Smart Cat. Cold Room. Warm Flames.
05 November 2007
04 November 2007
Oh, the joys of a Kerosene heater... It's almost, yet not quite, as good as a fireplace. I've been keeping the house around 60 degrees - which is a perfect temperature to sleep, at least for me. However, sitting around the house it's a tad chilly... especially when one's blogging and/or watching Law and Order:SVU or Heroes.I was very happy to see a long time friend at church today... She's living and working in Nashville so we don't' see each other often - not that we saw each other often before she moved - college and all that. So now I've added her as a friend on facebook - sweet :)
I just purchased Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, haven't started it yet but I'm looking forward to it. I've also started lurking about theooze.com and begun reading some of the posts and articles there. It's interesting that
I've discovered a community of people who share the same thoughts. I highly recommend the book 'Out of The Ooze.' It's a collection of essays from the site and also a thought provoker.
While I'm thinking about it - a sleepy cat makes a great lap warmer.One of the articles in 'Out of the Ooze' was entitled "10 Reasons Why Your Church Sucks" by John O'Keefe, I immediately liked it. Here's an excerpt....
“First” he said, “Your church is totally irrelevant to the community. You all talk a good game, but you do not see the dynamic of the community changing around you. Second, your church is filled with poor leaders and over bearing bullies who believe the best way to get anything done is to frighten people. All you have are people who will tell you what to do, and not lead us in doing it. Third, your church has no vision. You guys are just dead in the water. Fourth, your church is old. Your church is filled with old people who have no reason to move ahead. They have more life behind them then they do ahead of them. Fifth, your church is inbred. The people my age in your church are all related to the older people so change is impossible. People who are part of the outside don’t feel welcomed into the inside and voice an opinion; it’s filled with mama’s boys. Sixth, your church is more concerned about image them reality. You all seem to be more concerned with the condition with building then with building the condition of your people. The carpet looks great, because no food is allowed near it. The stain glass is wonderful; because you spend more money on cleaning and maintaining it then you do on mission work. Seventh, your church sees no need for change. You are all happy in your fortress and are not interested in opening your doors to the outside. Evangelism is a dead concept, and community is only those inside the building. Eighth, your church doesn’t share a relevant message for a relevant time. You’re so concerned with doctrine, you are not allowing me to explore the faith and question the unquestionable. Ninth, your church doesn’t care about me as a person, only as a checkbook. Over the time I was with the church I heard more sermons on how much I should be giving and not one on how much you were willing to give up. The only time I had anyone from your church visit me was when “pledge time” came around and you needed me to increase my giving. It got to the point were I felt no matter what I gave it would never be enough. Tenth, your church is all politics and infighting. Things only get done if you can muster enough political support form others to get your point to be heard, press your issues and lobby for approval. You have to wheel and deal to get anything done.”
Ouch...
Love you All!
M
14 October 2007
18 September 2007
Paradigm Shifts and Sea Changes...
Almost everyone who reads this knows that I am a reader. A voracious reader, even. I usually read science fiction/fantasy/horror, with a smattering of classics thrown in for depth. I seldom read self-help or christian culture books, usually they bore me. This has changed as of two weeks ago. (Strangely enough about the time I cut the A/C off. Still doing well. Past few days have been extraordinarily comfortable) I discovered a couple of books that are having an impact in my thinking.
I recently randomly stopped by yea olde Christian booke store and picked up two books. The first was titled "I Sold My Soul On EBay" and the second was "They Like Jesus but Hate the Church". I'm not certain why I picked them, I'm pretty happy with my church.
"I Sold My Soul On EBay" was written by an athiest, Hemant Mehta. Not one of the fundamentalist atheists (such as Michael Newdow) but an athiest who realized that he'd arrived at there without giving any religion, other than his childhood Jainism, a chance. So, this athiest (who serves on or helped form several organizations on his college campus) took a chance and auctioned off the opportunity to take him to church. For every $10 bid he'd go to one hour of church; Any church, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, whatever, preferably near Chicago. To discourage bidders who weren't serious all the money was donated to a secular organization.
The winning bid was $504. Hemant agreed to visit many different churches, take notes and offer criticism based upon his view as a total outsider. What worked for him? What turned him off? What could the church do to better reach the unchurched? He published these for a website "off-the-map.org" and also in this book for use by Christians intent on reaching the unchurched more successfully. How many other atheist authors can one find at the local Christian bookstore?
Hemant runs a website called "The Friendly Athiest". It's got some interesting dialog that I'm just beginning to wade through. However, one quote struck me tonight:
I certainly don't believe in God and I do think those who believe in God are wrong in their thinking, but the best way to convince the majority of people that living without religion is even possible is to show them that atheists are kind, happy, and approachable– we're not the bogeymen we've been made out to be for so long. If that happens, the logical reasoning behind atheism will follow.
Hmm... Thought experiment here... Let's take this statement and change it a bit:
I certainly believe in God and I do think those who don't believe in God are wrong in their thinking, but the best way to convince the majority of people that living with religion is even possible is to show them that Christ followers are kind, happy, and approachable– we're not the bogeymen we've been made out to be for so long. If that happens, the logical reasoning behind Jesus will follow.
This statement dovetails nicely into my other book "They Like Jesus but Hate the Church" This book challenges us to step outside of the 'holy huddle' we're in. Go into the world, make friends with people. Show them that Christians aren't holier-than-thou-King-James-1611-hellfire-and-brimstone people. We should reflect the love of Christ, not the condemnation of the judgemental hypocrites. We can still be fundamental Christians while still showing love and sharing friendship with the unchurched.
Show 'em that Jerry Falwell/Fred Phelps/Insert other televangelist aren't how the vast majority of Christians are. The vast majority of Christians don't think Tinky-Winky is homosexual. We don't think that "God Hates Fags". We need to get out there in the world. Be light, be salt. Learn about other religions so that we can more adequately defend our own. I'm sorry but "The Bible Says it, I believe it" is NOT a valid arguement. Let's stop the condemnation.
We can still be fundamental bible believing Christians. We've just got to realize that someone's not going to change simply because we handed them a tract. They're going to change when we get involved with their lives, when we show them that we, too, are sinners who need the grace of God. Let's be real.
Forgive me if I rant a bit... I still need to finish my second more-in-depth reading of this book. My first reading got the ol' thinking started and I felt like saying something...
I love you, everyone of you.
Matt
Almost everyone who reads this knows that I am a reader. A voracious reader, even. I usually read science fiction/fantasy/horror, with a smattering of classics thrown in for depth. I seldom read self-help or christian culture books, usually they bore me. This has changed as of two weeks ago. (Strangely enough about the time I cut the A/C off. Still doing well. Past few days have been extraordinarily comfortable) I discovered a couple of books that are having an impact in my thinking.
I recently randomly stopped by yea olde Christian booke store and picked up two books. The first was titled "I Sold My Soul On EBay" and the second was "They Like Jesus but Hate the Church". I'm not certain why I picked them, I'm pretty happy with my church.
"I Sold My Soul On EBay" was written by an athiest, Hemant Mehta. Not one of the fundamentalist atheists (such as Michael Newdow) but an athiest who realized that he'd arrived at there without giving any religion, other than his childhood Jainism, a chance. So, this athiest (who serves on or helped form several organizations on his college campus) took a chance and auctioned off the opportunity to take him to church. For every $10 bid he'd go to one hour of church; Any church, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, whatever, preferably near Chicago. To discourage bidders who weren't serious all the money was donated to a secular organization.
The winning bid was $504. Hemant agreed to visit many different churches, take notes and offer criticism based upon his view as a total outsider. What worked for him? What turned him off? What could the church do to better reach the unchurched? He published these for a website "off-the-map.org" and also in this book for use by Christians intent on reaching the unchurched more successfully. How many other atheist authors can one find at the local Christian bookstore?
Hemant runs a website called "The Friendly Athiest". It's got some interesting dialog that I'm just beginning to wade through. However, one quote struck me tonight:
I certainly don't believe in God and I do think those who believe in God are wrong in their thinking, but the best way to convince the majority of people that living without religion is even possible is to show them that atheists are kind, happy, and approachable– we're not the bogeymen we've been made out to be for so long. If that happens, the logical reasoning behind atheism will follow.
Hmm... Thought experiment here... Let's take this statement and change it a bit:
I certainly believe in God and I do think those who don't believe in God are wrong in their thinking, but the best way to convince the majority of people that living with religion is even possible is to show them that Christ followers are kind, happy, and approachable– we're not the bogeymen we've been made out to be for so long. If that happens, the logical reasoning behind Jesus will follow.
This statement dovetails nicely into my other book "They Like Jesus but Hate the Church" This book challenges us to step outside of the 'holy huddle' we're in. Go into the world, make friends with people. Show them that Christians aren't holier-than-thou-King-James-1611-hellfire-and-brimstone people. We should reflect the love of Christ, not the condemnation of the judgemental hypocrites. We can still be fundamental Christians while still showing love and sharing friendship with the unchurched.
Show 'em that Jerry Falwell/Fred Phelps/Insert other televangelist aren't how the vast majority of Christians are. The vast majority of Christians don't think Tinky-Winky is homosexual. We don't think that "God Hates Fags". We need to get out there in the world. Be light, be salt. Learn about other religions so that we can more adequately defend our own. I'm sorry but "The Bible Says it, I believe it" is NOT a valid arguement. Let's stop the condemnation.
We can still be fundamental bible believing Christians. We've just got to realize that someone's not going to change simply because we handed them a tract. They're going to change when we get involved with their lives, when we show them that we, too, are sinners who need the grace of God. Let's be real.
Forgive me if I rant a bit... I still need to finish my second more-in-depth reading of this book. My first reading got the ol' thinking started and I felt like saying something...
I love you, everyone of you.
Matt
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