Archive for the 'religion/church' Category

The way church/community should be

h/t gw

This article about community sums up a discussion i was having with my mom just last night around the campfire up here in beautiful Minnesota. We were discussing the sad story about the parents of an autistic boy who were suing their church to let them come back. (BTW, here’s some good perspective on that article here and here.)

You know, I can do without those that whine and complain about stuff at church. In fact, they make me mad. If all you care about is what you get out of it, then you’ll never be satisfied. Just do us all a favor and get out. It’s not really about what you want, it’s about Jesus and helping others get to know Him better.

I’m in Wanda’s shoes, but blessed with a family that God used to keep me from a lot of junk in my life. I want to be desperate to know Jesus better and not dragged down by all sorts of man-made expectations and charades. That’s not what’s important.

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Scientists figure out the platypus

I can rest easy tonight knowing that scientists have figured out the platypus.

With a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver and snake-like venom hidden in heel spurs, the platypus could be the result of some strange genetic experiment.

And it is, scientists say: evolution.

Well of course they said it was evolution. Shocking.

By comparing platypus genes to those of humans and other mammals, scientists hope to fill in the gaps about mammals’ evolution and better identify species’ specific traits.

Ahh, the ever-elusive transitional evidence.  That’ll be the day.

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Sick:Oprah’s Theology

Makes me throw up in my mouth a little.

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Third Day rocked my face off

[third day]

A family in our church gave us three tickets to the Third Day concert last night at First Baptist of Raytown, MO. Rachel, her dad, and I went.

A surprisingly good band from Australia named Revive opened up. Then it was Decemberadio and then Sanctus Real before Third Day.

I thought that Revive was the best of the bands that opened up. I’d never heard of Decemberadio before. Their lead singer was a little more show than substance.  At least that’s how he came across to me.  I was familiar with Sanctus Real.  I’d heard a few of their songs before, decided against buying an album after listening to their other songs.  The most all sound the same.  Revive was more of a style of music that I like — rock worship.

Couple of other cool things:

They had a stage light malfunction that blinded all of us in the stage-right side section of the sanctuary.  About that same time Mack sang all the way up to us.  I shook his hand and he climbed up on the pew in front of us and the guy next to Rachel sang along with him.  That was awesome.  He’s so unassuming, warm and charismatic (in a non-speaking in tongues kinda way).

Mack mentioned having the great BBQ here in Kansas City. According to a post-concert blog post by their lead guitarist Mark Lee, they ate at Jack Stack. No doubt in my mind it’s the best in Kansas City. This endorsement is just another confirmation.

The latter part of the concert, primarily Third Day, brought back lots of memories of my high school days and how gifted musicians — ones that used their talents for the Lord — helped lead me to faith in Christ.  I recalled how I felt standing in the balcony of a David Meece concert in a Baptist church in Wichita, KS in 1990 — the warmth of God’s presence speaking to me about how is love for me is not like anything I could comprehend or earn on my own.  Good times.

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Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except in a Popular Video Game at Church

Second time this article has been shared in my sphere of friends on Facebook.

Ok. Ok.

This age-old debate drums on.  How “in but not of” should we be in the culture of ours? It’s certainly not a black-and-white issue in my mind. Back in my high school days it was about Stryper and Christian heavy metal and the associated drugs and sex culture.

This article is a little one-sided and slants toward the “look at these hypocritical Christians” shtick. It skimps on the details about the outreach and positive influence on kids that aren’t part of a church at all. From my perspective, the fellowship was good, fun and positive. You can’t just let the gaming at church stand on it’s own — as it is with any other outreach effort.

I’m glad it’s Halo and not some of the other games that are out there.

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Lifehouse Everything Skit

Whoa.

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Medved:Why TV Addiction Links to Liberalism

Interesting article by Michael Medved, who contends that watching too much TV causes you to have a more liberal political slant.

Here’s are some of his points that resonated with me:

  • Excessive TV watching gives us no time for meaningful relationships in the community
  • TV is sensational by nature and not often based in reality — normal doesn’t sell
  • TV “demands immediate activism in order to make us feel better”
  • Lots of TV watching is lots of time wasted.

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Where’s the Church’s Ask a Ninja?

Interesting article here over at Church Marketing Sucks.

Be sure and watch this interview with Kent Nichols, the co-founder of AskaNinja.com.

Any of you have any thoughts on this subject?

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Poo-poo on Starbucks

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Anti-God Starbucks cup has customer steaming

Hmmm. I’ll stick to QuikTrip.

Oh, yeah and check out the history of the Starbucks logo.

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Guess the Next Big Thing from Google is…

Guess my poll about the “next big thing” from Google was missing a big one — Google announced they’re coming out with a Google presentation application.     It’s been rumored since Google’s acquisition of TonicSystems a while back.

Hope it’s not going to be only web-based.   Maybe Google’s really taking on WebEx and not Microsoft in this little venture.

Too bad.

I’ve used the last 3 versions of PowerPoint and it really hasn’t changed that much.   I spend about 2-3 hours per week prepping PowerPoint presentations for church and if there was an app that needs some good, stiff competition, it’s PowerPoint.

Speaking of Google Apps, I’m just about ready to pull the trigger on migrating our church’s e-mail to a new Google Apps for your Domain account.   It’s going to be sweet.

I’ll let you know how it goes, Faithful Reader (henceforth dubbed “FR”).

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Hawking explains how the universe was created

Stephen Hawking spoke at the Berkeley Physics Oppenheimer Lecture back in March.

Glad he’s figured out how the universe began.   I’ve always wondered.

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James Cameron Discovers Tomb of Jesus?

Ummm. Yeah. Sounds like another Al Capone’s Vault to me — with James Cameron playing Geraldo Rivera.

I like the quote from Israeli archaeologist and professor Amos Kloner:

I’m a scholar. I do scholarly work which has nothing to do with documentary film-making. There’s no way to take a religious story and to turn it into something scientific.

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Good sermon by my pastor on Sunday

Pastor Pointer had a good sermon about divorce at church on Sunday. Same can be said for anything else that screws up God’s plan for the family.

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LAN Party at my church on Saturday night

We’re having a huge LAN party at my church on Saturday night (2/24) — 9 pm - 9 am.   Come on over if you’re interested.

Five bucks at the door gets you pizza and drinks.

We’ll have tournament brackets for several different game and console combinations.   Halo, DDR, Madden, etc.

We will have prizes for the winners.

Drop me a note at lanparty “at” bluespringsnazarene.org if you have any questions.

Here’s the Facebook Event.

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Jamal Miftah: a moderate Muslim’s plight

Interesting video/story about a moderate Muslim condemning terrorism and the reaction of his Imam and mosque.

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Dungy Says He’s Proudest to Be Christian Coach

I’m guessing I’ll probably not be hearing this on the evening news.

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Church ‘Super Bowl’ festivities may go on

Good.   It was amazing how much hype this got in the blogosphere — even from those that are obviously not church attenders.

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Cruise: The Christ of Scientology?

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Apparently Scientology leaders are saying that Tom Cruise is the “christ” of Scientology.

Glad they cleared that up for me. I was wondering.

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What a load of Britney Spears

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» Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

Iran is your home and is the home of all freedom seekers of the world. Here you can express your views and exchange opinions in a friendly, brotherly and free atmosphere.

Riiiight. Again, unless you are Jewish, Christian or non-Muslim.

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Christmas Linebacker

» link
ROFL.

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Rocky Balboa finds redemption

» link
How about this quote from Sly Stallone in an interview regarding his new Rocky movie coming out soon:

The more I go to church, and the more I turn myself over to the process of believing in Jesus and listening to His Word and having Him guide my hand, I feel as though the pressure is off me now.

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Is “faith like a child” possible?

» Matthew 18:1-4

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 He called a little child and had him stand among them.

3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Are we so smart that we miss God’s blessings? What’s the right balance between faith and knowledge? Tough issue for me.

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It’s not my fault, it was my parents

What a sad life McGreevey must lead.

If it feels good, do it…
It’s not my fault, it was my parents…
I was born that way…
“My sexual urges were irrepressible…”

He’s bought into the lie and now he’s making money off his book and the mainstream media is giving him face time.

Sad.

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No More Politics

» link (pdf)

Read this article in the KC Star on Saturday. Very thought provoking. This continues to be an issue that I struggle to get a handle on: How my faith in Christ relates to politics, nationalism and war.

The disciples were often gung-ho and misguided — James and John asking Jesus to sit on his right and left, Peter cutting off the ear of Malchus at Jesus’ arrest, etc.

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MRC:The Trashing of the Christ

The networks did nearly everything they could to trash The Passion and its traditional portrayal of Christ and the crucifixion,” said MRC President Brent Bozell. “The same networks, however, have bent over backwards to promote and applaud the viciously anti-Christian bigotry presented in the Da Vinci Code book and movie. When it comes to trashing Christ and Christians, the networks are all for it.

Having read the Da Vinci Code book, I have to agree that it is definitely anti-Christian. However, it is also, most definitely fiction.

This controversy is far from over. Just wait until Angels and Demons hits the theatres. It’s very much anti-Catholic. But, you know what? It’s fiction, too.

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