by Greg | May 18, 2010 | Blog Posts
As of this writing I have two teenagers that are eagerly counting down the days until the last day of school. Now that I think about it, I suppose there are teachers, administrators, and parents doing the same thing. Even though the approaching last day of school does not make much of a difference in what I do, I find myself anticipating with a bit of excitement that mark of completion of another year in the life of my children. They have gotten a bit taller, learned a few more things (most of which is constructive) and are one year closer to moving out of our home and beginning their own journey. The end of school also marks beginnings for many of us. Do you remember as a child day-dreaming about all that you wanted to do that summer? Sleeping late, riding bikes, swims at the lake, and vacation tantalized the thoughts of many a child in the waning days of the school year. What are your plans this summer; more of the same or new adventures? I am looking forward to my sabbatical leave, which I will write more about next week. Clark will go from part time work to full time, which may or may not be something he is looking to doing. Aaron will be in conditioning training for football, so most of his days will be full. With the long days I plan to read a few more books and pick tomatoes and peppers in the evenings. I suppose by the end of July Amy will be counting down the days until school starts back...
by Greg | May 12, 2010 | Blog Posts
…Plenty, if the first name is Erik. I admit that for most of us Erik Weihenmayer is not exactly a household name like Elvis Presley or Lewis Grizzard. Erik’s face was on the cover of newspapers and magazines about ten years ago. He became the first man ever to summit Mt. Everest – blind. Even for the best of climbers there is a one in six chance of death when attempting to summit the highest peak in the world. What are the odds when blind? I love to read stories of epic adventures. This morning I finished a book by the title In the Wake of the Jomon: Stone Age Mariners and a Voyage across the Pacific. The author, Jon Turk, retraces this ancient voyage of 3000 miles in a kayak! (I thought circling little and big Tybee Island was tough) Several years ago I read a book about Chris McCandless. The book, Into the Wild, is based on the true-life story of Chris, who, upon graduating Emory, hitchhiked all the way into the bush country of Alaska. Four months later moose hunters discovered his body. Some who set their faces towards adventure meet triumphal outcomes and others meet tragedy. When I reflect over my life, about the most adventuresome thing I ever did was con one of my “city friends” from town into thinking you could actually tip over a sleeping cow (contrary to the urban myth, there is no such thing as cow-tipping). Boy was that cow mad – and fast too! While I have no plans to hike into the backcountry of Alaska or summit Everest,...
by Greg | May 4, 2010 | Blog Posts
I wish. MoonPies are tasty and good for you…well, they are tasty. I would proudly tout their product. Alas, the makers of the MoonPie have not come calling and besides this space is not for sale. A few years ago in a New York Times article the focus was on the number of ads we see each day – about 5000. We are well accustomed to seeing advertisements on billboards and television commercials, but nowadays it seems every available space is for sale. Not so long ago I actually saw an advertisement for a church (not in this city) on – are you sure you are ready for this? – a urinal deodorizer! Sure, I noticed the ad and the name of the church but now I definitely don’t want to go there. Imagine what this could look like for the church. On Sundays when I step behind the pulpit I could begin the message by saying, “This sermon is brought to you today by Starbucks Coffee…” and then I could take a sip from my mug for the purpose of product placement. For certain endorsements I could preach on specific sermon topics. How about having brand placements on the baptistery from a pool cleaning company or sing hymns set to commercial jingles. Can you just imagine a big neon slogan perched on top of the steeple? Now that I think about it, I don’t want to imagine any of this! Advertisers are latching on to the concept of lifestyle marketing. The basic idea being that they are more likely to convince a buyer to purchase their product if...
by Greg | Apr 28, 2010 | Blog Posts
A denomination (not Baptist) has as their slogan: “God is still speaking.” That is certainly Biblical when you consider the many times God breaks into the scene and because of this people begin to imagine new possibilities of living and relating. All week long I have been working on my sermon for this Sunday and I am wondering about God still speaking. Yes, I believe God speaks to me (and hopefully through me) for the sermon. But specifically I am wrestling with how God is speaking in Acts 11 where Peter is “explaining himself” to the Jerusalem Church. The problem was the Gentiles. Not all of them, just the ones who, and here I am quoting, “accepted the word of God.” (Acts 11:1) This meant that Peter and the others were rethinking what it would mean to live and relate with others, specifically the Gentile believers. Peter concludes with these powerful words: “Who was I that I could hinder God?” (Acts 11:17b) I wonder about me; how do I attempt to hinder God and therefore stand in the way of God speaking something fresh and alive? What about you? Do you think God is still speaking? Of course this can all get rather dangerous, right? Many times I have heard people tell me something like, “the Lord told me…” in order to defend their prejudices or personal views. Hmmm….this whole business of God speaking can be tricky. It would be easier to just believe that “God said it, I believe it, and that is that.” Yet if God is still speaking that means there is more to be said....
by Greg | Apr 22, 2010 | Blog Posts
What is the “face” of a church? Bearded? Bespectacled? Steepled? Bricked? Anglo? African-American? Young? Old? Formal? Casual? Traditional? Modern? American? Latino? You and I know that there is no one face to the church which the Bible refers to as the body of Christ. There are many faces. This past Sunday the congregation of First Baptist Church welcomed 29 new faces to our church family who joined our membership. It was a great response for a single Sunday. What a gift we have been given with these who have come to call First Baptist church their home. They were of differnet ages, gender and ethnicity. No one face is “the” face of FBC but all of the faces help paint a more complete picture. Your face is part of the larger family too, wherever you worship. First Baptist has adopted the stewardship theme: “I am First Baptist Church” and throughout 2010 and 2011 we will celebrate the many images and faces that make up FBC. Of course our church’s theme could be any church’s theme. What do you picture or imagine when you here the words, “I am the church”? To the ancient but cosmopolitan city of Corinth, Paul the Apostle wrote to the church: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body– Jews or Greeks, slaves or free– and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 Indeed, the body does not consist...
Recent Comments