Bob's Blog N Blather

Music To Drive By

2010-10-07T20:45:00.004-04:00

While I was driving to Memphis I was listening to iPod through my stereo. I choose at some point along the way to listen to the Moody Blues. The first song was Ride My Seesaw. It brought back memories of my first car and Pepperdine.

My first car was purchased the summer (1972) after my freshman year at Pepperdine (no this picture isn't my car but same year and model). I was working at McDonalds from 10:30am to 5pm. I also cleaned the base library from 8-10am. I was making minimum wage, $1.65 a hour. My Dad found a 1965 Corvair Monza that a friend of his was selling. We paid $450.00 for it. I paid $250 and Dad paid $200. It needed a paint job so I wet sanded it. Dad secured a paint booth on base, we taped it, and he painted it dark green. It was a great paint job. I loved that car. It had a 4 speed, dual side fiberglass mufflers, and the best sound a 19 year old could hope for with limited resources.

I bought an 8 track tape player to listen to the music I wanted rather than the radio. Don't know what all I did for speakers but I'm sure I had some. When I left for Pepperdine at the end of summer I headed down Route 1, Pacific Coast Highway, and cued up Ride My Seesaw. I knew it was a high energy rock song and it would sound good as I drove out of Lompoc. It turned out to be a fabulous song to leave Lompoc and head for college. That became my routine every time I came home and then left to go back to Pepperdine, play Ride My Seesaw by The Moody Blues. So I really enjoyed listening to that song on my trip to Memphis. Great memories and great music.

So what songs do you like to listen to while driving?

Jesus' Lineage

2009-10-21T11:14:00.002-04:00

Today I was reading Luke 1 in my daily reading. Luke records that Elizabeth was of the daughters of Aaron (Lk.1:5). Later Luke records that Mary is a relative of Elizabeth's (Lk.1:36). That seems to me that Luke is either hinting or stating that Mary is also of the daughters of Aaron or at least connected in some way. Leon Morris in his commentary on Luke (Tyndale NT) says that Mary must have been of Levi and of Judah otherwise Jesus could not have been a son of David and thus a legitimate heir to David's throne as the messiah. Yet, both Luke and Matthew show that Joseph definitely is a descendant of David's (Luke 1:27; Mt.1:16) but don't really state anything about Mary other than she is a relative of Elizabeth's. Is it possible that Jesus' blood lineage is of the tribe of Levi through Mary and his adopted lineage through Joseph is of the tribe of Judah and thus David? Has anyone read anything on this subject?

I had been wondering if this was what Zechariah meant in 6:13 when he says that the messiah will be a priest on his throne combing the offices of priest and king. But I realize that Jesus is not a priest after the order of Levi but of Melchizedek (Heb.6:20). I'm now wondering if perhaps Jesus came as a legitimate heir to Aaron as high priest but instead becomes a different priest altogether and thus effectively ending the Levitical priesthood by accepting an appointment to another priesthood. Again has anyone read anything about this or am I just all wet in regards to this subject?

Confession and Reputation

2009-07-01T09:35:00.003-04:00

Do you know this fellow? His name is Ed Hochuli. You can probably guess that he is a referee for the NFL by his uniform. Before I tell you a story about him, let me tell you what I've learned about the NFL referees. Some of you may already know this but it was a revelation to me. Of course if I had thought much about it I would have guessed.

After each NFL game each week, about 8 hours is spent on each game analyzing each referee's calls. They are given a score for each call and an overall score for the year. Only the refs with the highest scores are invited to ref the post season playoff games. Those refs with consistently low scores are soon let go if they don't improve. Ed has always been one of the highest scoring refs. I didn't realize that the NFL invested so much time in the refs' calls. This makes sense because a team could make a lot of money going to the playoffs and then winning the Super Bowl. A ref's calls in September will affect who goes to the Super Bowl in February.

Last September when the Denver Broncos were playing the San Diego Chargers, Ed was one of the refs. Near the end of the game the Denver quarterback went back for a pass and fumbled the ball. Ed blew his whistle and called it an incomplete pass, allowing Denver to keep the ball. Denver went on to score and win the game. Ed knew immediately after his call that he was wrong. He even went over to the San Diego coach and admitted it. However, in spite of his apology it was not a reviewable call and couldn't be changed. The San Diego fans were not happy.

The fans flooded Ed's office with angry phone calls and emails. They wanted him fired. Ed began to respond to the emails, one by one, apologizing for his bad call. Word got around and then his office was flooded by even more calls and emails (over 20,000) thanking him for admitting his mistake. Credibility is gained when we admit our mistakes and not cover them up. What a story!

Tattoos Galore!

2009-06-18T14:34:00.003-04:00

I saw this on Comcast's main page. It seems this Belgian teenage girl walks into a tattoo parlor and orders three (3) stars to be put on her face. She falls asleep and then wakes up to 56 stars! The tattoo artist claims she ordered that many. She says no. She threatens to sue him for the cost of removal. Apparently he has agreed to pay for laser removal. He says he has a witness to testify to her asking for the star and approving of his work afterwards. It was only when her dad saw the stars that she claims she didn't ask for that many. Notice the amount of tattoos on the tattoo artist in the video.

Remembering John

2009-03-04T23:50:00.000-05:00

A friend and brother in Christ has gone to be with the Lord, John Baldwin. Even though it's been almost 3 years since I've seen John, I miss him. If you didn't know about John's death you can leave a comment at a blog dedicated to remembering John here. John was a good guy. He had a big voice and big heart.

Jay Leno's Garage

2009-02-26T17:38:00.001-05:00

More Christmas 2008

2009-01-03T13:30:00.001-05:00

This is what Christmas does to you.

Christmas in Florida 2008

2008-12-26T07:44:00.001-05:00

Here we are eating Christmas Day dinner out on our patio with our son, Trey, and daughter, Loni. Florida is a great place!

Merry Christmas to CA family

2008-12-25T17:41:00.002-05:00

Our New Home

2008-10-30T18:46:00.002-04:00

The Ten Cannots

2008-10-26T20:50:00.008-04:00

This appeared in a blog I read called "Christian Personal Finance." It was attributed to Abraham Lincoln. I always check stuff like this out before passing it on. Turns out it was originally written by Reverend William Boetcker. You can read about him here. This link will also explain why his words have been attributed to Lincoln. Here are Boetcker's words "The Ten Cannots." Good words for election time and for Congress any time.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.
And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

Parenting

2008-10-03T05:20:00.000-04:00

Here's a quote from Neil Postman's book, The Disappearance of Childhood, concerning parenting in these media-soaked times. Postman's believes that technology floods a child's life with so much information that it actual takes away the normal development of childhood. He encourages parents to protect their children from technology.

Is the individual powerless to resist what is happening?

The answer to this, in my opinion, is “No.” But, as with all resistance, there is a price to pay. Specifically, resistance entails conceiving of parenting as an act of rebellion against American culture. For example, for parents merely to remain married is itself an act of disobedience and an insult to the spirit of a throwaway culture in which continuity has little value. It is also at least ninety percent un-American to remain in close proximity to one’s extended family so that children can experience, daily, the meaning of kinship and the value of deference and responsibility to elders. Similarly, to insist that one’s children learn the discipline of delayed gratification, or modesty in their sexuality, or self-restraint in manners, language, and style is to place oneself in opposition to almost every social trend. Even further, to ensure that one’s children work hard at becoming literate is extraordinarily time-consuming and even expensive. But most rebellious of all is the attempt to control the media’s access to one’s children. There are, in fact, two ways to do this. The first is to limit the amount of exposure children have to media. The second is to monitor carefully what they are exposed to, and to provide them with a continuously running critique of the themes and values of the media’s content. Both are very difficult to do and require a level of attention that most parents are not prepared to give to child-rearing.
Nonetheless, there are parents who are committed to doing all of these things, who are in effect defying the directives of their culture. Such parents are not only helping their children to have a childhood but are, at the same time, creating a sort of intellectual elite. Certainly in the short run the children who grow up in such homes will, as adults, be much favored by business, the professions, and the media themselves. What can we say of the long run? Only this: Those parents who resist the spirit of the age will contribute to what might be called the Monastery Effect, for they will help to keep alive a humane tradition. It is not conceivable that our culture will forget that it needs children. But it is halfway toward forgetting that children need childhood. Those who insist on remembering shall perform a noble service.

The BBQ Review Song

2008-09-18T20:41:00.003-04:00

Everything you always wanted to know about BBQ but didn't know to ask. Now when you travel you know whether or not to stop and have BBQ in a different state.

Windows could not start because file is missing or corrupt

2008-09-04T14:26:00.001-04:00

Got this error message when I tried to reboot last week. Did a Google search (on Pat's computer), found articles on Microsoft's support web site and followed them to the letter. Got everything up and running in about four hours. The only thing I couldn't do was a "System Restore." For some reason System Restore will not open. But everything is running as it was last week, so I'm not complaining. If it happens again, I'm ready. Does anyone have any experience getting System Restore to work again?

Preambles of State Constitutions

2008-08-30T18:31:00.002-04:00

I received this through an email. Here is it for your perusal. Find your state.

Do you know the Preamble for your state constitution?

Be sure to read the message at the bottom!

Alabama 1901, Preamble We the people of the State of Alabama , Invoking the
favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following
Constitution.

Alaska 1956, Preamble We, the people of Alaska , Grateful to God and to
those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.

Arizona 1911, Preamble We, the people of the State of Arizona , Grateful to
Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution...

Arkansas 1874, Preamble We, the people of the State of Arkansas , Grateful
to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government...

California 1879, Preamble We, the People of the State of California ,
Grateful to Almighty God for our freedom...

Colorado 1876, Preamble We, the people of Colorado , With profound reverence
for the Supreme Ruler of Universe...

Connecticut 1818, Preamble. The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with
gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.

Delaware 1897, Preamble Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the
rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of
their consciences.

Florida 1885, Preamble We, the people of the State of Florida , grateful to
Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish this Constitution...

Georgia 1777, Preamble We, the people of Georgia , Relying upon protection
and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution...

Hawaii 1959, Preamble We, the people of Hawaii , Grateful for Divine
Guidance ... Establish this Constitution.

Idaho 1889, Preamble We, the people of the State of Idaho , grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.

Illinois 1870, Preamble We, the people of the state of Illinois, grateful to
Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He hath so
long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our
endeavors.

Indiana 1851, Preamble We, the People of the State of Indiana , grateful to
Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form of
government.

Iowa 1857, Preamble We, the People of the State of Iowa , Grateful to the
Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence
on Him for a continuation of these blessings, establish this Constitution.

Kansas 1859, Preamble We, the people of Kansas , Grateful to Almighty God
for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.

Kentucky 1891, Preamble. We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to
Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties...

Louisiana 1921, Preamble We, the people of the State of Louisiana , grateful
to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.

Maine 1820, Preamble We the People of Maine acknowledging with grateful
hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us
an opportunity. And imploring His aid and direction.

Maryland 1776, Preamble We, the people of the state of Maryland , grateful
to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty...

Massachusetts 1780, Preamble We...the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging
with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe
In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His
direction.

Michigan 1908, Preamble le. We, the people of the State of Michigan ,
Grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this
Constitution.

Minnesota, 1857, Preamble We, the people of the State of Minnesota ,
Grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to
perpetuate its blessings:

Mississippi 1890, Preamble We, the people of Mississippi In convention
assembled, grateful to Al mighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.

Missouri 1845, Preamble We, the people of Missouri , With profound reverence
for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness.
Establish this Constitution...

Montana 1889, Preamble. We, the people of Montana , grateful to Almighty God
for the Blessings of liberty establish this Constitution.

Nebraska 1875, Preamble We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our
freedom. Establish this Constitution.

Nevada 1864, Preamble We the people of the State of Nevada , grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, establish this Constitution...

New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V Every individual has a natural
and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own
conscience.

New Jersey 1844, Preamble We, the people of the state of New Jersey,
grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so
long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our
endeavors.

New Mexico 1911, Preamble We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty
God for the blessings of liberty.

New York 1846, Preamble We, the people of the State of New York , Grateful
to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.

North Carolina 1868, Preamble We the people of the state of North Carolina,
grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil,
political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon
Him for the continuance of those...

North Dakota 1889, Preamble We, the people of North Dakota , Grateful to
Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain...

Ohio 1852, Preamble We the people of the state of Ohio , Grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our
common...

Oklahoma 1907, Preamble Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to
secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty, establish this

Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I Section 2. All men shall be secure in
the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of
their consciences

Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble We, the people of Pennsylvania , grateful to
Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly
invoking His guidance...

Rhode Island 1842, Preamble. We the People of the state of Rhode Island
grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath
so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing...

South Carolina, 1778, Preamble We, the people of he State of South Carolina
grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this
Constitution.

South Dakota 1889, Preamble We, the people of South Dakota , Grateful to
Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties.

Tennessee 1796, Art. XI.III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible
right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their
conscience...

Texas 1845, Preamble We the People of the Republic of Texas , acknowledging,
with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.

Utah 1896, Preamble Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we
establish this Constitution.

Vermont 1777, Preamble Whereas all government ought to enable the
individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other
blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man.

Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our
Creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all
to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other

Washington 1889, Preamble We the People of the State of Washington ,
grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain
this Constitution

West Virginia 1872, Preamble Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the
blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West
Virginia Reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God ...

Wisconsin 1848, Preamble We, the people of Wisconsin , Grateful to Almighty
God for our freedom, domestic tranquility...

Wyoming 1890, Preamble We, the people of the State of Wyoming , Grateful to
God for our civil, political, and religious liberties, establish this
Constitution.

Big Brother at School

2008-08-27T06:41:00.002-04:00

It seems that students in San Antonio who are consistently truant will be required to wear an ankle bracelet in order to track their whereabouts. This is a true story and you can read about it here. Actually I think they should track the parents or guardians. Maybe the incentives to do right shouldn't be put on the kids but on the parents. If the kids don't have good parental support at home their success at school will be limited. Somehow (although I don't think it's 100%) parents today have lost the ability to discipline their kids and perhaps they are the ones who should suffer such indignities. Our governmental authorities should find ways to reengage the parents rather than seek ways to just punish the kids. Although the watchdog groups will be concerned about the kids' privacy they should really worry about the loss of parental supervision. If the parents are not fully engaged such efforts will fail in the long run. Focusing on the kids only creates a bigger chasm between parents and kids. New thinking is needed to deal with the problems schools face. Actually old thinking is needed. By-passing parents to get kids in school and do well will not work. Schools should figure out how to support parents properly and get them to do their jobs.

Happy Anniversary Pat - 32 Years

2008-07-02T05:15:00.000-04:00

Old Doom and Gloom

2008-06-29T20:20:00.004-04:00

Today is the 40th anniversary of The Population Bomb by Dr. Paul Ehrlich. I didn't read it when it came out (I think I was a sophomore in high school) but I know that many of my teachers spouted its warnings. I remember that we were told the population of the earth would reach 20 billion by the end of the century (AD 2000). Of course population today is not even close to the half way mark of that prediction and we are eight years over the target date. Dr. Ehrlich predicted famines in the 70s and 80s, the death of hundreds of millions, a different world (economically, politically) when the children of the 60s became adults, and ridiculously high prices for various natural resources because over population would produce extreme scarcity. But his predictions have all proven to be non-existent.

In order to stop such over population Ehrlich suggested that population control was the only way. At first voluntary methods would be used but if those proved ineffective then forced control would be necessary. Of course who would be in charge of this forced control? Why our benevolent government leaders. You can read an interesting review of his book here. You can also read a brief interview of Ehrlich here on the publication of a new book conducted by the publisher of his book. Ehrlich's new book promises new studies and to show that the planet has actually gotten worse than the predictions of his 40 year old book.

You can read about a wager here that Ehrlich made with a libertarian (Julian Simon) on the prices of our resources. You can also read an interview that Wired Magazine (Feb. 1997) did with said libertarian here. Simon claims that the statistics that environmentalists and other doom-sayers quote us are entirely wrong. For instance, in the late 90s environmentalists were telling us that we were destroying species at the rate of almost 40,000 per year, yet Simon claims that the highest observable rate of extinction is one per year. Anyway, the interview is quite interesting and worth your read if you want to hear all the sides.

What is Dr. Ehrlich up to these days? You can read about his current activities and publications here. I love anniversaries, don't you?

Temperance 1970

2008-06-13T06:42:00.003-04:00

This is an 8mm film taken of our band in 1970. Our drummer's dad filmed it while we were playing in Lompoc Park. For the life of me I do not remember playing at this gig nor do I ever remember being filmed. But here it is. It is low tech, low resolution but viewable. There is no sound. Our drummer (Brad) found it recently and converted it to a digital format.

Jesus and Men

2008-05-27T20:00:00.000-04:00

Over at Christianity Today online, Brandon O'Brien (assistant editor for Leadership Magazine) has an article on the new men's ministries that are making the rounds in evangelical Christianity (read it here). The ministries were spawned in response to several books written about the dearth of men in churches. Most of the books seem to agree that men are not attracted to Jesus or the church because both have been overrun by feminine thinking. O'Brien is somewhat critical of the men's ministries because they separate men from women and they tend to be a little over the top. Here's my response.

These men's ministries (IMHO) make two mistakes. One is that they allow current sinful testosterone to take over. Instead of asking what God wants in a spiritual man, they tend to let go with how men are currently. Listening to some of the clips that introduce these ministries or churches will quickly educate you. A quick run through the Bible will indicate how God wants men to act as his children. Allowing male testosterone to be the guide is what got many men into trouble.

The second mistake is in not looking more carefully at the masculinity of Jesus. I don't see Jesus as a chest-thumping, loud, overly-aggressive, out-of-control male. Instead he delineates what a true man is all about by showing what true spirituality is all about.

David Murrow's book (Why Men Hate Going to Church ) seems to have launched much of the literature and ministries aimed at men. However, his book wasn't a call to separate men from women, to have separate ministries for men, nor to let male desires run wild. Instead he recommends that the church create ministries that allow men to work together to help others (e.g. Saturday morning auto repair for single moms, widows, and other ladies without men). Ministries that allow men to work together as a team keep the focus off of the men themselves and on others. Men as sons of God should be other-centered and not self-centered or male-centered.

Churches do need to rethink how to appeal to men in order to get men back in the body of Christ. But churches need to make sure that it is God who runs the show and not imperfect males.

Redneck Power Windows

2008-04-24T13:21:00.001-04:00

Want a good laugh? Watch this video.

Demographics

2008-04-21T21:52:00.002-04:00

Are you interested in the makeup of your area? Here is a cool web site called ZipSkinny that gives you the demographic breakdown of your zip code and the zip codes around you. I've checked it out for the three zips around me and it appears to be relatively accurate. If you plug in your zip you get seven tabs: Basic Info, Charts (the basic info by charts), Comparison with other zips, schools, map, build a widget, and About ZipSkinny. The information is based on the Census 2000 data and you can access that information here. If you do check it out leave me a comment about the accuracy or inaccuracy of what you find. You might find this info helpful if you want to do a mass mailing or door knocking (yes some churches still door knock).

A Better Way?

2008-04-17T23:00:00.001-04:00

I'm sure many of you have read about the teens in Polk County, Florida who allegedly lured another teen girl to a house and then proceeded to beat her while capturing the violent scenes on video for possible uploading to You Tube. There have been many incidents in which teens have done crazy things for You Tube. Currently the media and other "experts" are wondering whether or not You Tube and other web sites like it are encouraging this sort of behavior. The discussion isn't really any different when the subject is the violent video games that are popular today. The teens allegedly involved in this latest violent reality filming have been prevented by the judge from watching You Tube and engaging in any chat rooms. I'm sure some see this as a step forward. I know many religious folk would like to see such things as You Tube and video games banned altogether. I'm not sure that is really the better way to handle this situation and others like it. Don't get me wrong, I wish such stuff didn't exist at all in our country. However, is using governmental power to banish really the better way?

I receive each Monday morning an email from Roy Williams (the Wizard of Ads which you can read here). To shorten his memo just a bit, he claims that we all have a "guide pattern" and a "challenge pattern." The guide pattern is our world view. The challenge pattern is the problem we are trying to solve. We all use our guide pattern to help us solve our challenge pattern. His illustration is a jigsaw puzzle. The picture on the box is our guide pattern and the challenge is figuring out how the pieces fit together. Without that guide pattern it would be almost impossible to put that puzzle together.

These teen girls had a problem, another teen girl who was taunting them. Their guide pattern was apparently other You tube videos. So they allegedly lured her into a trap where they could film themselves solving their challenge and following their guide pattern. If they had another guide pattern their solution would have been different.

Since our country is slowly pushing out the guide pattern that has been here since our country's inception, it is no wonder that teens (and adults) are creating a guide pattern from video games and the Internet. We will all fill our lives with a guide pattern because that becomes our identity.

Jesus told the story (Luke 11:24-26) of an unclean spirit that goes out of a man. The spirit cannot find another resting place so he comes back to the man. He finds the house (the man) swept and in order but empty. He finds 7 other spirits more evil and they come and inhabit the man. His state is worse than the first. People today need the gospel desperately and we as God's people need to help them find the right guide pattern for lives.

I met Matt Dabbs!

2008-04-15T17:35:00.002-04:00

Today I hosted our area wide preacher's meeting. Attending was Matt Dabbs. Matt and I met through the blog world back in 2006. We've been visiting each other's blogs and saying we should get together. Well a couple of preachers from the Tampa area have been coming to the meeting and have encouraged Matt to come. Finally he does and we meet. We had a great meeting and what a blessing it was to actually hear Matt's voice and listen to him share out of his spiritual knowledge. Then we got to have lunch together. We all ate at a Mexican place here in Mt. Dora. A great day. Hopefully we will have other opportunities to get to know each other.

Good enough for now

2008-04-09T09:45:00.001-04:00

You Are Apple Pie

You're the perfect combo of comforting and traditional.

You prefer things the way you've always known them.

You'll admit that you're old fashioned, and you don't see anything wrong with that.

Your tastes and preferences are classic. And classic never goes out of style.

Those who like you crave security.

People can rely on you to be true to yourself - and true to them.

You're loyal, trustworthy, and comfortable in your own skin.

And because of these qualities, you've definitely earned a lot of respect.

What Kind of Pie Are You?

Not quite what I want

2008-04-09T09:41:00.000-04:00

You Are 7 Up

Understated and subtle, people warm up to you slowly.

But once they're hooked, they can't imagine going back to anyone else!

Your best soda match: Diet Coke

Stay away from: Mountain Dew

What Kind of Soda Are You?

More on Jesus, me, and the church

2008-04-05T16:17:00.000-04:00

Let's get something straight. The first century church WAS NOT PERFECT! In fact they were just as much the sinners as we are today. Don't try to tell me that the reason for our "image" problem today is because we aren't as good as they were. And that they way to cure it is by better behavior on our part. And don't try to tell me that the church in the first century were such darlings that everyone loved them and they always did the right thing. They weren't loved by everyone - they were often persecuted. They didn't always do the right thing. They needed chastisement often got it by a letter from an apostle or prophet.

The church at Rome was divided between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. Apparently there was some judging going on that wasn't all that pleasant (Rom.14-15). Paul had to set them straight. And let's not forget that Paul and Barnabas had a rather LARGE spat concerning John Mark. The church at Corinth was quite divided. There are at least four groups that we know of. They were quite egotistical about their gifts and who knows what else. We won't even get into the Galatian error. Regardless of what that error entailed, Paul was pretty mad about it. He didn't have anything good to say to them in the letter. The Philippians had a couple of ladies arguing. I'm reasonably sure that their argument is probably bigger than we realize otherwise Paul wouldn't have dealt with it. The church at Ephesus had some elders who would begin to devour the flock. Later Jesus in Revelation says that the church at Ephesus was way too interested in putting people down than loving them. The church at Thyatira tolerated sin and the one encouraging the sin. The Laodiceans were quite self-sufficient. They didn't need anyone - including Jesus. The church at Saris was hung up on their past reputation and were dead to the present. Don't forget that Peter was confronted by Paul and stood condemned for his actions in Antioch.

And yet the problem is us. As Paul told those who trusted in The Law (Romans 2:17-24) that their inconsistent behavior was causing the Gentiles to blaspheme God. Those outside of Christ will blaspheme the name of our savior because of our inconsistency and sin. But we will always be sinners. Those before us were sinners, and those after us will be sinners. Our sin will always get in the way. We will never overcome the fact that we are imperfect. So the way to overcome this is not by telling us how good the first century church was. We need to focus on our savior and Lord. We need a healthy dose of his grace and how to be gracious to others. We need to keep our eyes and ears on the Word that God graciously brings to us and heed what it says.

We will always have disagreements. We will always have people dividing who think they are right in their beliefs. We will always fail under the scrutiny of the world. And yet if we realize that we are sinners we will seek a power outside ourselves (2Cor.4:7; 1Cor.2:1-5). We will seek the one who can make us adequate (2Cor.3:4-6). So we are the problem and the solution. But we are only the solution as we trust in Christ. Praise to the one who is perfect on our behalf.

New Product

2008-03-22T10:42:00.000-04:00

So tell me what you think of this video and this new product.

Jesus yes, church no

2008-03-16T15:09:00.001-04:00

My favorite day of the week is Sunday. I love being with my current congregation here at Mt. Dora. In fact I have enjoyed each congregation I've worked with - Lompoc, CA; Randolph, NJ; Tabernacle, NJ. I enjoy the fellowship, the classes, preaching, and saying hi to everyone. Yes there are piddling things that annoy me but overall I wouldn't change a thing. I enjoy the diversity of thinking and the interchange that takes place. I'm sure that if I tried to change the things that annoy me I would mess up the whole church.

Apparently not everyone is happy about "their church." There is a new book out called They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from emerging generations by Dan Kimball. The title really tells it all. The church in general is not well liked these days. Over at Out of Ur (a blog at ChristianityToday.com by Leadership Journal), Skye Jethani discusses "They love the church but not the institution" which you can read here for part one and here for part two. He tries to divide the church as community from the church as organization. It's a similar discussion I've heard as to the difference between manager and leader. The manager is concerned about finances, projects, and deadlines. The leader is concerned about people and their direction. I think Jethani and Kimball are saying something similar about the church. The hierarchy is concerned about programs, finances, attendance, and the building. But the church should be about the people serving God. I can understand why some are unhappy with what they see but I can also see why some are not unhappy.

There is no doubt that the people who lead the church today (our fellowship and the denominational world) have a different mind set than say 50 years ago. We have been infected by the business and consumer model mind set. Which has it's good and bad points. Some churches are way to business-oriented. But some churches aren't business-oriented enough. When some look at the church in general they see unfeeling, uncaring people only concerned about numbers and not the community environment of the first century. Plus the media is constantly watching for the next scandal. And scandals will come. But that is the point, the church is inhabited by imperfect people who still sin and who don't always choose the best ways to lead a local church.

Bonhoeffer surprised me in his book, Life Together, about Christian community because he basically says that we have no right to impose our own view of the church on each other. He says, "That dismisses once and for all every clamorous desire for something more (p.26)." We instead ought to be grateful that we have fellowship with each other.

Just at this point Christian brotherhood is threatened more often at the very start by the greatest danger of all, the danger of being poisoned at its root, the danger of confusing Christian brotherhood with some wishful idea of religious fellowship, of confounding the natural desire of the devout heart for community with the spiritual reality of Chrisitian brotherhood. (p.26)

Bonhoeffer seems to be saying that way to often we have our own idea of how the church should work and we spend too much time trying to mold the church into our image. Here's why Bonhoeffer says what he says.

Not what a man is in himself as a Christian, his spirituality and piety, constitutes the basis of our community. What determines our brotherhood is what that man is by reason of Christ. Our community with one another consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us. (p.25)

The foundation of our life together should be grounded in Jesus and his finished work for us. We should then recognize that our unity constitutes a witness to the world (John 17:20-21). When we are one the world recognizes that God has indeed acted in the world. The church should also recognize that when we act improperly the world criticizes God because of our behavior (Romans 2:22-24). We should also realize that even when arguments cause us to separate God can still use us for His purposes and glory (Acts 15:36-40). We have too many who are unhappy about the way things are and try to change them. We have too many who want to keep things the way they are. Let the church be the same and let the church change. Maybe my tolerance level is too high but Jesus is still head of the church and Bob is still just a part.

Redeeming Movies

2008-03-06T23:00:00.000-05:00

Christianity Today Online has a list of 2007's 10 most redeeming movies. It is located here. We haven't seen many movies this past year. In fact we did not see any of these 10 movies. The list included honorable mention movies and we had only seen 1 - Spider Man 3. So what movies did you see this past year you thought others who are Christians might want to see?

Global Warming?

2008-02-11T20:23:00.000-05:00

I thought that no matter what your view on global warming (or climate change) you might enjoy this video. Don't take things too seriously when you watch this.

The Things We Do For Show

2008-01-31T20:37:00.001-05:00

Tom, my friend and brother in Christ in South Jersey, had some fun with the photo I posted below. You see Tom was jealous. I live in paradise and he lives in snow, cold, and miserable weather. Seriously, Tom is pretty creative so he altered my photo. He couldn't leave well enough alone, he had to "show" off. :-) Thanks Tom, I miss you.

Bob the Builder

2008-01-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

It was Bob The Builder Day at the Harden Early Children Center here at Mt. Dora Bible School. As you can see I fit right in with 4 and 5 year olds. The kids know me as "Mr. Bob" so it wasn't much of a stretch for me to play the part of Bob The Builder at their Bob The Builder Day. One of the parents runs a rental center and he brought a couple of machines (a skip loader and a roller) for the kids to climb on during the day. I really enjoy spending time with the kids at chapel and other special events. I also get to meet parents at special events as well. I'm hoping my time with them will one day open opportunities with their families for sharing the gospel. Until then, I'm having fun!

The Things We Do For Love

2008-01-09T17:27:00.001-05:00

Pat has a special love for Christmas time. Even though I'm not necessarily as enthusiastic about all the holiday trimmings I try to make sure that I do what I can to make her pleased. One of the trimmings she really loves is icicle lights around the house. I'm not fond of heights. Being up on a roof makes me nervous. In South Jersey our roof wasn't very steep so I got used to it. Our roof here in Florida is rather steep and I'm nervous just being on it. But add in putting up lights and I'm even more so. Fortunately only a short portion of the roof requires that I actually get on the roof to hang lights. I'm sure over time I will get used to this roof. But for now I do it for love. I want my DW to have a good time each year during the holidays. So I've re-titled the song "The Things I Do For Pat."

Tin Man

2007-12-25T22:24:00.000-05:00

Did anyone see the SciFi Channel's miniseries, Tin Man? I didn't get a chance to watch it when it first debuted but I did record and we just finished watching it. The series gets a BIG thumps up from me. If you haven't seen it and like fantasy and science fiction, you'll like this movie, miniseries.

You can read more about it at SciFi.com. The movie is a modern day retelling of The Wizard of Oz. I didn't really like The Wizard of Oz but I definitely liked Tin Man. The writers, producers, and director have creatively used the images and symbols from the past movie to make this one. You will find the names of cities, people, and objects in the new but sometimes used in a slightly different way. This movie is longer and probably more intricate. I thought is was superbly done, well acted, and had terrific action and drama. The twist is in Dorothy's identity. It is worth your time (6 hours unless you have a commercial skip button). If you saw it let me know what you thought of it.

Blondes and Images

2007-11-25T22:37:00.000-05:00

A new study (which you can read about here) shows that it is not blondes who are actually dumb but people who look at blondes or pictures of blondes. In the study men were shown pictures of blondes and then given a general-knowledge test. They scored below par on the test. The article doesn't describe what "below par" means but I guess we are supposed to intuitively get the meaning. I've noticed in the past that men tend to act "stupider" in the presence of a blonde (usually trying to impress her) but had never expected that we men would also be affected by a mere picture. Women also scored lower on the test when shown the same pictures. The purpose of the study was to show how we react to stereotypes and cultural beliefs. To some degree the study suggests we become what we believe about what we are viewing. You need to read that sentence carefully.

I wonder if this is part of the reason why God prohibited images being made of Him? If we tend to act according to our beliefs when viewing pictures of blondes, then viewing an image of a god should also affect us as well. Although this study is probably not considered all that scientific by some in the know, I wonder if there isn't at least some truth to the conclusions drawn by the researchers.

If we do not use images of God then He remains invisible, mysterious, powerful, spiritual, transcendent, and sovereign. With an image He becomes manageable. Interesting how a study about how people view blondes can make you think about our relationship to God.

Bob's Reading Level

2007-11-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

Get a Cash Advance

So what does this mean? I guess it means I'm smarter than a fifth grader.

Jesus' Mighty Men

2007-11-13T10:17:00.000-05:00

I was writing an article for the bulletin on Veteran's Day. I used 2Samuel 23:8-38 for honoring our military. I don't know whether or not it's an exact parallel but I thought it close enough. As I was writing the article and reading the text, it struck me that the text mentions two groups of David's men, the thirty and the Three. Several men have a name almost of the Three but they are not of the Three. This got me to thinking about Jesus' three - Peter, James, and John. I wonder if the Gospels are hinting that Jesus has his three just as David did? I don't think I've ever read anything that draws a parallel between David and Jesus in this regard. Has anyone ever read anything that suggests this? Has anyone ever thought of this parallel?

These three get more mention in the Gospels than any of the other apostles. They also are the one's that Jesus generally takes with him on special occasions (like the Transfiguration). Peter gets to preach the first gospel proclamation. James is the first to die in persecution. John gets to hang around and probably is the last to die. They do seem to occupy a special place in the body of Christ. So are they Jesus' Three?

Meet the Beatles

2007-10-21T20:18:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday Pat, Loni, and I got to see the Beatles in concert. Not really, it was a tribute band called Revolution. You can read about their story here. The concert was sponsored by the Mount Dora Music Festival. You can read about the festival here. Mount Dora is renovating an old theater into a "concert boutique." They hope to extend the theater's seating and turn it into a really nice place for concerts.

This concert was unique in that probably 85% of the people were over 50. There were a few young adults and even some teens but mostly baby boomers trying to remember the glory years of the 60s. The band really did a good job of playing the Beatles' songs just the way the Beatles did. The first half of the concert was the early Beatles. Then they came out dressed in Sgt. Pepper outfits and did later stuff by the Beatles. What a great time we had listening to the Beatles.

Book Review - Biblical Preaching

2007-10-11T00:11:00.000-04:00

With my last post I mentioned that I was planning on reading Robinson's book and trying to follow his methodology. My purpose was to regain some discipline in my preparation. I've read numerous books on homiletics over the years and think that I've tried to allow all of them to influence me so that I might find my own voice (style). I think in some ways that I've reached that goal but I don't think that I've figured out how to speak to my audience in my voice (style). So I'm going to follow Robinson's methodology and see what happens. Robinson has influenced quite a few people in the field of homiletics. I'm talking not only students and preachers but writers of homiletics as well. I will probably be reviewing some of those books in the future as well.

I read Robinson's first edition sometime back in the late 80s. I didn't really absorb the book and its details immediately. Things sometimes have to simmer on my back burner before I really understand how to use them. I think Robinson and other homileticians have simmered long enough. I picked up Robinson's book at a local Bible bookstore outlet center for about half price. There are 10 chapters in the book, as well as an appendix with a sample sermon. The chapters take the reader from text selection to finished product in 10 stages. The stages do not correspond to the chapters. Robinson opens with two chapters on an explanation about expository preaching and "the big idea." Robinson is saying that most preaching should be based on a coherent passage and a single idea. This single idea (a.ka. the big idea) is the heart of his methodology. Once he establishes these two points the book then explains how to reach the finished sermon.

There are several strengths to Robinson's book. One is that it provides a disciplined approach to sermon preparation. I believe that if one follows this approach, the finished sermon will be of good quality. Another strength is the "big idea" that has become Robinson's trademark. The "big idea" approach gives the sermon a focus and keeps the preacher from wandering and the congregation from wondering what in the world he is talking about.

The book also has its weaknesses. One is that his stage on studying the passage is not very clear. Tom Long (The Witness of Preaching) and Fred Craddock (Preaching) both have excellent sections on the study process. Robinson should have incorporated a better section on studying the passage with this second edition. Another weakness is application. Even though I believe that I do a fairly good job of trying to address how to apply my sermons, I still feel the need to find something that will help me make sure that I'm providing good application suggestions. Robinson talks about application but like most books on preaching really ends up short. There is a chapter in The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching that will help.

Robinson's book has echoes of Charles Koller (How to Preach without Notes), Lloyd Perry (Biblical Preaching for Today's World), and a host of others. His methodology has some similarities to Tom Long's. It is well worth your time as a preacher to invest in the book and to follow his methodology if only to see how it fits into your already established sermon preparation.
I'm trying to incorporate some of Long's and Craddock's study procedures into Robinson's overall approach. Maybe some day down the road I'll let you know how I've benefited from this approach.

Book Review - The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching

2007-10-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

Several authors have collaborated to write a book that tries to further the idea that Haddon Robinson put in his classic homiletic text - Biblical Preaching. The contributors are trying to demonstrate that Robinson's style of preparing expository sermons is still relevant to our diverse culture.

The book is divided into three parts. Part One has two chapters and is geared toward showing why "the big idea" of the text and sermon packs a good homiletical punch. Part Two, with five chapters, focuses on the biblical and theological power of "the big idea." This section takes us through literary types and culture types. Part Three has four chapters and is dedicated to getting "the big idea" across in our sermons.

The weakest chapter was Chapter 6 (The Big Idea and Biblical Theology's Grand Theme) by Bruce L. Shelley. The chapter was weak because "the big idea" of the chapter wasn't really about biblical theology and the grand theme of the Bible. It was more about getting across the emotion (I would have preferred "mood") of the text. I agree with what the author said in his chapter, so it wasn't weak in the sense that what he said didn't relate to the theme of the book. It was weak because his chapter content and chapter title didn't match up. The chapter should have been called "The Big Idea and the Mood of the Text." Then another chapter should have focused on Biblical Theology and the Grand Theme of the Bible.

The highlight of the book was two chapters. Donald Sunukjian (doesn't anyone know how to pronounce his name?) in chapter 8 wrote about allowing the flow of the text to influence the flow of your sermon. It was such an excellent chapter that I have his book at the top of my "books to buy NOW" list.

The other great chapter was by Joseph Stowell III on "Preaching for a Change" (chapter 9). He made some excellent suggestions on how to build application into your lessons. I think trying to have effective applications in my lessons is my weakest part. Stowell's were the best I've read.

This is a highly recommend book for preachers. Your style will be enhanced by reading and incorporating the suggestions found here. I would also recommend that you find the books of the contributors and read them as well. I have several of their books on my list. I liked this book so much that I've decided to reread Robinson's book and try to follow his methodology for a while. I have read so many books on homiletics (and tried to incorporate way too many ideas) that I have felt I don't really have a style of my own. Or maybe it's just that I feel I lack good discipline. I like what I've read about Robinson's method so I'm going to try it for a while and see what happens.

I Vant Yur Blood!

2007-10-04T19:32:00.001-04:00

You Could Be a Vampire... If You Had To

Like most people, the thought of being a vampire has crossed your mind. But you're not sure if you'd do it, even if you could.
Living forever doesn't sound half bad, if you could live forever with the people you love the most.
But do vampires even love? And would the vampire version of you even be you?
It's all too much to contemplate. Luckily, the chances of you ever becoming a vampire are astronomically low.

What you would like best about being a vampire: Living forever

What you would like least about being a vampire: Blood stained teeth

Could You Be a Vampire?

More Revelations about Bob!

2007-10-04T19:29:00.001-04:00

You Are Changing Leaves

Pretty, but soon dead.

What Part of Fall Are You?

I got an A!

2007-10-04T19:25:00.000-04:00

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct.

It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors.
If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs.
As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human.
And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

My Mother and Wife should be very proud of me.

You are what you eat!

2007-10-04T17:10:00.000-04:00

What Your Pizza Reveals

Your appetite is pretty average. You don't go overboard - but you don't deprive yourself either.

You consider pizza to be bread... very good bread. You fit in best in the Midwest part of the US.

You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods.

You are generous, outgoing, and considerate with your choices.

You are cultured and intellectual. You should consider traveling to Vienna.

The stereotype that best fits you is emo. You think you're special... and you kind of are.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

So here is what my pizza-eating habits say about me. I wonder what other foods reveal our personalities? So have you taken the test?

Book Review - Preaching that Speaks to Women

2007-09-18T22:42:00.000-04:00

Preaching that Speaks to Women was written by Alice P. Mathews. The book got my attention because the introduction is written by Haddon Robinson. The book is not about women's role in the church. It is a rather good attempt to help preachers understand a group that represents more than half of any congregation.

Ms. Mathews first chapter deals with the myths of the differences between men and women. She acknowledges that there are biological differences and discusses how she sees our culture mitigating those differences in women. She ends up somewhere in the middle of the discussion of "nature vs. nurture." She tries quite hard to end up in the discussion where she admits the differences but doesn't want anyone to think she believes in a stereo-typical male or female mindset. I think that some other authors will do a better job of showing the biological differences between the two genders but Ms. Mathews does a good job of showing that the differences exist and how those differences need to be considered by the preacher.

She organizes her book around the biblical statement that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Each of the statements refer to areas of importance to women.

chp.2 - love with our hearts: deals with ethical decisions.
chp.3 - love with our souls: deals with the psychology of women
chp.4-6 - love with our minds: deals with epistemology (I thought this was the best of the book. Her discussion on postmodernism is quite good. this is also the hardest section of the book because of the deep subject matter)
chp.7-8 - love with our strength: deals with women's abilities and gifts
chp.9 - how women feel marginalized
chp.10 - practical advice

Each chapter is organized by the following pattern:
1. Discusses the topic
2. How this topic applies to preaching
3. Summing up the chapter
4. Questions to Ponder

I really liked this book and heartedly recommend it to every preacher. The author did not have a theological agenda about male/female roles in the church. I think that any preacher from conservative to liberal will find a lot to chew on and digest. One thing to note, this is not an easy read. She doesn't use big words but she delves into concepts (postmodernism, epistemology, etc.) that require a good deal of thinking. Some may see her practical suggestions in chapter 10 as concession to feminism but I think if we dig a little deeper we will see that we speak to a different breed of people today and we need to alter our terminology without altering our doctrine. I think her suggestions will play well in any congregation.

One goal that I've made concerning my sermons is paying closer attention to my illustrations. In one of her chapters she recounts a speaking engagement where she opened using an illustration concerning her sewing machine. She jokingly said at the end that this illustration was payback for all the football illustrations used by male preachers. She got quite a laugh and response to that joke. I got the point real quick. I'm trying to limit but not avoid stories or jokes from the male realm of things. I hope that this focus will engage the ladies in my congregation more.

Strange Funeral

2007-09-13T21:05:00.000-04:00

Since Trey told Lisa that he's done funerals for just about every kind of pet I thought maybe he could appreciate this story. Pat received it from a kindergarten teacher we know back in New Jersey.

As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a
grave-side service for a homeless man, with no family or friends.
The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country,
and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost; and
being a typical man did not
stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the
backhoe and the crew, who was eating lunch, but the hearse was
nowhere in sight. I apologized to the workers for my
tardiness, and stepped to the side of the open grave, where I saw
the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not
hold them up for long, but this was t he proper thing to
do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I poured

out my heart and soul. As I preached the workers began to say
"Amen," "Praise the Lord," and "Glory"! I preached,
and I preached, like I'd never preached before: from Genesis all
the way to Revelations. I closed the lengthy service with a prayer
and walked to my car. As I was opening the door
and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to
another, "I ain't never seen anything like that before and I've
been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

I thought this story was hilarious. I've got a couple of stories like this only not involving a funeral. Perhaps I'll share one of those soon. Enjoy.

Fees for Speaking

2007-09-13T12:45:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered what some celebrities charge for speaking? Well here is a partial list. Interesting that no politicians are mentioned. Some I recognize and some I don't but these are for you to ponder.

Alan Thicke - $10,001-$20,000
D.L. Hughley - $10,001-$20,000.
Jerry Stiller - $10,001-$20,000
Star Jones - $20,001-$30,000
Carson Kressley - $20,001-$30,000.
Carson Daly - $30,001-$50,000
Diane Sawyer - $30,001-$50,000.
Suzanne Somers - $30,001-$50,000.
Anderson Cooper - $50,001-$100,000.
Jimmy Kimmel - $50,000-$100,000
Kelly Ripa - $50,001-$100,000.
Bill Cosby - $100,000 and up.
Martha Stewart - $100,000 and up.
Jon Stewart - $100,000 and up.
Donald Trump - $200,000 and up.

You can read a little more about each celebrity and their fee here.

Biblical Preaching

2007-09-06T20:47:00.000-04:00

Here's an excellent article by William Willimon (definitely one of my favorite authors) that you should read. I personally think he's hit the nail on the head even though the article is 12 years old. I hope Don in particular reads it, considering his latest post which you can read here. I think you will find it enlightening. This article is found at Expository Thoughts. It is one of the blogs where I frequently find interesting ideas for sermons and sermon series.

Planning your sermons

2007-09-06T15:32:00.000-04:00

During my first year of pulpit work (second year of full time ministry) we went on a foliage trip (October) with Pat's parents. Lisa was just 3 months old. We stopped every couple of hours so Pat could feed her. During one stop Lon and I got to talking (we were always talking Bible or some related topic) and the subject of planning one's sermons came up. Lon told me that the seminaries teach their students to spend a week during the summer planning their sermons for next year. I needed a plan badly because Monday morning was torture trying to figure out what to preach on Sunday. My plan was to preach sermon series. I started with biblical topics (worship, faith, salvation, evangelism, etc.) and wrote down titles of sermons that would help develop the big topic. I did the same thing with whole books of the Bible. I might choose a theme from a book and then develop that theme. Or I might just preach through the book verse by verse or paragraph by paragraph or section by section (depending on how big the book was). I might choose a section of a book that was just made for a sermon series (Sermon on the Mount, etc.). I found endless possibilities. That month I started my plan for the next year. I didn't have a clue as to the needs of my congregation. The congregation seemed to diverse to me to come up with a single set of needs. So I decided to preach a balanced set of sermons. Kind of like preparing a balanced meal for a family. I planned sermons from the OT, from the NT, from the Gospels, some expository, some topical, a book series, and I worked my plan. So beginning in 1980 to this present year, I have planned out my sermon titles and texts each year for the next year. Over the years, anytime the elders have suggested that the congregation needs a particular sermon, I have always interrupted whatever series I was on and fulfilled their request.

So what do you other preachers do in regards to planning your sermons? Do you do it by the year, by the quarter, by the month, or week to week? What plan do you use? Part of the reason I'm asking is because of a post Don just did (here). His discussion of how to preach to the entire congregation got me to thinking about how I plan my sermons. I recently found a book on planning your preaching that I haven't had a chance to read and digest. Maybe I will read it and do a review on it sometime soon. This is one area where I would really love to get some good ideas and input.

For those of you who don't preach, can you discern a plan or pattern in your preacher's sermons? Or have they shared with you what their plan is? Or maybe you've given this topic some thought and have some ideas of your own. Please share.

Actual Me

2007-08-30T21:09:00.000-04:00

According to a short test this is the actual me.

I wonder what the other options are?

St. Augustine, FL

2007-08-13T23:27:00.001-04:00

Pat and I got to spend 3 days and 2 nights (well sort of) in St. Augustine courtesy of Bass Pro Shops. Bass Pro was promoting their partnership in a time share resort for $49 for this stay. We had wanted to visit St. Augustine and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Of course we had to listen to an hour and a half sales pitch (which turned into 3 hours). We said no. But they kept a coming. There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago. But they kept a coming. A deal designed for our low income situation. We said no. Another aspect to sweeten the deal. We said no. But wait there's more. A sampler package. We still said no. And you can apply this amount to the down payment later on. What part of no don't you understand? Finally we received a cell phone number and 2 $25 gift cards to Bass Pro Shops. Now that's what I'm talking about. Can't wait to go to Orlando and use those cards.

This is the Castillo de San Marcos, built by the Spanish between 1672 and 1695. It was built after Sir Francis Drake (a corsair at the time, a sort of state-approved pirate) attacked the city of St. Augustine. Since its completion it has never been taken during battle. Period (There's an illustration in there for someone's sermon.). The city has fallen several times but never the fort. We didn't have time to tour the fort (plus it was hot) but we will another time.

This is the lighthouse. We did climb all 219 steps to the top. What a view! Except that it was hot and a little hazy that day. We had a great time in America's oldest city. It was founded in Sept. 8. 1565 by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles. He came ashore with 1,500 soldiers and colonists. If you want to read more about St. Augustine and its history you can click here. As you can tell we had a great time. Our accommodations were quite good. The only complaint - the heat. But the one really good thing - we were together.

Our Media Culture

2007-08-04T14:42:00.000-04:00

Here are some links to some interesting posts at FaithVisuals. The first is a two part interview with Shane Hipps. Hipps wrote The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture. I would recommend reading it. He has some interesting insights because of his work in the advertising business. The folks at FaithVisuals had a two part interview with him that you can read beginning here. Then you can read the second part here. He doesn't reject the visual media outright but does explore cautionary thinking toward the use of video projectors during our sermons.

FaithVisuals also has an interesting post about using icons in your PowerPoint slides rather than photos. I think the author makes an interesting point. Read his insights here and see what you think. He claims that sometimes photos can be distracting since the photo represents something specific rather than an idea. For instance, if you are talking about the home and use a photo of a home, some might sit in the audience and think, "I like that home!" They are distracted from your point. But an icon of a house helps them to picture their own home rather than someone else's. I think to a degree that this discussion fits in with Hipps's discussion about the medium having a message all its own.

Another thought pertaining to distractions during a PowerPoint sermon, Dr. Arlene Taylor recommends using only a white background. She maintains that colors bring up memories and thus a distraction. Dr. Taylor has a bi-monthly enewsletter about research on the brain. You can read her discussion on the use of white backgrounds here. Scroll down to the Q&A section. I suppose anything can be a distraction to anyone. You can never be sure of whether a fragrance, color, article of clothing, a word, or almost anything could be a distraction.

So what do some of you preachers do with your PowerPoint slides? How do you craft a presentation? For those of you who don't preach, what do your preachers do with PowerPoint? What do you think is an effective use of PowerPoint? I've been thinking about this for some time now. I've read a couple of books but I'm still trying to grow and learn. Share your thoughts with me.

Messy Spirituality - Book Review

2007-07-21T07:45:00.000-04:00

Michael Yaconelli’s book, Messy Spirituality, is all about living the Christian life in the real world. Overall it’s a good book. It has a good list of strengths. The most obvious strength is that Yaconelli reminds us we are imperfect. Living the Christian life doesn’t mean being perfect. We mess up occasionally and more often than we are often willing to admit. In the midst of our messiness God continues to save us and grant us grace.

Another strength is that Yaconelli doesn’t offer any quick fixes. You will not find a chapter entitled “30 days to a new you.” In fact Yaconelli even has a quote from Eugene Peterson, who entitled one of his books A Long Obedience In The Same Direction. Peterson’s book title speaks for itself and probably represents Yaconelli’s view on the development of spirituality. Peterson is of the mind that spirituality happens over a lifetime. Yaconelli believes the same.

Yaconelli also reminds us that we grow at different rates, in different ways, and in different areas. He mentions a woman who was present in his assembly and she forgot to prepare communion, which they were supposed to have that day. It dawned on her during the assembly that she forgot and she said one colorful word out loud that let everyone knew she suddenly remembered. We all have stories like that but I’m sure there are some who wish we didn’t.

At the start of each chapter Yaconelli has some great quotes from other writers. The quotes are almost as valuable as his prose. One of these days I’m going to take some of his quotes and use them for an article on my blog.

The book does have a couple of weaknesses. It is mostly anecdotal which is both a strength and a weakness. It is a string of stories about real people who mess up (I found myself in a lot of those stories). This fits in well with his purpose - to demonstrate we aren’t perfect. But so many of them left me with the feeling I had reading some salesperson’s book trying to prove how good one can do at selling. There are literally hundreds of stories showing how much you can make selling anything. After awhile you are tempted to say, “Enough already!” A few well chosen stories would have made his point (IMHO) just as well.

I felt he could have used a little more scriptural exposition. There are some great passages that would have fit in well Yaconelli’s premise. Like 1John 1:5-10. John basically tells us that we are going to mess up even though we are in the presence of the God who is light and has no darkness. We are in the presence of perfection. Yet if we deny our imperfections we are self-deceived and call God a liar. Maybe this is a personal preference. I tend to judge lectureships and books by how much they increase my knowledge of Scripture. Others will perhaps like the lack of Scriptural exposition in favor of his stories.

The biggest weakness in my mind is that he doesn’t interact with the tension between stigma (or shame) and grace. Years ago, Phillip Yancy had a back page editorial called “A Tale of Two Sisters” (Christianity Today, December 11, 1995). It was a fabulous article. It’s subtitle was “Can we find a place for shame and grace?” which expresses well what Yancey was trying to do. He told the story of two sisters. One who ruled her family with a legalistic iron hand. Her family devotionals were about punishment from the Old Testament. All five of her kids deal with self-esteem issues but they were all faithful to their mates and raising their children in their faith (save for one). The other lived in grace. Her devotionals were from the Gospels. She didn’t punish her kids and eschewed the legalism of her past. All of her kids were unfaithful, drug addicts, and did not follow mom’s faith. Interesting tale. Yancey did a good job of interacting with the tension those two concepts create. Yaconelli did not. In fact Yaconelli gives the impression that he is like the sister of grace and that he wouldn’t allow the legalistic sister any place in his assembly. Shame or stigma should have a place in our spiritual growth in keeping us on the path (1Corinthians 4:14; 6:5).

Anyway, I would recommend Messy Spirituality for most anyone to read. Its basic premise that our sanctification is lived out in the realm of our imperfections is sorely needed in our churches. It could serve as a correction to our tight-lipped lives where we don’t reveal anything to others about ourselves. I think we preachers especially feel vulnerable about revealing our “messy spirituality” since to reveal such might in the eyes of some make us less of a spiritual leader. I like books that show the cracks in our spiritual journey and this book certainly does just that.

Not Your Father's Vdub

2007-07-04T15:02:00.001-04:00

I receive pictures from MotorCities.com on my iGoogle home page. Everyday I get 8 pages of gorgeous cars. I was surprised to find this video of a Volkswagen concept car. For those of you who enjoy cars enjoy this short video.

Ephesians and Grace

2007-06-27T00:05:00.000-04:00

I was doing a little research on a Greek part of speech for an upcoming class. I was consulting my old Greek text (Greek To Me by J. Lyle Story & Cullen I. K. Story) and I came across this quote that reminded me of my purpose in preaching.

The imperative mood aids our understanding of the letter to the Ephesians. In the first three chapters, the imperative appears only once (2:11), because at the outset, the writer desires to highlight the grace of God that unites Jew and Gentile in one body in Christ. The indicative mood pre-eminently, can do just that. In contrast, chapters 4-6 contain some 38 imperatives, which point us to the disciplined life that flows forth from the grace of God portrayed in chapters 1-3.

I have taught for a number of years that most of Paul's letters have a pattern to them. Paul first reminds his readers of the grace of God in Christ. Then he tells them have to live in view of that grace. Paul's use of the imperative mood in Ephesians really brings home this pattern. This pattern also becomes my two purposes in preaching.

My first purpose in preaching is to proclaim God's mighty act of salvation and deliverance in Jesus Christ. It is an accomplished task that didn't need or use any of we humans to accomplish (yes he used us in carrying out the plan - like Judas - but not in the sense which I mean in this sentence). It was done solely by God. It is given to us freely. We didn't earn it.

The other purpose in my preaching is to make known that God's grace binds us to the "disciplined life." This life can only be lived out in the context of the cross. We preachers need to make sure that we pay as much attention to preaching about the grace of God through Jesus Christ as we do how to live the Christian life. Our folks need to know that while they live the Christian life God is graciously smiling down upon them because they are living that life while trusting in him.

It's My Party

2007-06-17T13:44:00.001-04:00

Okay, today is my birthday. What year was I born? Here are some clues:

Events
1. Georgi Malenkov is named Premier of the Soviet Union
2. Japanese runner Keizo Yamada wins the Boston Marathon
3. JFK & Jackie announce their engagement
4. FCC approves color for TV
5. Small Business Administration is created
6. Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay become first humans to reach summit of Mt. Everest
7. Queen Elizabeth II is crowed in England
8. Earl Warren is chosen as chief justice for the Supreme Court
9. TV Guide begins publication
10. New York adopts the three-color traffic light

People born the same year
1. John Malkovich
2. Kim Basinger
3. Louie Anderson
4. Bobby Rahal
5. Mary Steenburgen
6. Joanna Kerns
7. Rick Moranis
8. Tony Blair

Movies
1. From Here to Eternity
2. Peter Pan
3. The War of the Worlds (w/o Tom Cruise)
4. Gentleman Prefer Blondes
5. Shane
6. How to Marry a Millionaire

Sports News
1. World Series - NY Yankees
2. US Open Golf - Ben Hogan
3. Pro Football Champs - Detroit Lions (pre Super Bowl days)
4. Indy 500 - Bill Vukovich (128.740 MPH)
5. Stanley Cup - Montreal Canadiens
6. NCCA Basketball - Indiana (pre Bobby Knight days)
7. College Football - Maryland
8. Heisman Trophy - John Lattner from Notre Dame (Go Irish)
9. Braves move from Boston to Milwaukee

Here are the clues. Can your brain figure it out? Can't figure out the year? Then figure out the decade. Was it early in the decade or late? I'll give you the answer shortly.

So whadda you think?

2007-06-09T20:54:00.001-04:00

Is this a father/son look-a-like pic fest or what?

A Link & Some Tools

2007-06-09T08:24:00.000-04:00

Apparently I'm not the only one who connected the new movie "Evan Almighty" with commercialism. Read what Pulpit Magazine said about it here. John MacArthur is the editor-in-chief of the blog.

I always have trouble remembering where I've left comments, especially if I follow a link to a new blog I have visited before. Plus I forget to bookmark the blog. CoComment is a new site to help you keep track of your comments and the comments on other blogs that are of interest to you. I don't think it works at all blogs (it hasn't worked at Tim Archer's Mac blog but it does work at his Blogspot blog) but I've found it works at almost all of them. When you go to the comment page, there is a bar at the bottom of the comment box and once you start typing a check appears that says you want this comment followed. It is still in the beta format but appears to be working fine. Check it out.

If you want a program to help you keep track of stuff you read on the Internet without having to open up Word and paste it to a document, there is a program called ClipMarks. You can clip text or images and put a tag on it (as Google Mail does with labels) so you can find it easily. I've been clipping images of books I find that I might want and tagging them "books" so that I can order them later on. I've also found text and images on other blogs that I want to keep so this helps me organize them and know where they are. Great program.

If anyone does go and try these new programs let me know how they work for you. If you have any programs that will help me let me know about them as well. Have a Great Weekend!

Long-haired Bobby

2007-06-05T20:08:00.001-04:00

This picture was taken at Pepperdine University, downtown campus, winter of 1971. My sister Renee sent it to me. This isn't the longest my hair grew but it's the only picture I have of me with long hair. My family might have one or two others around someplace - hidden probably. When I left for Pepperdine in September I just started letting it grow. I wasn't a hippie or anything (too conservative in politics to be a hippie), I just wanted to look cool and exert my independence. When I got back in April after my first year, I cut it. I wanted to work for the summer and earn money for a car. Back then long hair on a young man just wasn't accepted in the workplace. I got a job at McDonalds. Maybe I'll see if my family has any pictures of my first car (1964 Corvair Monza. What a car!). What do you think Jel? Do I look good in long hair?

More on Ministry and Commercialism

2007-06-04T17:51:00.000-04:00

Found this excerpt from a William Willimon article over at Theocentric Preaching. The excerpt come from an article you can read by clicking here. Willimon is another of my favorite authors.

We live in a consumer-driven, avaricious society where everything is turned into a commodity, even the gospel, and life is said to be fulfilled only through our choices, our ability to consumer cars and clothes and, even Christ. In such a climate, we must be careful about turning Sunday worship into just another opportunity to say, “Give me some of that.”

…Jesus is not simply about meeting my felt needs; he is also about rearranging my needs, not only about fulfilling my desires; he is also about transforming my desires. Jesus is wonderfully nonchalant about so many of my heart-felt desires. It’s amazing how many of my needs (material affluence, security, sexual fulfillment, happiness, etc.) appear not in the least to interest Jesus…

I recall that great preacher, William Sloane Coffin, telling us Yale students, “I don’t see how you can attract folk to Jesus by appealing to their basic selfishness - ‘Jesus can fix everything that’s wrong with you’ - and end up offering anything like the self-less, self-denying faith of Jesus.”

When, in Seeker Services, do we pull out the cross? When, as we’re touting all the benefits of Jesus, do we also say to them, “By the way, Jesus said that anyone who bought into his message would also suffer and die.”

I believe that today’s “Seekers” are seeking many things, but I am unsure that many of them are seeking a cruciform savior or a cruciform life. That’s fine since the Bible hardly ever, almost never depicts anybody seeking Jesus. Rather, the story is about God’s relentless seeking of us in Christ.

Willimon has really tried to push his agenda of not preaching to felt needs in the past few years. I think that he is beginning to see the end result of such preaching. It comes from the "be all you can be" kind of thinking. This is great for the military and for the business world. In the religious world Jesus came to be all we should have been. Thank God my lack doesn't keep me from a right relationship with God. Thank God that his perfection makes me whole.

Beatles Survey

2007-06-02T08:45:00.000-04:00

Forty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released (June 2, 1967). This album generated more attention than any other Beatles album. The reason for the platitudes was that it was the first "concept" album. Most everyone agrees that musically it may not have been their best album but it certainly created the most buzz. Anyway, in honor of the this grand occasion here are some survey questions.

1. Did you watch their first TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show?
2. Did you watch any of their other appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show?
3. Did you ever see them live in concert?
4. What is your favorite Beatles' song?
5. What is your favorite Beatles' album?
6. Which one is your favorite Beatle?
7. What is your favorite song on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album?

If you have some trivia about the album please share it. I love to hear stories about the Beatles and their exploits. Have fun!

A new era of computing

2007-05-31T14:06:00.000-04:00

You have got to watch this video and tell me what you think.

Ministry Commercialism

2007-05-31T09:33:00.000-04:00

There are many movies that lend themselves to creating commercial opportunities beyond the movie itself. One obvious movie is Shrek the Third. A certain fast food company is hawking the dolls and other paraphernalia associated with the movie. The kids just have to have this stuff. And while the family is eating a quick meal it's no big deal to add a couple of dolls to the tab. So movies often bring in more than just ticket sales. Not a bad day for capitalism. From a business standpoint it's actually a pretty good move.

I don't know if this is a trend but it appears that some movies may be doing the same thing for church ministries. A new movie, Evan the Almighty, is due out June 22. It's about a guy who is chosen by God to build an ark because a flood is coming (Wait a minute, didn't God promise that He wouldn't destroy the world again by a flood? So why is He reneging His promise?). The trailers for the movie appear quite funny. I'm actually thinking of going to see it just to see what happens. Morgan Freeman plays God (he also played God in Bruce Almighty - interesting!). Anyway, here is a link about obtaining paraphernalia from the movie for your ministry. What do you think? Is this a trend?

Memorial Day at Epcot

2007-05-29T20:21:00.000-04:00

This Memorial Day we met our friends (Doug and Leslie Thatcher) from the Tabernacle congregation at Epcot. They come down to Disney a couple of times a year. They have friends in the Kissimmee - Judy and Ed. Eventually Doug and Leslie hope to move here (maybe two years). Anyway, we had a great time. The highlight of the day was the Gary Puckett concert. He had three half hour concerts. We got to the first two. Epcot's Test Track was waiting for us during his third concert. After the second concert we got to meet him, get an autograph, and take a picture. What a great guy he is! He still has a set of pipes on him (even at 65). I brought the liner notes from his greatest hits CD that I have for him to autograph. During his first concert he did a tribute to the vets in the audience. He had them stand in order for everyone to acknowledge them. Then he sang a song called "Home" which I had never heard. It was about a soldier wanting to go home and praying for the folks back home. It was a moving tribute and a great song. His music is still groovy!

Hey, I got a promotion!

2007-05-23T14:40:00.000-04:00

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
The Right Reverend Robert the Subservient of Puddleston St Droop
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Lisa had a quirky thing at her blog. So I tried it. And now I'm a "Right Reverend!" I hope by next year I can take this test and become "The Holy Right Reverend." Then after that become "The Most Holy Right Reverend." I hope a pay raise comes with this promotion. But my biggest question is where is Puddleston St Droop?

Helping the Helper

2007-05-22T17:41:00.000-04:00

I received an email from Tim Westbrook (Associate Director for Institute for Church & Family) telling me about an upcoming event called "Helping the Helper" on June 5-8 at Harding University. Tim claims the following:

The Institute for Church & Family would like to invite you to attend our
Helping the Helper seminar in June 5-8. We will cover your lodging and food
here on Harding's campus.

He also gives the following as a description of the seminar:

"In conjunction with Marriage and Family Therapy, we will host a seminar
designed to teach ministers and youth ministers how to reach out to those in
their communities who are hurting emotionally and mentally. All instructors
are licensed counselors with years of experience.

"The seminar is fluid dealing with sexual abuses, divorce, death, marriage,
mental abuse, mediation, etc."

He says that if anyone is interested they should contact Penny Light at 501-279-4660. Tim's email is twestbrook@harding.edu and the web site is http://www.churchandfamily.net/

I have been to their web site but couldn't find further information. This seems to be an interesting offering in light of the revelations of sexual abuse in the church by ministers in recent times. Does anyone know about this?

Trey's a College Graduate!

2007-05-17T14:06:00.000-04:00

Simply Christian

2007-05-16T00:30:00.000-04:00

How many of us have taught "first principles" classes in our churches? N. T. Wright's latest offering Simply Christian is an attempt to be sort of a first principles kind of book. It is following in the footsteps of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity. I've been reading NT Wright for several years now and I've never thought to associate the words "simple" or "simply" with his writings. He is one of the deepest thinkers I've known even though he rarely uses big words. I never need a dictionary in reading him. This latest book continues that trend for me at least.

The book is divided into three sections. He follows a pattern similar to Lewis. The first section discusses four longings that Wright believes are universal to all humanity. He weaves these longings into the rest of the book to show that Christianity does make sense because it answers those longings. The second section of the book is about the Godhead and how God fulfills those longings. The third and last section concerns living out the image we find in the second section.

I had trouble reading the first section. Perhaps because it is Wright's reflection on how he sees the world. I knew what he was doing but still found it hard to follow. The second section was easier reading but the third was where I found myself slowing down and trying to take in every word. Maybe that's just me.

Wright states in his forward that he is writing for those inside and outside Christianity. Indeed the subtitle of his book is "Why Christianity Makes Sense." On the back of the dust cover is the recommendation of several well-known authors. Yet I don't think that these recommendations will tell others whether or not Wright's book has really accomplished his purpose. It seems to me that the publisher should have set up some kind of focus group that included a wide range of people inside and outside of Christianity. Then select recommendations from those groups for the dust cover. That would tell us if he really accomplished his purpose.

An interesting development is that Touchstone Magazine is featuring an article by Wright about C. S. Lewis's book Mere Christianity. You can read it online here. It is entitled aptly Simply Lewis. Then if you like you can join in a discussion about Wright's comments on their blog (here).
Wright brings up some interesting points about Lewis and Mere Christianity that I didn't know (of course I am not a Lewis scholar or avid fan, just a causal fan). I think it is well worth reading and will perhaps add to your understanding of Wright's book as well as Lewis's book.

I really believe that Wright's book is a valuable addition to a preacher's library. For me the highlight of the book was his brief section on baptism (p.212-215), . I started emphasizing some years ago that baptism was a participation (and identification with) by faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in my invitations. I think that is the intent of baptism. Wright's discussion of baptism has really added to my understanding of baptism and its place in the proclamation of the gospel.

The interesting part of the book was his chapter on the New Creation. I was intrigued by his view that we are going to live on a redeemed earth when all is said and done. At this point I'm not sure about the whole discussion (you can go to Bobby Valentine's blog for a discussion from his perspective on the new creation - Bobby like Wright has some interesting points to make). However, Wright didn't really deal with the tension in the NT between the idea of a redeemed and liberated creation (Romans 8:18-25) and the idea that our citizenship is in heaven (Php.3:20-21). I have no doubt that part of God's redemption is restoring creation back to its original state. I'm just not sure whether that means we are going to inhabit it. What I do know is that we will be in eternal fellowship with God in a spiritual bodily state (1Cor.15:42-49) when all is said and done. I'm not sure this is an appropriate topic for new Christians. It will definitely be tough to teach it as Wright does in some of our congregations or even present it as a possibility. I think that is a pretty heady topic but I do understand why he included it.

All in all a good book. It will be valuable as resource material for those teaching first principle classes. It also serves as a reminder to the rest of us as to the general flow and content of the Bible. He seeks to take all the additional stuff religious people have added over the years and boil it down to what is simple and important.

Florida is for Lovers

2007-05-15T16:59:00.000-04:00

We were introduced to a recurring phenomena last September here in Florida, love bugs. These crazy bugs emerge twice a year (late April,early May, and then September) to mate. Some of the locals call this "Fly United" season. I thought about calling this post "Love is in the air" in order to get a musical theme in.

These pests apparently migrated from parts west (Louisiana) to Florida. They are seen from South Carolina to Florida. If you want to read a little more about them click here. Last Thursday I got out my lawn mower but the bugs were so thick that I decided to wait until later. It is at times like this when I think God has a great sense of humor.

Public reading of Scripture Part II

2007-05-09T02:33:00.000-04:00

While doing my senior thesis at Rochester College I came across this fascinating article in Interpretation Magazine by Donald Juel (Interpretation: Essays on Bible and Theology, January 1997, "The Strange Silence of the Bible," Donald Juel, p.5-19). The strange silence to which the article title refers is the lack of public reading in the assembly. Juel isn't talking about following a lectionary schedule, but rather practicing reading the Scriptures out loud for effect. Words are powerful and can be very powerful when spoken in the right way.

Juel actually makes two points in his article. First, the Bible was created to be read aloud (p.7). He maintains that part of this reason is that the Bible was created in a culture that was oral in nature. So even though we have a written text it is still meant to be read aloud. He mentions a time when the Gospel of Mark was "performed" in public. He noticed that the audience laughed on occasion. The reader knew how to dramatically portray the situation so that the audience not only heard what the text said, but heard the way in which Jesus might have spoken. The audience actually heard the exasperation in Jesus' voice from the text.

His second point is that we preachers (or teachers) haven't done our exegesis properly unless we read the text out loud (p.6). He gives three examples of texts where the reading might be done differently so that the audience will see something different in the text than what they normally see (Luke 15:11-32; Mark 15:39; Mark 4:1-20). In particular is the passage in Mark 15:39 where the centurion looks at the cross and claims that Jesus must have been God's son. A student in one of Juel's class suggested the text be read sarcastically. Of course that reading affected the way the class looked at the text and it's meaning. I haven't read out loud of late, but for a time I practiced this and found it to be helpful in my study each week. I would read the text aloud several times and from several translations. I tried to alter the way in which I read it each time.

I experienced this idea of reading the text out loud in public while we were in Tabernacle, NJ. One year we wanted to emphasize reading our Bibles daily in one year. So we kicked off the year on New Year's Eve by gathering at the building (in the old auditorium) and for two hours we read out loud from Genesis 1 to 25. As each man read a chapter I noticed that the text seemed to come more alive for me. It was better when a little inflection was added but still the over all effect was grand. Then on the fifth Wednesday during the rest of the year we read for services instead of our usual class. I would choose our section (Psalms, Gospels, and other sections) and assign the readings. I really loved that time. I would hear new things in the text I hadn't heard before. What a powerful experience.

One of the down sides to this is that we live in a society that is tied to the clock. One of my teachers at Sunset (can't remember which one - maybe Richard Rogers) used to say we were "clock-eyed." To really be effective we need more time in our assemblies to hear the word read out loud. If a congregation will take the time to listen, they will be hooked.

Interesting!

2007-05-08T17:31:00.000-04:00

Anthony Esolen, editor of Touchstone Magazine and a Catholic, was invited to speak at Faulkner University. You can read about his impressions of the university and his reception here. It is fascinating to read about the contact that other individuals and groups have with us. Perhaps our reputation is not as bad here in the South as some claim it to be. Esolen was invited by the Great Books program to speak about Dante's Purgatory. Only the first paragraph of his post is about Faulkner, the rest is about some other experiences he had recently with other groups.

Public reading of Scripture

2007-05-01T22:45:00.000-04:00

Paul wrote to Timothy (1Timothy 4:13):

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. (NIV & TNIV)

Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. (NASB)

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (ESV)

Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. (NKJV & KJV)

It is interesting to me first that the word "Scripture" doesn't appear in this text yet several translations put it in assuming that is what Paul means when he tells Timothy to devote himself to reading. Only the KJV and the NKJV leave it out. I don't have any doubt that we should assume in interpreting this text that Paul is telling Timothy to pay attention to reading the Scriptures publicly to the gathered church.

What I would like to know is why in our fellowship (Churches of Christ for those of you who may not know my background) we did not include this as one of the acts of the assembly? It seems pretty obvious to me that reading of Scripture was approved in Scripture and practiced by the early church (and even in the Old Testament). This is why lectionaries developed. I have the church where I serve now (and churches in the past) read my text for preaching just before the sermon. But I have not talked them into reading a text or text's as part of a pattern.

I have several questions for all of you who may come by.

1. Does your congregation have Scripture reading as part of your worship service apart from reading the text for preaching?
2. What pattern do you use for reading Scripture? Do you use a lectionary or some other way of choosing the text or texts to be read?
3. Was this a part of the congregation's worship service before you came? If not was it difficult for you to have them start doing it? How did you convince them they should have reading of Scripture as a regular part of the assembly?
4. How is the reading working out? Have you noticed a difference in the congregation?
5. Are you working on developing this as a part of your assembly?

I think I like this!

2007-05-01T19:32:00.000-04:00

You Are Mexican Food

Spicy yet dependable.
You pull punches, but people still love you.

What Kind of Food Are You?

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting.
You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

I took this quiz over at Lisa's blog and these are my results. I'm pleased. Considering my post yesterday the first result is understandable. I like what kind of cookie I am since that is my absolute favorite cookie. Loni and I bake really good chocolate chip cookies. In fact we have doug in the refrigerator right now and will probably make some tonight (we ate up the home made ice cream last night). Still how can you tell what kind of food or cookie you are from just five questions? I guess this is a part of blogging, silly stuff on occasion. So take the quiz and have some fun.

guacamole live

2007-04-30T20:33:00.000-04:00

When we were visiting Pat's folks (Lon [Grandy] & Jeanne [Nana] Mohundro) recently we went out to South of the Border for lunch. They had an interesting appetizer called Guacamole Live. The server actually came to your table with avocados and various extras (cilantro, jalapeños, tomatoes, onions, lime, etc,) and mixed up the guacamole right there while you watched. You of course got to control what all went in but what a treat (that is if you love guacamole). So Loni and I decided to have guacamole live at our house tonight. Pat planned to have tacos for dinner, so Loni bought avocados and other goodies and we made guacamole (pictured above). Instead of frying corn tortillas (we usually do them soft and not crispy) we had flour tortillas (fajitas style). It was great. Now anyone want to share a guacamole recipe? Loni and I are looking to expand our taste bud horizons.

Bob's First Golf Tournament

2007-04-29T15:20:00.000-04:00

Since not many of you appreciated my sense of humor with the last post I will move on to golf. Yesterday I got to play in a golf tournament (Trey are you jealous? That's Trey my son not Trey Morgan). It was a fund raiser for Central Florida Bible Camp (click here). The tournament was a scramble type. For those of you like me who are not as up on golf terminology, a scramble tournament means that you play as a team (foursome). When the team tees off, the team decides which tee shot is the best. All the team members then place their balls within a club length's of the ball. They continue that process to the flag. The first putt made counts for the whole team as well. So the whole team ends up with the same score. Our team shot an 82, 10 over par. Not bad for my third game ever and my first tournament ever. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Of course my score is due to my team members (Doug Horton, Eddie Stillwell, and Ricky Brown). I had two tee shots that were the best of my team and a couple of putts that went in first as well. Each team started at a designated hole and we just happen to start at #1. We shot a 43 for the first nine and 39 for the back nine. We shot par on only 2 holes in the first nine and six on the last nine. I had so much fun. It turns out the Bible School here has a couple of fund raising tournaments a year and I plan on playing in them as well. Plus several men in the congregation here are serious players and want me to play a round with them. I guess after all these years, I'm going to have to take up golf.

Top Ten Ways You Can Tell Someone Near You Is Only Using 1 Square Of Toilet Paper Per Visit

2007-04-27T17:31:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you have heard Sheryl Crow's suggestion that we all do our part in helping to be more environmentally conscious by using only one square of toilet paper per visit. I thought I would help you identify those close to you might be actually taking Ms. Crow's suggestion seriously. I'm sure most would not discuss such delicate matters in public so you might need to know the signs of those who are "green" when it comes to toilet paper. So here are the Top Ten Ways To Identify Someone Close To You Who Is Using Only 1 Square Of Toilet Paper Per Visit.

10. They are constantly running comparison tests at home trying to decide which toilet paper is the thickest and most absorbent.
9. They ask restaurant managers how many plies the toilet paper in the restrooms have.
8. They run comparisons tests at home to see which toilet paper is the thickest and most absorbent.
7. They have a new gig - doing commercials for the toilet paper company that claims to have the thickest and most absorbent paper.
6. They're getting fatter - saved money from toilet paper goes for more food.
5. No one shakes hands with them.
4. People are seen running away from them holding their noses.
3. Their hands have turned a funky color.
2. They've dumped their stock in toilet paper and purchased Clean Butt's Bidetspa stock.
1. They've put photovaltaic cells on their roof to power their new Clean Butt's Bidetspa and save electricity.

Not my birthday today but . . .

2007-04-21T12:28:00.000-04:00

More Fun Quizzes at QuizPox.com

Jack Bauer & Battery Life

2007-04-19T17:24:00.000-04:00

We are currently trying to upgrade our cell phones. We've been pouring over the specs to see which ones are the best. One of the specs that is important to us is talk time or to put it another way, battery life. Most of the phones we've looked at are rated at somewhere between 3 hours and 4 hours of talk time. Standby time (no talking just waiting) is somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 plus hours (some as high as 16 days or 384 hours). So if no one calls you, your battery can last up to 16 days without recharging (yea right). But if someone (or several someones) does call you have at most 4 hours or so before you need to recharge.

So how does Jack Bauer talk on his cell phone during the 24 hour crisis he faces each season? I have yet to see him charging his phone in his car or at CTU. Maybe he carries around extra batteries (at least 6, 6 batteries X 4 hours of talk time = 24 hours). He carries around ammo clips so why not batteries? I have yet to see him change a battery. Maybe he does it while he's off the camera and we are seeing another scene.

Then again I have never timed how much time he spends on his cell phone. Maybe if we timed it he doesn't use his cell phone for more than 4 hours. You know that would be an interesting feat for someone, timing how much Jack Bauer uses his cell phone on 24. I can just see it now on Trivial Pursuit under the "Entertainment" category - How much time does Jack Bauer actually spend on his cell phone during the season of 24?

Christians as Victims

2007-04-17T18:00:00.000-04:00

I was reading in World Magazine about an incident that took place in my former home state of New Jersey. Indeed the incident took place in the very county where we lived for 10 years, Burlington. It seems that Burlington Township High School on March 22 of this year staged a terrorist drill to help prepare the school in the event of a terrorist attack. Two police officers stormed the school masquerading as the terrorists. So far so good. The problem came when the local residents discovered the script for the scenario. It seems that the masquerading police officers were pretending to be members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called "The New Crusaders" who don't believe in separation of church and state. In the script a daughter of one of the members was expelled from the school for praying before class. The attack was in retribution for the expelling. Details of the script leaked and all ----broke loose! (how about all heaven broke loose?)

Anyway, local and national Christian leaders demanded a formal apology from the police department and the school. Legal action is being considered. It seems they felt that blaming conservative Christians is not only "inappropriate but outrageous, and raises serious constitutional questions as well." (quoted from World Magazine, April 21, 2007; p.28) Our religious tenor today has approached the victimology used by other groups. If everyone else is doing it, hey, why don't we?

Contrast this approach with the Apostles in Acts 5:40-41. The apostles had been arrested and while the Council was debating what to do with them Gamaliel warned them to take care because if the actions of the Apostles were of God they could not stop the Apostles. The Council decided to flog the Apostles and then ordered them not to speak in Jesus' name. The Apostles went away rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. Oh for us to return to that kind of an attitude.

It is a shame that our country was founded on principles from the Christian-Judeo heritage and that now our society seems to be doing everything possible to stop us from having any political influence. Certain ones in our society want to lower the moral standards that we find in the Bible. It appears to me that there is a concerted effort underway to undermine Christian teaching and influence in the public arena. Maybe instead of responding to these outrageous insults with surprise, shock, and threats of lawsuits, we should take to the streets with prayer, rejoicing that God has found us worthy to suffer for His name. Maybe we should thank those that attack our faith. Maybe we should claim James 1:2. What kind of response from the media would that create? I dont think they would know what to do with us.

Where's Bob?

2007-04-09T10:02:00.000-04:00

I am currently in Christiansburg, VA visiting Dan, Lisa, Nathan, Jeremy, and Derek. I haven't been keeping up with my blog or your blogs. I'm having a grand time playing with the boys, helping Dan assemble a ping pong table, getting beat by said son-in-law at ping pong, getting up early with the grandsons, and talking with my other darling daughter (the other darling daughter I get to see daily) whom I haven't seen in a while. So I'll catch up with ya'all later on.

What do these stones mean?

2007-04-03T17:11:00.000-04:00

Across from the building where the Mt. Dora congregation meets is a funeral home. The owner and manager are members at the congregation. When I first arrived I told them both that if they ever had a family that didn't have someone to do a funeral for them to please feel free to call on me. In Northern New Jersey I became friendly with a funeral director near our building and he asked one day if I would do a funeral for a family. Of course I said yes and from then on the director would call on occasion. Within two months of arriving here in Mt. Dora they called for me to do a funeral.

His name is Kirby. His late wife is Anita. She had a Ph. D. in some education field. She has written a couple of books in her field. She was 20 years older than Kirby. They had been married for 23 years. I met with Kirby for about 10 minutes before the funeral. I did the service there at the funeral. Then we went to the cemetery which is just about across the street (it's actually right next door to our building). After the services I invited Kirby to come to our worship services. He promised.

About a month later Kirby showed up one Sunday. He had been visiting his wife's grave and met one of our members whose wife was also buried in the same cemetery. Ed is in his late 70s or early 80s. He's one of our more active members. He and Kirby talked for a while and Ed also invited him to our services. With two invites Kirby decided to come.

Kirby has been coming on and off since that time. I've given him a DVD from World Video Bible School to view in order to learn more about us. He doesn't have much of a church background (maybe none at all) so I haven't pushed much. He's come to several of our activities. He's getting to know some of the folks here in the congregation. He's making progress but slowly. That's okay.

A couple of months ago he made an unusual request. The headstone for his wife's grave would be done soon, would I come to the cemetery and bless it when it was finished. I of course said yes. This past week he called late in the week to say it would be up on Friday, would I come on Saturday to bless it. I had a wedding at 2 PM on Saturday and he said no problem he thought 12:30 PM would be okay.

So his wife's sister, his wife's daughter, and two friends gathered to see the headstone. I used the text from Joshua 4. God told Joshua that the stones would cause their children to ask why are they here and what do they mean. Then they could explain the history of Israel. I told Kirby and those gathered that this headstone was there to mark the history of Anita. Not many people would ask about why it was there, they already knew. But they could come and remember the life of their friend, mother, and wife. Of course my talk and blessing lasted longer this this short paragraph. Then I said a prayer and ask God's blessing on this gathering and this headstone.

I don't know if Kirby will stay on this spiritual journey with us. He's still coming. But the more I live and the more I do ministry, the more interesting the journey has become.

Sermon Notes

2007-03-26T06:18:00.000-04:00

For anyone who is interested I am trying out WordPress for my Sermon Notes (click here) as well as Blogger (click here). I've posted my texts for this coming Sunday. Any comments, insights, applications, illustrations, or whatever are greatly appreciated. I am hoping that you ladies who might be reading this will come and offer some comments. I want to make sure that I give voice to feminine concerns in my lessons. I'm starting a series from Colossians called "Living Heavenly Values on Earthly Soil." On Sunday evening I'm continuing my pattern of preaching from our daily Bible reading schedule. My text will be 1Samuel 17. Hope ya'll have a good week.

Spring Break Campaign 2007

2007-03-23T17:54:00.000-04:00

Our spring break campaign is now part of Mt. Dora's history. But the work continues on. Here are the fruits of our efforts granted us by our gracious God:

Doors knocked 1386
Contacts made 527
Studies set up 16
Studies taught 15
Correspondence Courses set up 28
Prayer requests 125
Door slammed in our faces 5

The students came from Heritage Christian University (formerly IBC - International Bible College) in Florence, AL. There were 11 students and 7 adults plus Stephen Guy. The adults came from two congregations in Strickland and Booneville, MS. What a great bunch they were! All of the students and adults were good workers. All of them had a passion to serve the Lord.

Brother Guy's theme for the week was Revival. Starting Sunday morning and going through Wed night he preached lessons designed to reach those who were searching and those in the congregation. We had several of our folks go forward to ask prayers for strength and renewal. We had one baptism - one of our teens (Tyler Newton). His dad (Jeff Newton) baptized him. Jeff really got choked trying to get out the words as he baptized his son. We had several of the people that we contacted through our door knocking attend at least one the meetings. So we have a lot of work ahead of us as we follow up and make sure that we try to help these folks come to Jesus.

One of our teams actually came across a Hindu family that had never heard of Jesus. What a time they had trying to help this family understand the gospel. They spoke to them at the door and really had an interesting discussion with them. Who knows where this might lead.

Several of our members came out each door and door knocked with the students. It was great to see so many of our folks involved in this way. We had quite a food crew that served breakfast and lunch to the campaign workers each day. It was a great effort.

Door knocking consisted of taking a religious survey of five questions. I wasn't all that impressed with asking the first and last questions. As I interviewed people I tried to listen to their answers and ask "take off" questions. Sometimes it would lead to some interesting side issues. For the most part those who were home seemed willing to answer the questions. I've been told that the first three questions on this list are what Rick Warren used when he first began in the Saddleback community.

1. What do you think is the greatest need of people in our community?
2. Why do you think people do not go to church today?
3. If you were looking for a church to attend, what kind of things would you look for?
4. Do you have any prayer requests?
5. Would you like to study about the church mentioned in your Bible and how you and your family can be saved?

The prayer requests (125) mentioned above were actually community prayer requests from our survey. We wrote down their names and requests and then put the requests up on PowerPoint and then specified someone during the service each night to do the community prayer. What a joy to pray for our neighbors.

During one morning of door knocking we (the group I was with) met a young homeless couple. They were recently evicted from their apartment and were just visiting the neighborhood where we were knocking (God certainly was at work that morning). After talking to them we invited them to come have lunch and breakfast each day with the campaign workers. They came a couple of times but have since disappeared. One of our elders was trying to contact some local business people that he knows to help them find jobs. We also have some food and other things left over from the tornado disaster relief materials that we can give them. We have a cell number so we hope to contact them and help them even more.

I know that door knocking campaigns have pretty well run their course. Not many congregations think they are effective so they don't do them anymore. It does seem strange to knock doors during the day when most are working. However, regardless of whether of not this is considered effective I'm convinced that God did direct us to people that needed the gospel or needed help. As a congregation we will be thanking God for the fruit borne during the campaign and for the fellowship we enjoyed with these wonderful campaign workers for quite some time.

March 17, 1980

2007-03-17T19:57:00.000-04:00

In January of 1980 Tom and Karen DeGarmo showed up at services. I had just been at the Dover Church of Christ (in Randolph, NJ) for about nine months. They were newlyweds and Tom was fresh out of college with a degree. Tom had been hired by Bell Labs in Whippany, NJ. They moved to an apartment complex that was within 1/2 mile of our building. Karen was raised in a Church of Christ in Mill Hall, PA (not too far from State College) and Tom in the Catholic church. Tom however was quite interested in learning more about us.

Pat, Lisa (she was all of five months), and I went to visit Tom and Karen the very next evening. Tom and Karen seemed pleased and Tom was willing to study. He proposed that we take turns coming to each other's home and eat dinner together and then study. We were so pleased at his willingness. So we studied and studied (and ate and ate) for the next few weeks. One Monday night Tom looked at me and said, "So when are you going to baptize me?" Tom can be direct when he needs to be (a good trait that he often uses well). So we made a few calls and went up to the building. I don't remember who all was there but a few showed up and Tom was baptized by faith into Christ. It was March 17, 1980.

Tom and Karen were a real asset to the congregation. They were both quite involved. Tom actually called me about two days after his baptism to get my advice on what to say to a co-worker on his van pool about the gospel. I couldn't believe that a babe in Christ only two days old was out evangelizing. There were a good many people who were brought to Christ because of Tom and Karen.

After a few years they moved to Bethlehem, PA so that they could afford a home. Now years later Tom is a deacon for the King of Prussia congregation outside of Philadelphia. He and Karen have raised three children (Beth, TJ, and Seth). They have continued their involvement with the local congregation and are surely as valuable today as they were back then.

Tom calls me every March 17th. He started calling the year they moved to Bethlehem (somewhere around 1986). He called me today. He calls to say thanks. He calls to say "I love you." And I look forward to his call every year. He almost had to call me from the Mid East. His company has sent him over on occasion. I am blessed to know such a gracious servant as Tom.

The Restart and Undo Button

2007-03-16T13:19:00.000-04:00

I enjoy some distraction during my work day. The computer and Palm has afforded an opportunity to provide that distraction. Both have a "Games" folder where I keep a couple of games, mostly some form of Solitaire. What is really cool about these games is they come with two buttons - the undo button and the restart button. I usually go through a game and then when I lose I hit the restart button and do the game over. I can usually see two or three moves that I can make differently and possibly win the game. You may wonder why I do that - the games keeps statistics and I'm looking to best my win streak of 13 games. During a game I can see two possible moves (e. g. two red sevens and one black eight show up) and the undo button allows me to see which move might be the best. In spite of the two buttons, I don't always win but I keep trying.

Don't you wish life came with a restart and undo button? When we find ourselves down the wrong pathway we could hit restart and get on the right pathway. Or when we say something that someone obviously is offended by we could hit the undo button and say something more appropriate. But alas, life doesn't come with these two buttons. And even if life did that wouldn't guarantee that we would always win.

However, most of us know when we make certain decisions know what the consequences will be. When a man decides to cheat on his wife, he knows that the other woman could become pregnant. He also knows that if she is a minor he could go to prison. He also knows that his ministry will not only end but will have a bad reputation and outsiders will trash the church (Romans 2:21-24). He also knows that his sin will find him out (Numbers 32:23). And yet a decision is made and an action taken. He has placed his desire above all else. Sometimes the decision is easy - we want pleasure or whatever else the action might bring. Sometimes the decision is not easy - the battle between the flesh and the Spirit rages on (Galatians 5:17).

There are a some good posts in light of what has happened recently to the Pitman congregation in Southern New Jersey. Trey Morgan has two posts - here and here. Steve Pucket (here) has a good post with links to some resources . Finding out that a fellow preacher (and in particular a preacher I know personally) has committed sexual misconduct used to surprise me. Not because I believe we are immune to such temptation but because I have always thought they (the ones I knew personally) were so strong. A preacher friend from eastern PA that committed such an act would have been the last one I would have ever thought would give in to such temptation. I thought I was the only one who struggled with such feelings. But I am not the only one. I read a newsletter a couple of months ago about a young fellow going into the ministry. The church where he started had just been rocked by the sexual misconduct of another minister who was in his 50s. The young man had a wise grandfather (around 70) that he consulted. He wanted to guard himself against such a sin. He asked his grandfather when these sexual urges stop. His grandfather said when I find out I'll let you know. He was surprised to find out that his 70 year old grandfather was still dealing with the urges.

I am grateful that my wife is of such a personality that she will let me know when she thinks a situation isn't wise for me to go alone. I am grateful that God has provided me with other escape pathways. But I know that Satan is lurking around every corner waiting for any of us to come into a situation that he can exploit. When certain decisions are made and actions taken there is no restart or undo button, the damage is done. The rest of us need in these situations to throw out a lifeline. Satan may have claimed them for the moment but God is still waiting for them to come back.

God's Mysterious Ways II

2007-03-13T21:32:00.000-04:00

Last year a brother in Christ, named Jim, called me from California. He is a Lt. Colonel in the air force reserves stationed at Beale AFB but full time. He is getting transferred to McGuire AFB which is about 20 minutes away from Tabernacle, NJ, in order to be a wing commander. I sent him information on real estate agents in the area. About a month later he emails me and asks if I went to Sunset. I emailed back and said yes. Then he asked if Steve Davis was best man at my wedding. I of course said yes, knowing that there was more to these questions. It turns out that Cindy Davis had remarried. Her husband and Jim were elders in Yuba City, CA. Cindy is his wife's best friend. Jim and his wife, Nancy, were really excited to find a friend of Cindy's out there in desolate New Jersey. I emailed Jim back and told him our situation, that we were moving to Florida. I haven't had time to find out whether or not Jim and Nancy got situated but I found Jim's email address and sent him a message. I haven't heard back just yet.

Last month here in Mount Dora, FL one of the elders told me that a fellow was moving up from Clermont (about 30 miles away). He had some foot or leg problem and was in a wheel chair. The congregation he was attending down there was of the type that didn't believe in helping benevolent needs out of the church treasury. Apparently their benevolent nature didn't extend much beyond their talking about it because this fellow didn't feel very welcome and he claims they didn't do much to help him in terms of giving him a ride to services.

David McCaig showed up (he wasn't in a wheel chair but on crutches) one Wednesday evening. The elder who had originally told me about him picked him up for services. He lives near another one of our members who also needs to be picked up. Anyway, after a couple of weeks, David and I found some time to really talk with each other. I thought he was a new Christian but he said no he was raised in the church even though his parents have since fallen away. I asked if he was a Florida native (some natives are called "crackers") but he said no he was from California. Mentioning California always gets my attention. So I asked where. He said up north (people are usually vague about things like this because they assume that most people won't know the name of the town in which they lived). I asked specifically and he said Livermore. I said I knew a preacher at Livermore, Don Downey (actually it's Ron, Don is his father). He said he didn't know a Don but did know a Ron. Well, we got to talking further and low and behold he knew Steve Davis! Steve was a counselor at a summer camp where David attended. Couldn't believe it (well actually I could because this sort of thing happens all the time).

I know some of you are waiting for the big - there were hundreds of baptisms kind of ending to this story. Actually the story isn't over. I don't know why David is here in Mount Dora and if the connection we have to Steve is even relevant to our current situation. This is just another quiet chapter in God's mysterious ways. There are a lot of questions about this story I have that I hope God will answer when we get heaven.

1. Why didn't Steve get to go to Liberia with the Crons and Littlejohns? (maybe his family didn't need to be there or maybe one them needed to be here for some task that God had for them)
2. Why did Jim and Nancy make contact with us just as we were leaving?
3. Why is David here? (This one may be answered some day soon)

God's providence surprises us all the time. Sometimes we are in the right place at the right time. Sometimes all our plans fall into place. Sometimes the signs are there but nothing (or at least nothing that we can actually see) ever comes of it. Through it all I know that God is in charge. That is what faith is all about - trusting that God is in charge and holding on to him whether or not plans fall into place. I may never get the answers to my questions while we are here under the sun, but God's light is still shining in my life and my family's life.

God's mysterious ways

2007-03-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

Steve Davis was best man at my wedding. We met in class at Sunset School of Preaching (now Sunset International Bible Institute). He was from California (Marysville, outside of Sacramento) and I was from California (Lompoc, up the coast from Santa Barbara about 55 miles). For some reason we became instant friends. We teamed up with two other guys in class (David Cron and John Littlejohn). We were the "wolfpack." David was the only one of the bunch who was raised in the church. We asked a lot of questions. We didn't accept anything until we could see it. We weren't rebels in the usual sense, we just wanted to be sure. I'm sure we wore our teachers out. Steve was married (Cindy) when he came to Sunset and he had one son (Matthew). While at Sunset Cindy gave birth to another son Joel. I finally found a wife myself (the lovely Pat). Steve was obvious choice for my best man. We had a great wedding and great honeymoon.

Toward the end of school I had told the elders at Lompoc (the church that put me through school - with the help of my wonderful, supportive parents) that we would come back and work with them after school. Just after that promise, two churches showed up at Sunset wanting four families to go to Liberia. If not for my commitment to the church in Lompoc it would have been a match made in heaven. I wanted so bad to tell the elders I wasn't coming but my parents had taught me to keep my word (and so did the Lord!). So Pat and I finished the missions program and in July 1977 we headed to Lompoc. Steve and the rest of the "wolfpack" stayed for the third year graduate program at Sunset with plans to go to Liberia.

Steve and gang finished Sunset in January 1978. I had heard from Steve that they were having trouble getting visas to Liberia. Then I didn't hear much at all for awhile. One Saturday night in April 1978 we were having a youth devotional. Someone had prepared some questions that everyone was supposed to answer in an effort to get to know each other. One of the questions, "If you could get a phone call from anyone who would it be?" I naturally said Steve, since I hadn't heard from him. The next morning just before the alarm went off, the phone rang. Not it wasn't Steve it was Don Downey, Steve's father-in-law. His voice was quiet, almost a whisper. He said, "Bob, Steve was killed last night in a traffic accident." Pat and I were crushed. That morning at worship, all we could do was cry (literally!). We had Joy Bus kids sitting in our laps who couldn't understand why we were crying.

We drove up to Marysville for the funeral. Everyone kept asking "why Steve?" and Cindy kept responding "Why not Steve?" It was a wonderful service for such a faithful young man. I miss those days in Sunset. But there is more to this story.

Lines in the Sand Revealed

2007-03-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

The president who said the quote (click here) I liked so much was former president William Jefferson Clinton. The occasion was the dedication of his presidential library in Little Rock. The date was November 18, 2004. If anyone is interested in the transcript you can read it here. The speech is not long so don't be afraid to read it. I'm amazed at how ugly politics and elections can be and then how the same politicians are so gracious to each other at times like a library dedication. President Clinton was gracious to President Bush (both H and W) as one can read in the transcript. President Bush apparently sent quite an entourage to the dedication.

President Clinton's special quote came toward the end of his speech when he tried to blend the value of both conservatives and progressives in our society at the close of the 20th century. I'm not sure that his application is exactly the way the two sides would have seen it but it was an interesting application. The quote continues to speak to me about the need in our fellowship to talk with each other and recognize the need for each side. I don't know if we will ever have that kind of harmony but it is worth the dream.

Papa's Got a Brand New Blog

2007-03-05T22:41:00.000-05:00

I'm launching another blog (click here). This one is about my sermons. Each Monday I will post my sermon title and text for the next Sunday. Anyone can stop by and share with me your thoughts on the text. If you have any insights, stories, illustrations, applications, or sermon outlines I would appreciate such. Just something I'm trying to do to improve my preaching skills.

I tried to use WordPress but didn't find it as intuitive as Blogger. I've got a site started on WordPress and maybe one of these days I will work with it but for now I'm sticking with Blogger. Plus PC World did a little comparison article on blog sites and Blogger came out on top. So here I take my stand.

Thanks.

Lines in the Sand

2007-03-02T22:25:00.000-05:00

I ran across this quote the other day. It is absolutely fantastic! At least to me. Guess which president said this. I'll reveal in the next post who said it.

"Conservatism, at its very best, draws lines that should not be crossed. Progressivism, at its very best, breaks down barriers that are no longer needed, or should never have been erected in the first place."

I think it speaks volumes. Conservatives are those who try to identify what is important and what should never be forgotten. They identify what is fundamental, what is foundational, and what all of us should agree to. They draw a line in the sand and demand that we never cross it. Doesn't mean that everything conservatives identify as important is right, this is just the reality of the situation.

Progressives challenge those fundamentals. They dare to cross the lines in the sand that conservatives have drawn. They challenge what has become central to us. Sometimes the practical becomes identified as fundamental. For instance, four-part harmony is certainly singing without instrumental accompaniment but that particular type of singing isn't central to Scripture. In some instances progressives help us to rethink our understanding of what is truly fundamental. We should also realize that progressives, as conservatives, are not always right. This is just reality.

Sometimes what the conservatives identify as important needs to be shown that we no longer need such. Perhaps we could use playing cards as an illustration. I don't know all the reasons why cards were outlawed by churches (I suspect that it may have something to do with gamblers who used them in the saloons in the West). Some conservatives probably still hold on to this one. At one time not using cards had validity and no one should have used them. With time and other cultural changes the reasons no longer exist so cards can be a part of a family's entertainment.

Even though dialogue between conservatives and progressives is never easy, it is a necessary one. Both sides benefit (if they can stay at the negotiating table long enough) from the discussion. But both sides need to give grace to the other side. Dogmatism exists on both sides of the aisle. Judgmentalism exists on both sides of the aisle. I don't know how to accomplish keeping both sides talking but I just know they should.

Prayer Time

2007-03-01T19:41:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday we had a prayer devotional for our upcoming spring campaign. I always am encouraged when we as a congregation spend time in prayer mostly about one particular event. I interspersed the time with some songs and scripture reading, both designed to support the prayers about our spring campaign (we had five men offer prayer during this devotional time). Wade Tannehill's series on prayer (Can God be Persuaded to Act? click here) has caused me to think a lot about prayer and how God responds.

When I was asked to leave Tabernacle, Pat and I increased our prayer life - individually and together. We prayed fervently about where God wanted us to go, where we wanted to go, and hoping He would do it soon. We had our wish list but we knew that God would take us to where He wanted us in His own time. The frustrating thing was listening to the "quick responses" that others experienced when they prayed about their situations. One preacher friend told me he was fired by this congregation on a Monday some years ago. He and his wife prayed when he got home. That Thursday another congregation called to ask him to consider leaving his current congregation and come to theirs. Our prayers were not answered for almost a year (long search!).

I'm frustrated when prayer is made a mantra (say this prayer for 30 years and God will be with you each step of the way), when optimism rules (I'm an optimistic guy but my optimism doesn't
doesn't always seem to rule God - I think C. S. Lewis said something about people manufacturing positive feelings about prayer in the hope of getting a positive response from God), when faith is the key (I guess sometimes I must not have much faith) or when some formula is thought to activate God (say it in this way and He will listen). There is no magical formula about prayer and getting what you pray for. There is just me and God walking through this dark world together on the way to the land of rest. I pray about my situation and God guides me as only He knows best. Regardless of what happens (good stuff, bad stuff, really bad stuff, really good stuff, bland stuff) I stay faithful and continue praying until we reach our destination. We live in an imperfect world and our prayers will often produce imperfect results. So I continue to trust that my God and my Savior will be with me until the end of the age.

Allowing Time for Growth

2007-02-28T20:34:00.000-05:00

A passage that has fascinated me is 2Kings 5:1-19. It is the story of the healing of Naaman, who is the captain of the army of the king of Aram. He is a valiant warrior and well respected by his people but he has leprosy. Naaman is told by a servant girl that Elisha can heal him. So he goes off in search of Elisha. Naaman arrives and is told by Elisha to go dip himself seven times in the Jordan River. He is furious because he thought the healing would be more sensational than a simple dipping (v.11). Besides he has some rivers back home that are better (v.12). One of his servants suggested he go try Elisha's solution even though it wasn't quite what he wanted (v.13). So Naaman goes and dips himself in the Jordan and is healed (v.14). He returns to Elisha and praises the God of Elisha (v.15) for the healing. He promises never to sacrifice to another god again (v.17). He is converted and becomes a servant of the Lord. He recognizes his need to be loyal and serve God alone. However, because of his role as captain of the army he must go into a house of worship and assist his master (v.18). He knows what he is doing is wrong and goes against the promise he just made but he is not quite ready to make a clean break. He asks the Lord to pardon him for this violation and Elisha grants him a blessing as he leaves (v.19).

I really believe that this passage speaks to we Christians today as well. We will share Jesus with someone who is truly converted and wants to be loyal and do what is right. They may even recognize what is right but for whatever reason cannot stand as firmly as they should at that moment. I hope to grant them grace and a blessing, not to stay in their current state but to continue to grow and eventually say no to whatever they need to say no to. It would be nice if everyone we converted (ourselves included) could change immediately upon conversion. However, those of us who are spiritual need to allow them some time to grow. We don't expect our infant children to walk so we shouldn't expect babes in Christ to walk as firmly as they hopefully one day will. We also should realize that we will meet people who are not yet converted and our goal should be to get them into Christ. So preach Christ and him crucified and then once they pledge their loyalty to Christ, give them time to grow.

The Gospel is for all

2007-02-27T21:20:00.000-05:00

Trey Morgan has a good post (click here) challenging us to make sure that we don't turn people into our vision of what is respectful before we convert them. What if the individual above turned up at your church? After picking yourself up off the floor would you not only invite them in but ask them to sit with you?

Let me tell you about an experience I had in my last congregation (Tabernacle, NJ). A young couple (late 20s) showed up with two young children. He was Caucasian and she was Asian. Both had rather extensive piercings (she - nose, lip, tongue, eye brows; he - bridge of the nose, eye brows, lips, tongue) and some tattoos. I think we did a pretty good job of welcoming them in without staring too much. It turned out that they were looking for a church that was a little more traditional than where his parents (actually Mom and Step dad) were attending. At the other church the deacons wore Bermuda shorts, sandals, and waved in the air. They wanted something more sedate. At first we seemed to fit the bill. They were pretty regular in their attendance for a while. During my visits with them I discovered that she was still married to some other guy and the oldest child was his and the youngest belonged to the current guy. They wanted to know if their marital situation (or lack of) would be a problem. She had trouble getting a divorce from her husband because of his obstinance. So she gave up. The current guy was content to live this way and their previous church encouraged them to not worry about it. I had never experienced anything like this and was so surprised that an evangelical church would encourage such behavior. I told them yes it would but now I wish I had told them that our goal was to get to know them first. They quit coming after that. I'm not sure they quit coming because I told them their situation would be a problem because I continued to pursue them and tried to make sure they felt comfortable with us. After a while it became evident that they were no longer interested in coming for whatever reason.

I have no doubt that sooner or later we would have to deal with their situation. But I think we try to clean up people's lives before we get them into Christ and we lose some because they don't fully appreciate their position. That means we miss some in our evangelism because they don't clean up as easily as we want. I don't want to suggest that we accept sin but we do accept sinners who need to learn and grow and that may take a while. Better to get them into Christ first and then demand that they grow.

Super Hero

2007-02-24T22:23:00.000-05:00

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		55%
The Flash		55%
Catwoman		45%
Robin		40%
Hulk		30%
Wonder Woman		25%
Green Lantern		25%
Iron Man		25%
Superman		20%
Batman		20%
Supergirl		10%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Happy Birthday Nathan from Gramps

2007-02-22T17:27:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite picture of Nathan and me. It was taken in Radford, VA when Dan, Lisa, and Nathan moved from Arkansas to Virginia in 2001. We were in Dan and Lisa's new home and I guess Lisa took this picture. I've forgotten all the circumstances. But it's still my favorite of the two of us. Happy Birthday Nathan and many more!

If you could own any car

2007-02-20T22:19:00.000-05:00

Others have done some spiritual questions about "what if. . ." so I thought I would do something a little materialistic. If you could have any car in the world what would it be and why? Mine is the above. 1991 Porsche 944 S2. Dual overhead cams, 16 valves, 5 sp manual, turbo-nose, and what a sight she is! This was the final year Porsche made the 944. I loved it the first year (1982) it came out. I loved the turbo model because the nose was smoother than the regular. So when they put the turbo nose on the regular with a better engine, I was really hooked. Maybe because it was a little more affordable than the 928 or the 911. Actually I just fell in love with how it looks. Maybe not everyone would like its lines, but I did. It was more muscular looking than the 924 which it replaced. Now of course they are slowly becoming classic or antiques. Every now and then I cruise eBay just to see how much they cost. But if I had the money ($10,000 plus in good condition), this would be mine. It would be either dark green or black with a tan or cream colored interior. Ah, dreams.

Post fad

2007-02-18T21:34:00.000-05:00

No the title is not about "posting" on blogs as a fad. I just notice that "post" anything today seems to be a fad. Let me share with you what I mean.

1. Post modernism (this philosophy actually began in the architectural field contrasting newer styles with traditional styles. Of course it has morphed into those who distrust "modernism" which came from the Enlightenment era. Modernism is the belief that there are truths and universal facts to our universe. Post modernism rejects universal or absolutes. Francis Schaeffer's book Escape From Reason mentioned one author involved in what became the post modern philosophy long before anyone really recognized post modernism.)
2. Post liberalism (George Lindbeck's book The Nature of Doctrine attempted to explain this new movement. Hans Frei's books also are about the post liberal approach to Christianity. Actually post liberalism has quite a bit that our fellowship would like. Lindbeck's book however is a difficult read. One reviewer called it "tortured prose.")
3. Post conservative (don't really know much about these folks but have read a couple of articles so I know that they exist.)
4. Post restorationist (just saw this the other day. Don't know much about them either but their title provided the inspiration for this "post" of mine.)

Are there any other "posts" out there that I'm missing. I'm sure there are. Actually considering the mind set of our society today "post" could be applied to almost any philosophy or field. We appear to enjoy changing the traditional, so "post" seems an apt prefix.

Tag, you're it! Or maybe not

2007-02-16T11:12:00.000-05:00

Matt Dabbs has tagged me. So now I'm supposed to tell you six weird things about myself. Actually I've already done this, click here. I was tagged by Lisa, my oldest. For those of you who didn't get to that post I reiterate my weirdness but I think I'll change #4 & #6.

1. The buttons on my shirt, my belt buckle, and the button or snap on my pants must all line up. I don't have OCD but this is just an occasion of weirdness.
2. I want to wear long hair. I had it long in college and would do anything to grow it long again.
3. I get up early every day (5:00 AM, seven days a week). I seldom sleep in unless I'm sick. I can't go to sleep at night if I sleep in. You know that OCD thing is starting to look real.
4. I still love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, especially on hearty, whole grain bread.
5. I hate to sweat in nice clothes. I really hate it when my DW (the lovely and gracious Pat) wants me to do something Sunday afternoon that might require me to sweat. I feel I have to shower again after sweating. I would rather take a nap.
6. I have this really quiet side to me. I love to be around people. I love to be in meetings where we work together as a team in producing something (like curriculum or a DVD about our congregation). I sometimes start conversations with strangers at the store (depends on whether or not they are buying something weird that I can comment on - you know it takes one to know one). I sometimes go up to strangers to find out information. We saw a Harding sticker on a van at Sonics with no one in it. So I started to quiz all the folks sitting down at tables until I found the owners of the van. But occasionally I just want to go unnoticed or be by myself. Sometimes I don't want to talk to anyone. Weird perhaps, but my weirdness.

Since I tagged others earlier I won't be passing this tag on unless I come across someone more weird than myself. If I think of anything else that's weird about me I will save it for the next time this tag comes around.

Valentine's Day

2007-02-14T06:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life. You have traveled with me from Texas to California to New Jersey to Florida. I'm glad that God brought us together for this journey. May our love for each continue to grow throughout our journey in this life.