

A couple scriptures come to mind:

"Salvation is found in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven

given to men by which we must be saved"

- Luke, speaking about Jesus

and

I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me"

-Jesus, speaking about himself

All I'm saying is this: all the ideas in this book (and Oprah's resultant prattling on about them) seem to be very very good... and many of them come directly from the Bible (even crediting the Bible as the source)...

That (coupled with Oprah's incredible sway with the American public) makes this, on balance, a very positive effort, I think...

It's just that millions of people who will participate in this movement REALLY REALLY need to know that all this BEGINS with a relationship with the One who originally taught this, then died on the cross for them...

More later as I progress through the book...

God Bless!

In Wonder

Well, the Martin clan is heading to the Rock today to see Newsboys in concert! Dev tells me it is an incredible worship/ministry/concert experience, and I can't wait! I have a bunch of their material, and I've been listening to it all the time getting ready...

I can't wait to hear them sing 'In Wonder'... it may be my favorite song by the 'boys...

So much wonder - Carved in your coral seas

So much wonder - Shaded by ancient trees

I consider all that your hands have made

Every newborn’s eyes, every new sunrise

No power can tame your presence

No light can match your radiance

LET ALL CREATION SING IN WONDER

EVERY SEA, EVERY CREATURE, EVERY STAR

YOU OPENED UP MY EYES TO WONDER

WHAT A VISION, WHAT A WONDER YOU ARE!

I'll let you know how it went!

God Bless!