prayer.
i want to know how can i pray for YOU this week? how can WE (this community of bloggers) pray for you? just knowing we are all interceding on each others’ behalf is really, really cool. so…
what’s going on in your world that we can pray about for you?
ryan from next steps leadership thought it would be fun to get inside my head about church and leadership. i’m the first female they’ve interviewed and you’ll notice that i am twice as wordy as the guys. guess that whole “women talk more than men” adage is true.
anyway, if you’d like to see the interview, go here!
thanks, ryan, for the opportunity.
just another day in the office. designing random signs for our children’s ministry. a powerpoint slide for our skate church. returning phone calls.
opening my browser of choice (firefox, if you were wondering), my google homepage greets me. i skim across my google reader, the weather, and the headlines. first on the list – AP: Ohio Congressman Dies.
“it’s rainy outside, so why not play in the sad realm of death for a bit,” i wonder. i click on the link. the article doesn’t go into how he died…so, probably nothing too traumatic (read: gory). he was old…so maybe that’s why? leaves behind a wife and five kids. wow.
as i started to click the little (x) to close out that window, i couldn’t help but stare at his picture a little bit longer.
i looked in his eyes.
this man is dead.
being the internalizing person that i am, i begin to wonder…did he know love? did he love? was he happy? was he depressed? did he like jesus? the church? did some girl in starbucks ignore him while she was working on some freelance writing?
lots of people die everyday. that’s life (so to speak). but staring at this completely unknown man’s face tugged at my heart and revitalized my desperation, to do what we are all ultimately called to do.
here. look him in the eye. stare into his eyes.
this man is dead.
how do you feel?
i have been having some weird dreams lately, including one friday night where everyone was wearing white sheets. hrrrmmm….
so, today is sunday. today is the first day in six months that i’ve spoken in front of an audience (not on the radio). i slept GREAT last night which is a miracle; and i’m not TOO nervous (a little!) – so for those of you who have been praying, thank you!
my clothes are already ironed and laid out and i’m about to get ready, go get a big thermos of african autumn rooibos at texas roast and hopefully not run into any traffic problems on the way across the metroplex.
thank you all again for your prayers! i’ll write about how it went sometime tomorrow or tuesday.
have a happy labor day!
there are a few different thoughts out there on church membership. some people think a formal church membership (through taking classes, signing forms, and being listed on a record of some kind) is biblical. others think that church membership is subjective, meaning you are a member of a body of believers to whom you are committed, but no formality is required. others think it’s completely nonessential to technically be a part of a local body of believers. a “between god and me” kind of relationship.
what are your thoughts on church membership? if you have contextual Biblical references for such, don’t forget to leave them.
some friends and i were talking today about the stereotypical contemporary church pastor. the summary of our statements was:
Pastors-With-Shiny-Heads-Or-Just-Have-Cool-
Spiky-Hair-And-A-Goatee-Sporting-Rob-Bell-Type-
Rimmed-Glasses-Who-Wear-Embroidered-
Flowery-Shirts-And-Dirty-Washed-Dark-
Denim-Jeans-On-Stage
now please know, we say this in total jest. you have to admit…it’s pretty close to truth!
anyway, this got me thinking how easy it was to come up with this stereotype and it made me want to take it a step further. i wonder now, how would we stereotype the contemporary church?
so, based on the culture we live in today, the cards from churches you get in the mail, the signs you see, the stuff you might watch flipping through TV or see on the shelves at a bookstore…if you were to walk into a modern, American church today…
what would you expect? what kind of stereotypes have been created, and how true are they? good? bad? ugly? who cares?
the reason i asked about the “30 days to live” is because my friends over at lifechurch.tv are starting a very compelling and original series this coming weekend with that title. i love lifechurch, and since chris works saturday nights (when i’m usually home writing or cleaning or something) recently i’ve been watching their service at 7 pm via the internet campus.
anyway, what makes this series so compelling? every week, they sit down with people who have very limited time left on earth…people who actually know that they may just have 30 days to live. wow. wow.
you can check out the website for the series here. i know i’ll be tuning in at 7 pm on saturday (and i’m usually in the channel 1 “guest lobby” for a few minutes beforehand.) i’d love it if you’d join me!
thank you all for your very thought-provoking responses. and man, are they all over the place. if you haven’t had a chance to read through them, check them out.
as someone who regularly struggles with fear and “what ifs,” just the concept behind this series has caused me to really think through why i worry so much….and wonder where my boldness has gone. it doesn’t cause me to live in regret, but i guess tune in a little more to what is going on around me now, in the day-to-day…and how the day-to-day is part of a really long time we’ll just call eternity.
what would you do…
in a few minutes, i will be heading out to trek about an hour on the other side of the dallas-fort worth metroplex to visit my pastor friend and his family at their church. it’s a small church, numbering probably close to 50 or 75, if memory serves me correctly. he will be filling in for their pastor, and i’m very excited to hear him speak.
i’m even more excited to give them a check for about $250 and another $100 in gift cards that you have so generously donated (i learned the wife is having some dental work done so this couldn’t be a better time!)
this church has no lighting rig, no HD cameras, no mediashout or professional band. they’re having a good ol’ potluck lunch after the service. talk about bringing me back to the days of my childhood.
i’m excited for this change of pace. i’m excited to go to a small town church with small town people. i need some diversity in my church-going life.