Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
just came across this band...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFCRMonf7lI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBTUAHGpQqE
me like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBTUAHGpQqE
me like.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
better churches
Speaking of community and churches and stuff, I experienced something that made me a little embarrassed/ashamed. And I'm not even a part of this church. I was embarrassed because what I saw is something that I know I've done to some degree.
Every Tuesday and Thursday the seminary has chapel. Either a professor will give the sermon/lecture or they'll bring in someone. This past Tuesday the pastor from Sojourn Church spoke. Sojourn isn't an SBC church, but it's Southern Baptist affiliated (whatever that really means). It's kind of seen as the black sheep of the family, because it's located in the artsy part of town and actually reaches out to their community. If you want to see a church that has contextualized to fit their community, Sojourn is a good one to look at. They use more artistic (not charismatic) expressions in their services. So you can imagine what that does for a stuffy seminary student.
*I must note here that this stuff isn't based simply on my observations. Several of the people I hang out with go to Sojourn and are very upset with their church members for their actions.
Apparently some of the people decided they wanted to come hear their pastor speak and thought it would be great to wear really dingy clothes, because that's what everyone expects of them. But why not just wear the clothes you would normally wear? Wouldn't doing anything different be a lie, and even be prideful (if not borderline idolatry)?
They didn't do this, but some people did get their early and block off a section for their people to sit in. I don't have a problem with wanting to sit together. But I do have a problem with people who normally sit on the complete other side of chapel sitting in the Sojourn section because that's where you're supposed to sit. No, you should sit with your friends whom you normally sit with every Tuesday and Thursday. Don't abandon them because your church is there.
There were also a number of people who have not been to chapel all year and (as one person told me) won't be back. Is your pastor really that phenomenal of a speaker and that connected with God that he's the only one who can teach you anything?
What this all comes down to is how many times have you thought your church was better than another church.? And if you go to some other church (maybe there's a specific church you can identify) you're wasting your time, or you're less 'godly' (lowercase for a reason), or the church is just less cool than your church. Because a lot of people treat(ed) Status as their church, I gave Discovery Church as a whole a negative perception, and thought that Summit was better. I now know that Discovery is a great church with lots of Godly men and women.
Basically, no church is better than any other church. Now, if a church is teaching unsound doctrine, then that church is probably less than other churches. But no church is better than any other church. Graceland Baptist Church where Gentry and I go is no better than Summit, which is no better than New Life Church of God, which is no better than Willow Creek. We are all the body of believers redeemed, sanctified, and made holy for the glory of God. So let's act it. Let's stop cometing with each other to see who has the better church.
PS. Sojourn's new sermon series is based on Roman's 12. Watch the video on their website.
Every Tuesday and Thursday the seminary has chapel. Either a professor will give the sermon/lecture or they'll bring in someone. This past Tuesday the pastor from Sojourn Church spoke. Sojourn isn't an SBC church, but it's Southern Baptist affiliated (whatever that really means). It's kind of seen as the black sheep of the family, because it's located in the artsy part of town and actually reaches out to their community. If you want to see a church that has contextualized to fit their community, Sojourn is a good one to look at. They use more artistic (not charismatic) expressions in their services. So you can imagine what that does for a stuffy seminary student.
*I must note here that this stuff isn't based simply on my observations. Several of the people I hang out with go to Sojourn and are very upset with their church members for their actions.
Apparently some of the people decided they wanted to come hear their pastor speak and thought it would be great to wear really dingy clothes, because that's what everyone expects of them. But why not just wear the clothes you would normally wear? Wouldn't doing anything different be a lie, and even be prideful (if not borderline idolatry)?
They didn't do this, but some people did get their early and block off a section for their people to sit in. I don't have a problem with wanting to sit together. But I do have a problem with people who normally sit on the complete other side of chapel sitting in the Sojourn section because that's where you're supposed to sit. No, you should sit with your friends whom you normally sit with every Tuesday and Thursday. Don't abandon them because your church is there.
There were also a number of people who have not been to chapel all year and (as one person told me) won't be back. Is your pastor really that phenomenal of a speaker and that connected with God that he's the only one who can teach you anything?
What this all comes down to is how many times have you thought your church was better than another church.? And if you go to some other church (maybe there's a specific church you can identify) you're wasting your time, or you're less 'godly' (lowercase for a reason), or the church is just less cool than your church. Because a lot of people treat(ed) Status as their church, I gave Discovery Church as a whole a negative perception, and thought that Summit was better. I now know that Discovery is a great church with lots of Godly men and women.
Basically, no church is better than any other church. Now, if a church is teaching unsound doctrine, then that church is probably less than other churches. But no church is better than any other church. Graceland Baptist Church where Gentry and I go is no better than Summit, which is no better than New Life Church of God, which is no better than Willow Creek. We are all the body of believers redeemed, sanctified, and made holy for the glory of God. So let's act it. Let's stop cometing with each other to see who has the better church.
PS. Sojourn's new sermon series is based on Roman's 12. Watch the video on their website.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
thoughts on community
i've been thinking about community lately, and although these thoughts are still incomplete, they're still probably too long to post here. I captured some of my initial musings on a pdf here...let me know what you think.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Tunes
Ever been to Pandora Radio? Type in the name of a band or song, it will find it, and then play music similar. It's a good way to hear music you actually like, as well as find out about unknown bands.
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