We start our new series Sacred Rituals on Sunday. (Trailer here and we didn’t get 20 comments, so Rick is off the hook.)
I hope we’re able to do more than just educate about the rituals but also experience them.
I hope people reach a new level of awe and wonder with God as a result of these ‘rituals.’
I hope we (the church) never lose sight of why we do what we do. Even if it means we shake things up to help us remember.
I hope our services continue to be places of encounter and experience of the Holy, not just a ‘good show.’ The rituals help in this journey.
The ’sacred rituals’ are sacred because of their object, not because of who can perform them. They are for ALL followers of Jesus.
Everything starts with communion. Real communion with Jesus. Worship, baptism, generosity, community — all begin with communion, not the ‘act’ of the cup and the bread but what the cup and the bread represent. That we are part of Christ…because of His act, His movement, not ours.
What a great read this morning. It’s from Don Miller’s blog and I’ll quote the part that pinged my heart this morning.
He (Rick McKinley, pastor of Imagio Dei) recalled hunting on some property in Eastern Oregon, sitting in a duck blind, watching a farmer a couple fields away just driving his tractor back and forth. Rick said that is what building a church looks like, it looks like farming. It figures, because, well, God invented farming.
Don goes on to talk about four practical applications of this and often he (I, you too I’m guessing) gets distracted from plowing the field by bigger fields or deeper fields or prettier fields or maybe it’s not a field at all…maybe it’s a mountain (ouch). The point is – God’s put each of us in a field and He not expects us to plow that field but He’s gifted us for that field and He’s purposed us for that field. And who doesn’t love to ride on a tractor anyway?
The four practical applications Don draws are these – If you have a family – that’s the first field to plow. Plow the field God gave you. Work with consistency and faithfulness. Stop measuring your crops.
Stop measuring the crops. Better said – stop basing worth and performance on the measurement of your crops. We had 8 people join the church yesterday. There’s a list of 8 more waiting for our next class. And I’m not going to lie to you, that amps me up quite a bit. But that’s not the point. Really, it isn’t. It’s hard to believe that when most measurements of success for churches begins and ends with numbers.
The point is creating a culture where every person has the opportunity to encounter Christ and be changed by Him. That’s the plowing. In Life Groups, student ministry, children’s ministry, whatever we do in the name of God under the identity of Western Hills – is this Love, Live and Serve?
And that’s the plowing. Back and forth, back and forth. With faithfulness and consistency.
NFC Divisional Weekend: Redskins vs. Rams
Rams win (lose) this going away. Redskins have so much more going for them than the Rams at this point. New coach, new system, new outlook and talent-wise they are not that far away from competing in the NFC.
Rams are hurting all over the place – from talent to ownership. Will they leave St. Louis? If they did, would anybody notice? Rams are much harder to cheer for at this state.
Lions vs. Seahawks
Very close game…almost too close to call. Is it harder to cheer for an old team with a new coach OR a young team with an old coach? The difference is that the Seahawks are in a division where they don’t have to get that much better to be good, whereas the Lions are staring up at the Bears, Packers, and Vikings.
Lions are the harder team to be a fan of.
Conference Championship: Rams vs. Lions
Make your vote count….all both of you.
AFC Divisional Weekend:
Bills vs. Broncos
It’s close but after the last few weeks, the Bills win (really lose). Chan Gailey was a great coordinator and coach…in the late 80’s. The staff he is assembling right now looks pretty green. Talent level on the Bills not great and they still don’t know who is going to be the QB. Broncos have their drama and problems but talent level (at least on the offense) isn’t one of them.
Raiders vs. Chiefs
As a refugee living in Chefs country, things (according to fans) are actually looking a bit up. Charlie Weiss and Romeo seem to have lit the fires of hope and we all know that hope is a dangerous thing (Shawshank Redemption).
But there is no comparison to the mess that is the “Grrrreaaatness ofthe Raaaydahs.” Pick your poison – ownership, coach, QB, talent, fans, city? It’s all jacked up. I can’t wait for the draft this year to see who the next bust will be. Raiders win (lose) in a blowout.
Conference Championship Bills vs. Raiders
The easiest odds to guess in the world….
It’s not why we do it…but it sure does feel awesome.
The volunteer coordinator for the McCarter Elementary PTO stopped by today. Her name is Maria and she had this huge manila folder in her arms. Inside were hundreds of hand written notes on various colors of construction paper saying thank you in so many different ways for the all the things we’ve done this year.
I was pretty impressed. If they are going to do this every time we do something, they are going to run out of construction paper and we are going to run out of walls. But I could tell something else was on her mind.
She starts…”So listen, we can’t even begin to describe how thankful we are for this past year. The blankets, the school supplies, Sharefest…the staff and principal just rave about your parish. We don’t want to be overbearing, but I’ve heard that you said that if at anytime we needed something….to ask. Is that right?”
I can’t stop smiling. I mean, I just can’t wipe the grin off my face. I’ve been praying for exactly this – when a need arises at the school, we are the school’s first call. I’m looking at answered prayer, right in front of me. And I know the only reason she is here because we served them first without pretense or agenda.
“That is right. How can we serve you?”
After the sigh of relief, she tells me about a fundraiser they are doing next week – a chili-feed. “It’s a little late notice” – Friday, February 19, 5 to 8pm, Town & Country Christian Church (we’ll have more info in the bulletin this week and on our website later) – “but we were wondering if you could invite your parish?”
“Absolutely. That’s easy. What else?”
“Well…again, don’t want to be overbearing but we’re wondering if your church was interested in helping with the school fair again this year? We’d love to have you again.”
“Absolutely.”
And there you are. That just happened. It’s not a huge deal but it is. I’m just AMPED at this…this God-moment of opportunity. How huge is this? I’m convinced it’s a larger deal for us than them. Love God. Live Connected. Serve All. It’s coming together, slowly and surely.
This has been undeniably my favorite series I have ever been a part of. The partnership with Circle of Friends, the Friday Night Artwalk, the art, the content, the stories, the worship….just the whole experience has been phenomenal.
And the journey will continue for at least a little while longer. Warehouse 414 is displaying the art until the end of the month and you can still bid on the art until February 27. All proceeds go to this incredible program – Circle of Friends that is connecting special needs teens with other students to make their high school experience a positive one.
There are two things I walk away from the Origins with concerning my theology of God. First, He’s selfish. Second, He is complicated.
I admit that ’selfish’ is a strong word but I really can’t think of a better one. In humans, this extreme focus on self is called narcissism. And let’s be honest…it never goes well. If I really lived that way all the time, got what I wanted, when I wanted it and how I wanted it…it would be as close to hell on earth as I can imagine. How many times in my life have I been thankful that I didn’t get what I want? How many times has it turned out that what I wanted and how I wanted it would have ended up killing me?
But God functions this way – wanting to be the center of our life, always and forever. He wants us to have what He wants and how He wants it. So what’s the difference? It’s obvious that the difference is that God is good…all the time. Goes back to starting our theology in Genesis 1, not Genesis 3. He’s selfish because that’s what is best for us all. Anything other than God in the center of our lives is death, mayhem. Impossible to miss that in the first 11 chapters.
It’s also impossible to miss how complicated God is at times. This is a comfort to me, honestly. Growing up hearing the simple explanations of God and His word not only left me hollow but unsatisfied. This simple understanding led to some incorrect conclusions about God. Every story in the first 11 chapters has the temptation to be understood in simple and wrong terms. “God confused the languages because humanity was becoming more like Him and He wanted to stop that.” Well…okay but is that it? I mean, really…God has a complex thinking that there is a chance we’ll evolve and His job will be in danger?
There is always more to the story, more to God’s response than just the obvious. And that’s a good thing. It means that God is deeper, truer, and larger than I am or what I can imagine. And that’s exactly the kind of God I need at my center. Not the Tin Can, “Everything Will Be Alright In The Morning” God that my youth rebelled against.
The Tower is testament to this. You can hear my full rant on this here, but suffice to say that every response of God will be more than just judgment, more than just reaction. It’s full of His protection and provision as well…even when I can’t see it at first.
The artwork is by Lisa Peterson. Every culture and language originated out of one ‘hand.’ The colors and the pageantry of all the different worlds and how the most unifying feature of any culture is its language. Modern linguists are fascinated how all the different languages have similarities to each other.
In the end, all these cultures will be reunited. They won’t lose their distinctiveness or their flavor. Their unifying feature will no longer be their language or their color, but Jesus himself. We get a glimpse of this in Acts 2. The full picture will come later. Lord, hasten the day.
It’s snowing today and for the first time since we moved here….I miss Colorado. I miss stealing a day skiing with friends. I miss the first lift up, the squeaking of powder underneath my skis. I miss the way the sun hits the foothills in the morning and the last peak of orange before dinner.
For some reason, it’s hard to stay focused today and I find my thoughts continually drifting West. When I hear people complain about the snow here, I smile and nod. I understand that in can be a nuisance. It makes our cars dirty and it’s impossible to get the Christmas lights off the house. (I promise I’m trying…sort of.) It slows things down – you can’t drive as fast, stop as fast, get to where you are going as fast, or get ready to leave as fast because of the layers you have to dress in. But that’s another reason I love the snow. It slows me down.
And when I slow down, I remember things. Namely, I remember Camber wrestling with this feeling when we first moved here. I learned much from her watching her deal with moving. Last semester I had one of those moments that I’m convinced God orchestrated for my benefit. Cammy walks into the living room, plops down besides me looking down. I asked ‘You okay?”
She passionately told me that she loved her new school, her new friends, her new church, her new house and if only she could get new siblings to go with it, her life would be perfect. As it stood – it was not going to be perfect until they all moved out. I thought to myself – if we’re lucky they’ll all move out. “You think they might just feel the same way at times?”
She looked at me like I was from Mars. And I asked her at the risk of it blowing up in my face – so you don’t miss Colorado anymore?
“Oh no. There are days I do but there’s room for more than one favorite in your heart, isn’t there?”
I sat dumbfounded at the depth and wisdom of my quirky, funny, off-the-wall middle child. “Yes, Camber. You are absolutely right.”
So later today, I’ll be fine and I’ll see Camber and she’ll make me laugh.
But for a few moments this morning, I wish I could see Pike’s Peak.
So the first post really didn’t have the comments I was hoping for – which is okay because that just means I’ll make the decision. Since I’m always right about things concerning the NFL, this is better anyway.
NFC.
Wildcard Weekend: Panthers vs. Rams
Rams win this contest going away. Rams just suck and there really isn’t much hope on the horizon because as good as Suh is, he can’t block, run, throw, kick, and cover DB’s.
Seahawks vs. Bucs
This game went to OT. The Seahawks got a late game push to lose (win) this game by the hiring of Pete “What NCAA violations?” Carroll. How close was this game? The home city weather pattern and uniforms were the deciding factor – giving the Seahawks the win…which is really a loss. Confused yet? It’s harder to be a fan of the Seahawks than the Bucs and the Seahawks unis are just atrocious.
That sets us up for the Division weekend and the matchups look like this:
Divisional Weekend:
Redskins vs. Rams – another game in which Rams are heavily favored to win…which is really a loss.
Lions vs. Seahawks – Winner (which really is a loser) of this game might just be the favorite to represent the NFC in the Loser Bowl. Oh wait…I forgot about the Rams. Never mind. Slight edge to Lions but it will be another close one.
AFC
The cream of the crop – which is really the bottom of the barrel – is in the AFC.
Wildcard Weekend:
Chiefs vs. Jaguars
Chiefs win (really lose) this one easily. The Jags put a couple of players in the Pro Bowl, they have hope, and they have talent. The Chefs – (misspelled on purpose) not so much in the talent department. But their coaching got better…which is not really going to help either but that’s another story.
Broncos vs. Browns
As it normally is when these two teams meet, it was a back and forth affair. Holmgren and Cribbs made the difference. Or better said, McDaniels the Hun couldn’t work it out with his incredibly gifted and stud DC Mike Nolan who lifted that D from 31 to top 15 in one season with the same players!!! What the HECKKKKKK is going on — sorry, my journalistic integrity was interrupted for a second. Denver won (lost). Looking to compete with Raiders at this point.
Divisional Weekend:
Bills vs. Broncos
Another close game. Mike Geer will have plenty to say about this matchup. Will look to him for advice and insight as he is a Bills fan, I’m a Broncos fan. Hard sharp metal objects from us this week.
Raiders vs. Chiefs
Is there really any doubt who is going to win (which is really lose) this game?
I completely stole this idea of the sermon series from Mark Batterson over at NCC. Here’s the trailer for the series we will start on February 21st. Come experience it with us.
Rick Stones said that if we got 20 comments on this post, he’ll sing a Gregorian Chant for us during the series.
Noah’s story is NOT a kids story. Every children’s bible I’ve ever seen has it in there with cute little pictures of bears, elephants, and giraffes. I’d love to know how many kid books have been written on Noah. It has to be the most retold story in scripture.
As I stated this past week, I’ve yet to see a kid’s story deal with the 3 core difficult pieces of this story. Who exactly were the sons of God? What does it mean that God grieved and was sorry he had made mankind? By destroying the entire human race (save Noah) and the land animals, Did God call into question His goodness?
The Flood can be interpreted in two very different ways. It was the reaction of an angry, hurt, disappointed God. That mankind deserved this and God wanted a do-over. Somehow the killing of all of those people and animals appeased him. The rainbow stands as his apology of sorts that He won’t ever do it again. Noah somehow was the best of the worst and was ’saved.’
Or maybe the Flood was just God bringing to the forefront the natural consequences of the choice humanity was making at that time. If the end game of all sin is death and something innocent dies with sin. If the utter reality of all sin is the ambushing of the human spirit and soul, God just brings the inevitable to the forefront with as little suffering as possible – relatively speaking. If every inclination was evil, death was the conclusion. The Ark then becomes a story of redemption.
How we view the story really hinges on how we view sin. Is it as bad as scriptures say it is or is just a flaw, a minor bother? Is sin really deadly or more of a nuisance?
Sherri was our artist for these pieces. Sherri has both learning and emotional disabilities that make expressing herself difficult. Art has given her a venue to show the rest of us what she sees and feels.
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