You owe it to yourself to watch this video. There is so much that can be said about this, but I will refrain. Your own reflections will be commentary enough.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
20 Questions
Every now and then I'm struck by the fact that so many questions that rattle around in my head never get answered. They just remain questions. And at the same time I realize that more and more questions there are the less and less real answers seem to come. So today I thought I would just share some general questions that have been on my mind.
Ready? Here we go, in no particular order.
1. How come I've never heard of most of the movies nominated for Academy Awards?
2. How come newscasters think they must spend 4 hours re-telling us what the President just told us?
3. How come Nancy Grace is still on TV?
4. Why does the weatherman start the "forecast" by telling us what already happened that day?
5. Why does my mother-in-law do her crossword puzzles in pen?
6. Why do both me and my mother-in-law do crossword puzzles?
7. Why doesn't Starbuck's have free WI-FI like everybody else?
8. Who are the people who haven't learned to not use permanent marker on a whiteboard?
9. Why do people care about Brad and Angelina or Tom and Katie?
10. Why can you negotiate the cost of a house or car but not a computer or a sandwich at Subway?
11. Why was I such a jerk to so many people in high school and college?
12. Why was Shepherd Smith (of Fox News) wearing a Parka last night to cover the State of the Union? Was he covering it from Alaska?
13. Why didn't the Texans draft Reggie Bush or Vince Young?
14. Why does Arizona not observe Daylight Savings Time?
15. Why do people like cats?
16. Why do ultra-fundamentalist Mormons think polygamy is a good idea? Isn't one family difficult enough? (I mean, well worth it, but how many college tuitions and weddings do you want to pay for?)
17.Why are there ethnicities and races in the first place? Wouldn't there be much more peace if we were all, say, black?
18. Why do people enjoying belittling each other so much?
19. Why do people of character and conviction so rarely rise to power?
20. How come so many of us Christians praise Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa, but so seldom want to do the kinds of things they did?
Ready? Here we go, in no particular order.
1. How come I've never heard of most of the movies nominated for Academy Awards?
2. How come newscasters think they must spend 4 hours re-telling us what the President just told us?
3. How come Nancy Grace is still on TV?
4. Why does the weatherman start the "forecast" by telling us what already happened that day?
5. Why does my mother-in-law do her crossword puzzles in pen?
6. Why do both me and my mother-in-law do crossword puzzles?
7. Why doesn't Starbuck's have free WI-FI like everybody else?
8. Who are the people who haven't learned to not use permanent marker on a whiteboard?
9. Why do people care about Brad and Angelina or Tom and Katie?
10. Why can you negotiate the cost of a house or car but not a computer or a sandwich at Subway?
11. Why was I such a jerk to so many people in high school and college?
12. Why was Shepherd Smith (of Fox News) wearing a Parka last night to cover the State of the Union? Was he covering it from Alaska?
13. Why didn't the Texans draft Reggie Bush or Vince Young?
14. Why does Arizona not observe Daylight Savings Time?
15. Why do people like cats?
16. Why do ultra-fundamentalist Mormons think polygamy is a good idea? Isn't one family difficult enough? (I mean, well worth it, but how many college tuitions and weddings do you want to pay for?)
17.Why are there ethnicities and races in the first place? Wouldn't there be much more peace if we were all, say, black?
18. Why do people enjoying belittling each other so much?
19. Why do people of character and conviction so rarely rise to power?
20. How come so many of us Christians praise Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa, but so seldom want to do the kinds of things they did?
Monday, January 22, 2007
Future Church
One of the books I picked up over the holidays was Erwin McManus' An Unstoppable Force. Here's a excerpt that I think is particularly good. It reminds me of what the church -- and particularly pastors -- are supposed to be up to. In particular, it is a call for existing churches to not rest on its laurels or traditions.
"It may seem inconceivable, but not long ago the job of church growth consultant did not exist. In fact, church growth seminars and dying churches were virtually unheard of. Although most churches were essentially in plateau, there was a sense of the church as a place of permanence and stability. You just hung your sign outside, and the appropriate parishioners found their way there. The primary role of the pastor was caretaker/teacher, and many times even the role of evangelist was left to someone who came from out of town.
"One could almost predict the development of the Master of Divinity degree as the religious equivalent to the M.B.A. Seminaries began to produce what local churches perceived they needed; godly men who had a professional understanding of theology, pastoral care, and management. Pastors were valued for their ability to bring and keep order rather than for their ability to bring and lead change. The reality was that pastors were being equipped to preserve the past rather than create the future. We became known for being traditional rather than transformational. The ritual replaced the radical."
"It may seem inconceivable, but not long ago the job of church growth consultant did not exist. In fact, church growth seminars and dying churches were virtually unheard of. Although most churches were essentially in plateau, there was a sense of the church as a place of permanence and stability. You just hung your sign outside, and the appropriate parishioners found their way there. The primary role of the pastor was caretaker/teacher, and many times even the role of evangelist was left to someone who came from out of town.
"One could almost predict the development of the Master of Divinity degree as the religious equivalent to the M.B.A. Seminaries began to produce what local churches perceived they needed; godly men who had a professional understanding of theology, pastoral care, and management. Pastors were valued for their ability to bring and keep order rather than for their ability to bring and lead change. The reality was that pastors were being equipped to preserve the past rather than create the future. We became known for being traditional rather than transformational. The ritual replaced the radical."
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Colts vs Bears!
Two African-American coaches in the Super-Bowl. It's already a win for me! And, what's more, they're both good, good men! The real win will be the day when the color of the coaches won't matter.
It's too early for me to pick a winner, but I'm torn. I have always liked Peyton Manning and I love Tony Dungy and feel that they lost the AFC Championship game last year in large part because Dungy's son had recently died. On the other hand, defense -- as they say -- wins championships. And Chicago sure has that! But they also have Rex Groosman, and it's hard to have faith in him at QB!
At the end of the day, I think I'll be pulling for the Colts.
It's too early for me to pick a winner, but I'm torn. I have always liked Peyton Manning and I love Tony Dungy and feel that they lost the AFC Championship game last year in large part because Dungy's son had recently died. On the other hand, defense -- as they say -- wins championships. And Chicago sure has that! But they also have Rex Groosman, and it's hard to have faith in him at QB!
At the end of the day, I think I'll be pulling for the Colts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
