DownshoreDrift

"The Office" and The Beauty of Ordinary Things

"There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things." - Pam Beasley Halpert

The series finale of The Office aired last night and fans of Jim & Pam, Dwight & Angela, Kevin, Toby, Phyllis, etc. said goodbye to a fairly significant show in the history of television. It was one of those shows that sneaks up on you because for a while, you think that you are just watching a comedy, but in the end, you find that you were watching a commentary on our lives and how love and hope and joy and everything that we live for is actually found in the beauty of ordinary things with ordinary people that you never thought you would ever grow to love.

Over the years, I have watched The Office because of the awkward moments and the dry humor, which fits me pretty well. But, after going through the series on Netflix, it dawned on me that the appeal of this show was that it was one story of what happens when a group of people live and work and share their lives together for 9 years (7 years in the case of Michael) and are fundamentally changed by what seems to be an ordinary experience. At the end of it all, they become something like a family and they find that the very people that used to drive them crazy are the ones that they will miss the most.

"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." Andy Bernard

Shows like The Office have an appeal because they capture something real about our daily lives and our hopes and frustrations and what we are all wanting: relationships. We, as a people want to be known and loved and we want to know others. The characters in The Office, much like the show that it reminds me of the most in its diverse ensemble cast, Cheers, do not have much in common other than the fact that they work for the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company. They share cubicles and tasks and projects and meetings in the conference room and office parties, but other than that, they go home to their own lives. But, over the course of many years and trials and triumphs, diverse people with nothing in common become friends - and then they become family.

I will not make some kind of allusion to God here, even though my blog is usually theological in tone. God was not a character in The Office. There was no real redemptive quality. Marriages happened (Jim & Pam/Dwight & Angela) and marriages broke up (Stanley, Angela and The Senator). People came and went and there was success and failure. Michael Scott, the original main character, dreamed of a wife and children and he finally found it and then moved to Colorado. While it was not religious/spiritual in any sense, the coming together of people who were very different but found joy in their relationships with each other does remind me of what happens in the church - or, what is supposed to happen. We end up journeying through life together with people that we do not always have much in common with. We learn to love people who are difficult to love sometimes and find that we are also loved when we cannot even love ourselves. Day after day, week after week, we go through life and share birthdays and weddings and holidays and children's classes and potluck dinners and sickness and sorrow and prayer and Scripture and hope, and ultimately, salvation.

Eugene Peterson once said that we do not go to church to hang out with our friends - with the people that we would choose. We go to church to hang out with God's friends, with the people that he chooses. When I was watching The Office, I thought about that and thought about how the relationships that I saw on a TV show that were not real and that were full of both joy and anger, generosity and pettiness, were riveting because they reminded me so much of real life and the characters that you face in your own office, or neighborhood, or family - or in your church. I was reminded of how much we need people - people different from us who will walk through life with us and who will show us and help us see the beauty of ordinary things.

We spend so much time looking for the spectacular and hoping for something great to happen to lift us out of our boredom that we miss the beauty of ordinary things right in front of us. Stanley had his pretzel day once a year. Dwight got excited about being safety officer. Michael loved the office parties and the conference room meetings and for all his quirky oddness, he knew how to lead an office to success. Jim always wanted to leave and go on to greater things but, in the end he found what he always wanted and needed in that dingy office. Everyone had a role both in the company and in each other's lives. It was nice.

In writing about this, I am simply saying that a longing for community and friendship and relationship in the midst of our daily lives is at the core of who we are as people. The longing for it and the receiving of love from others is part of what makes us human. There was a lot of failure and brokenness evident in The Office and it was not all pretty, but the message conveyed is one that is fairly surprising in America in 2013. People matter, even the people you don't like and that you find odd and who are nothing like you at all - and, those people can become your family because there is something that unites us all down deep - a longing for love and relationships and community - that we all keep trying to get to beneath the clutter and noise and our own struggles.

Maybe God put it there.

 

To All the Moms Out There . . . A Tribute

Every year for Mother's Day, we take time to honor our mothers and to say thank you for loving us and for a job well done. This year, I really wanted to see things from a mother's point of view, so I went to the one place where I could get the inside scoop:  Pinterest.  Through the modern satirical communication tool of Someecards written by moms themselves, I present to you a little retrospective I like to call, "Yes, we love our kids, but can we get a break, please?"  As a father of four, I can relate to many of these myself. At least they gave me a laugh: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                 

And, finally, this one doesn't have anything to do with Mother's Day, but I ran across it looking for the others, thought it made a good point and it is something that we have actually talked about in our house (and it made me laugh), so I'll just leave this one right here . . .

Sarah Palin Is a Genius. Admit It.

Sarah Palin has everyone right where she wants them, critics and supporters alike. She is a sheer genius. She is on this bus tour of historical sites in the Northeast and, at first glance, you would think that she didn't know much about history. Case in point:

  

Okay, that looks bad. The history teacher in me cringed at her "on the surface" butchering of American history. Of course, Paul Revere wasn't warning the British (he was warning the Minutemen, notably Sam Adams), and he was not riding through the streets ringing bells and firing his gun so that we could keep the right to bear arms. But, why quibble over minor historical facts? Who reads history anyway?  Its so out of date. Sarah Palin, on her American History Tour, shouldn't really be expected to know the history of the places that she is visiting, right? Or . . . maybe she knows far more than she is letting on. 

Consider this:  She is not letting the media know where she is going next. This is driving them crazy. But, someone has to know. She wants some of her supporters there. So, it would make sense for her to drop clues at each stop to let her supporters know where she is headed. I'm no supporter of Sarah Palin, but I think I cracked her code. 

It all stared with my friend, Marty Duren, on Facebook saying the following:  " On the positive side, we could always sing the Paul Revere theme song, "C'mon Ring Those Bells." 

Now, that song is a well-known Christian Christmas song. Sarah Palin is a Christian, so I surmised that she was likely familiar with it. Then, I began to put the pieces together.

I replied to Marty (edited for more content here):

"Yes, Marty, the next line of that song is "light the Christmas tree." She is now speaking in code in her veiled reference to Christmas through say that Paul Revere (Revolutionary) was ringing bells (Christmas song).  Even though this happened in 1775, everyone knows that the primary year of the Revolution was 1776 (duh). So, she is talking about Christmas, 1776, obviously!  She's preparing her followers for her visit to Valley Forge and to commemorate Washington's crossing of the Delaware on December 25, 1776 when he surprised the Hessians at Trenton and began to turn the war around! She is dropping historical clues so that the savvy know where she is headed next. The symbolism is that she is going to make a surprise attack on the modern day Hessians (liberals = Marxists - Marx was German, get it?) and it will be like Christmas in America again, which of course is a take off on Reagan's "It's morning in America" campaign ad from his 1984 reelection campaign. She was really saying that she is the new Reagan and she was going to defeat the liberals in a surprise attack that would renew America and restore our freedom and greatness. She's brilliant. Like I said, #historymatters."

So, from this we know that she is headed to Valley Forge and will likely cross the Delaware while standing at the front of a rowboat, exactly like George Washington did on Christmas Day, 1776 (see the photo?).  The world is laughing at Sarah Palin over her supposed gaffe at Paul Revere's house, but in reality, she is pulling one over on everybody.  She is actually a historical genius and is able to weave together significant clues as to her next moves, seemingly out of thin air!   

If you aren't convinced that Sarah Palin is a political genius after this, you probably won't ever be. Deal with that, Democrats! 

 

Disclaimer: Okay, before anyone gets mad or offended, this was all tongue-in-cheek, obviously, and it meant to make the point that actually knowing history is important. Wish I didn't have to give disclaimers for satirical posts, but I can anticipate someone thinking that I am being mean-spirited. Anyone can make a mistake, but actually knowing what happened in the past IS important. Or, it should be, especially for political leaders.

Happy Birthday to the Republic of West Florida!!!

Did you know that 200 years ago, a small band of settlers marched on the Spanish garrison in Baton Rouge, took it over, and hoisted the flag of the Republic of West Florida, which was the white lone star on a blue background?  West Florida encompassed the northshore of Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts, including Mobile. They claimed Mobile, but couldn't run the Spanish out of there. The Spanish territory of West Florida also included the Florida Panhandle, but that area was not included in the Republic of West Florida (the map included is the colonial area of West Florida, not the republic).

Growing up in New Orleans and South Mississippi, this is my homeland. I knew about the Spanish and British territories of West Florida, but I didn't know that it was its own republic from September 23, 1810 until December 10, 1810, approximately 90 days.  And, we even were the first to have the Lone Star flag! Texas copied it from us!  That is so cool!  They used it in the war for Texas' independence and the Confederacy used it in the initial battles of the Civil War, calling it the Bonnie Blue Flag.

I've always thought that South Louisiana, South Mississippi, South Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle should be its own state. Culturally, there are many similiarities and these areas are totally different than the other parts of each state that they belong to. We share the same food, same way of life, same culture, and everyone travels east-west instead of north-south. To be a resident of the Gulf Coast means something geographically and culturally. Now, I find out that this area was once its own country, if even for a short amount of time! The United States annexed West Florida shortly after this and brought it under U.S. control.  Dang imperialists. :)

So, I tip my hat to the patriots of the Republic of West Florida and its short-lived independence! 

West Floriday, that lovely nation,

Free from king and tyranny,

Thru’ the world shall be respected,

For her true love of Liberty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vote for Me in a March Madness Blog Contest

Okay, a bit of shameless promotion here. Every year, SBCVoices.com has a March Madness tournament to vote for the top blogs amongst Southern Baptist bloggers. Out of over 500 Southern Baptist blogs, I have qualified each year and even made the Sweet 16 a couple of years ago. I am in the South Region with a couple of monster-blogs - it is like playing against Duke and Kentucky. I am a real underdog, but if you vote for me, you are voting for the little guy, and well, that will be your good deed for the day! Or, A good deed for the day. So, vote for the little guy and send me to the next round! 

Vote HERE:  http://sbcvoices.com/sbc-blog-madness-2010/#comments

Give That Pig a Ten!

My 7 year old son, Peyton, was watching an animal talent show on Animal Planet a few minutes ago and he came and told me about a pig that was playing the piano. He said, "Daddy, there was this pig that was playing the piano. He played, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." One of the judges gave him an 8, and two of the judges gave him a 7 (out of 10). I don't know. If it were me, and a pig could play the piano, I'd give him a 10."

I agree, Peyton. How do you not give a piano playing pig a 10? Must be SEC football refs. 

Billy Collins - "There's No Way You're the Pine Scented Air."

My friend Micah Brake posted this poem by Billy Collins, the former Poet Laureate of the United States. He found it on Don Miller's blog. It is called "Litany" and it is hilarious. I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard. Erika liked it a lot too, so it must be good. I highly recommend that you take a moment and take in some poetry. You might be happy you did.

One other thing before you watch the video. We decorated for Christmas today and it was really nice. We listened to the "Peaceful Holiday" station on Pandora.com (free internet radio) under the "Holiday" music genre down at the bottom. I suggest you check that out as well. Really nice!

Have You Decorated For Christmas Yet? When Do You Start?

So, three weeks ago when we were putting up our Christmas tree, playing a little Bing on the old turn table, warming chestnuts over the fire, and sipping Egg Nog, I couldn't help but think about just how much I love Christmas.  All the presents were bought, wrapped, and under the tree and we had already purchased the Christmas goose and cranberries.  Each night thereafter, I cuddled with my kids and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to them. We pulled out the Christmas programs on DVD and watched them all. Then, about a week ago we went and had our picture taken with Santa at the mall.  Finally, the big day will come tomorrow and we will open all the presents. We'll have grandparents over and we'll have a big feast. Everyone will wear their Christmas sweaters and we'll really "Deck the Halls," so to speak! 

We've decided to follow the lead of the retailers and start doing Christmas early this year to avoid the rush.  Next year, I think that we'll move it up to October. You can't get started too early, now, can you?

Seriously, guys, this is getting ridiculous. Everywhere I go, I am already seeing Christmas stuff. People are starting to shut down and get ready for the holidays. Folks all over our city are already putting up Christmas trees and are decorating in their yards. Plastic snowmen are beginning to dot the landscape. The insanity of it all!  The whole month of December is wiped out with Christmas celebrations and it is next to impossible to schedule anything that is unrelated. I was at a local Baptist association meeting last week and we were talking about some initiatives for 2009. We wanted to get some pastors together and everyone agreed that if we wanted to do it before January, we had to have the meeting before Thanksgiving. That is how it is with my church and just about everyone else that I know as well.  I stopped the meeting and asked everyone if things were like this when they were younger. Basically, people are out of pocket for about 6 weeks. Everyone agreed that it was not this way years ago. Christmas celebrations did not start up until about two-three weeks before Christmas. That's how I remember it as well.

There are some reasons for this, I think.  Some of them good, some bad. Here we go:

1. As people live further and further away from their families, Christmas is the one time of the year when everyone gets together, so it has become a REALLY big deal.  "I'll Be Home For Christmas" puts more of a lump in our throat now than it ever has. Christmas' little brother, Thanksgiving, is an alternate Christmas for many families that are split because of divorce or it is a time to meet with one side of the family or the other. Our family rotates Christmas and Thanksgiving between my wife's side and mine. But, gifts are exchanged over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend every year now.
2. The commercialization of Christmas is completely out of hand. Our consumeristic economy depends on us spending truckloads of money on stuff that few of us really need or want. I recently saw that Americans spend $500 billion a year on Christmas!  Alternatively, $10 billion would provide clean drinking water for every person on the planet and would help prevent the deaths of 1.6 million children a year that occur from lack of access to clean drinking water. Shocking, isn't it?
3. I think that a lot of people are looking for the "perfect Christmas."  There is this ideal that is promoted that has you gathered with your family and friends experiencing warmth, peace, and comfort. There are so many different ways to experience Christmas now that you can't possibly do all of them, so, you have to spread it out for six weeks or so to get it all in. It seems that we aren't getting enough of what we are supposed to be getting during the year, so we try to get it all in at Christmas. Or, we are so empty as a culture that we can't wait to start celebrating something that makes us feel loved. 

Is any of what is driving the expansion of Christmas into November even remotely related to the birth of Jesus Christ?  Remember Him? He is the "Reason for the Season," isn't He? It seems that Jesus isn't talked about much until right around the actual day of Christmas.  We kind of wear ourselves out regarding Christmas and then remember that this is supposed to be about Jesus (or for most, family) after all. I know that I just explained the plot line of just about every Christmas movie ever made, but there is some truth to it.

So, this year I have decided to NOT celebrate Christmas at all until 18 days before.  Why 18 days? Because that is when our church Christmas Party is. On December 7th, we will gather with Family Life Bible Fellowship and have our annual Christmas Extravaganza. If I can't fit it in in 18 days, then it is too much, right? 

Everything else, I'm calling Festivus after the Seinfeld episode where George's father came up with a different holiday besides Christmas. I don't think that we'll do the "airing of grievances," the "festivus pole," or the "feats of strength," but I am going to survive this year by recognizing that everything that is not fairly close to the holiday or is not related to Jesus in some way is just Festivus. 

In case you're wondering about Festivus, here's a clip:

So, no Christmas for me until the time is right. I think that I'm actually going to enjoy Thanksgiving!

Poll: When do you decorate for Christmas?

Ben Cole Makes Nice With Malcolm Yarnell

Only SBC blogging types would understand the significance of this event, so if you are not one of those people, just ignore.

Ed Stetzer is twittering the convention. He caught a picture of Ben Cole making up with the powers that be at Southwestern, represented by Dr. Malcolm Yarnell. I think that Ben was supposed to kiss the ring, not the head.  Those guys are such a riot!   Yarnell and Cole would make a great comedy team.    

Good to see Malcolm smiling.  Ben takes that greeting one another with a holy kiss, seriously, eh?

Yes, the SBC Annual Meeting is a strange happening. Strange indeed.

My next next post will display a picture of pigs flying.

Stay tuned for some fireworks tomorrow, actually.

The Flesh Eating Cockroach and the Night of Plague

I'm slowly putting up reflections on my last trip to India for posterity's sake - plus I have this innate belief that every thought and experience that I have is worthy of publication. At any rate, this story is worth telling.

Our entire trip went as smoothly as could be expected. No one got sick. Travel was perfect. Everyone got along really well. All the trip objectives were met. We went to dinner our last night satisfied that we had done all that we came to do. We would head back to Delhi the next day and then fly home.

Fortunately, I had escaped any type of stomach problems. It is no secret that I am not the biggest fan of Indian food. It just does not agree with me. Still, I thankfully eat all that is served me and I try to be gracious. I figure that it would be rude to say, "Um, I'm an American and I don't like your food." So, I eat and smile. I am extremely careful about not drinking the water or eating any uncooked vegetables, though. For the most part, I protect my stomach pretty well. However, the last night it hit. I was finishing dinner and I had to run to the bathroom. I don't want to get too graphic here, but the next couple of hours were pretty uncomfortable. I took some pepto bismol and finally laid down to get some sleep. This was around 10:30pm.

At around midnight, I was slowly awakened by something sharp and prickly stabbing into my hand. I was sleeping with my left hand stretched out above my head and as I felt the poking, I woke up enough to throw whatever it was against the wall. I jumped up, turned on the light, and pulled my bed back to find out what had just been gnawing on me. It was a roach. I figure that it was about 3 feet long. In reality, it might have been a medium sized dog. Somehow, I was able to grab my shoe and start beating it to pieces. It had really long antennae and it was massive. Okay, maybe not three feet long, but it was pretty big. The guy rooming with me jumped into the fray and actually beat the thing into two pieces. I've never been one to be afraid of roaches or any type of insect, but this thing was pretty big, and it had just been eating my hand. Roaches in America don't do that, do they?

Well, after killing Godzilla, I decided to lay down and go back to sleep. I noticed that I could not feel my left hand. It was going numb. That was the hand that the roach had been gnawing on. Then, I noticed feeling leaving my right hand. Both my arms started going numb. Then, the rest of my body, including parts of my face. Um, this isn't normal, right? I spoke to my roommate and told him that either I was going to get worse and die or I would get better. Clearly I was thinking on a very high level at this point. We were some ways away from a hospital or doctor so I didn't really think that I could do anything about it. What was I going to say? I got bit by a roach and I going numb all over? Help? So, I told him that if I didn't wake up, the roach numbing agent had gotten me. Nice. It must have been affecting my brain as well.

Eventually, I fell back asleep - for a little while. I awoke a little later to feel something else biting my hand. It was a mosquito. I slapped at it, and then felt another bite a moment later. Then, another and another. There was a swarm of mosquitos that had somehow made it into our room. I was feeling a bit sheepish about NOT taking the malaria pills that the rest of the team had taken. Oh, I won't get malaria, I said. Not me. So, this goes on for a while until we realize that we should turn on the bathroom light to attract the mosquitos. We ended up sleeping the rest of the night (all 3 hours of it) under our blankets, covered from head to toe with a swarm of mosquitos waiting for any part of our body to stick out from under the blanket. When I woke up, there was actually blood on my pillow. I guess a mosquito got too full and spit some of my blood out before he flew off.

In the morning, I was talking with my roommate and I told him that I thought we experienced some  spiritual warfare. He disagreed. "Just life," he said. Okay.  Massive stomach cramps, followed by a flesh eating roach the size of a Volkswagen, followed by a swarm of mosquitos, all in one night. "Just life," he says. Maybe so.

I love going to India, but today, I am glad I am home. 

So, This Is What the Sweet Sixteen Feels Like?

Okay, so vanity has taken over. Either that or I'm really competitive. I'll side with the competitive angle. A little competition is good, right?  Some might see this and think that it's a little much, but hey, this is a tiny blog compared to some of the monster Baptist blogs out there.  I need all the help I can get!

So, here's the deal:  Tony Kummer at SBC Voices set up a competition last week. He tracks all the blogs of Southern Baptists (over 314 to date) and he decided to do a tournament ala the NCAA basketball's March Madness.  He put 68 teams, er, blogs in the tournament and divided it up into four regions for people to vote on who they thought had the most influential blog in SBC life. You can see the initial contest HERE. I was pretty surprised to be selected as one of the 68 blogs to make the big dance.  I was a #12 seed in the South Region. I was even more surprised (shocked, really) to make it to the next round - the Sweet Sixteen. So, basically, this is quite the Cinderella story.

Davidson went down today and I have a very strong feeling that I won't make it to the next round either. Tony changed up the rules a little (can he do that? - um, I guess he can since it's his contest) and says, "For this session I want you to consider the helpfulness of each blog, especially when they write about SBC related issues."  Oh no! I'm doomed! I don't really write about SBC related issues here anymore, at least in the direct sense.  I knew I quit too early!  He is even offering a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com for the winner. Those who love me know that if anything would motivate me . . . well, I better not get into to that.

So, even though I don't write about SBC related issues here at Downshoredrift, I figure that the stuff I write about (ministry, church life, spiritual formation, where God is working in the world around us, missions, my family, book reviews, changing culture, the Kingdom of God, etc.) SHOULD be what we are talking about in the SBC instead of petty politics (except for maybe my family - the SBC doesn't have to talk about my family, except for my kids. They are pretty cool). So, to parrot Barak Obama, a vote for Downshoredrift means a vote for CHANGE!  That's right! Let's change the tone of the SBC!  What better way than to put Downshoredrift in the Final Four!

Too much?  Sorry.  My friend Micah Fries is trying to get people to vote for him so I thought I'd do the same.  Go over to SBCVoices and go down to the South Region and vote for Downshoredrift, if you would be so kind. Remember, a vote for Downshoredrift is a vote for the little guy, the underdog, the common man!  It's a vote for change!  Send Cinderella to the Final Four!      

Yeah, I got carried away.  Oh well! It's all in fun.   :)

Edgy Church Makes New Rules

I've always said that the style of church or worship that you experience doesn't matter - it is the heart that matters most. Often, in trying to be innovative, we are just repackaging the same old forms in new ways. The heart doesn't really change. At the core of our experience, we must ask the question: Do we look to God or are we just trying to do what pleases us? I ran across a hilarious bit of satire at Larknews that makes a great point about new church forms:

Edgy church breaks old rules, insists on new ones

    ROCHESTER, Minn. — At The Circle, a young, innovative church which meets in a renovated bus depot, there is no pulpit, platform or pastor, as such. The congregation rejects the labels "Christian" and "congregation," preferring "followers of Jesus" and "friendship community."
    There are no ushers, but rather "helpers."
    There is no worship team, but rather "God artists."
    And woe to anyone who affixes traditional church labels to any of it.
    "God's doing a new thing here," says Mitch Townsend, the leader of the church. He shuns the "pastor" label and insists people call him, "Hey, man," or simply "Dude." If someone slips and calls him "pastor," he bristles and gently rebukes them.
    "We got rid of all those old labels," he says. "There's no going back."
    At the church office, which they never call a church office but rather "the Hub," secretaries, or "community action facilitators" as they are called here, tap-tap on computers (which they still call computers) and take calls.
    When a visitor slips up and refers to The Circle's "sanctuary," Dude Townsend cuts him short.
    "Listen, it's not a sanctuary, it's a meeting place, a gathering place," he says, flushing red.
    "Sorry, pastor," the visitor says.
    "Not pastor," says Townsend. "Dude, or friend. Or just hey, Mitch."
    "Sorry, Dude Mitch," the visitor says uncomfortably, and slinks away. Mitch quickly goes to him and hugs him.
    "We're all about love and freedom here," he says. "I know it's hard to get used to."
    At a Sunday morning "gathering," as services must be called, people sit in chairs arranged in circle around a "focal point" (not a platform) and listen to the team of God-artists play instruments and sing "songs of adoration and devotion to the Creator," as opposed to praise and worship music. The gathered "posse of Jesus followers" is free to sing along and to express themselves in any way that seems "real and authentic."
    "We strive to be genuine here," says non-pastor "Hey, Jim" Richards, who in another setting might be called an associate pastor. "It's about being who you are, not fitting into a pre-determined box."
    Before Dude Mitch's personal sharing time (which markedly resembles a sermon), one visitor raises her hand and says, "Is there going to be an altar call? Because I really want to give my life to Jesus today."
    Dude Mitch answers quickly, "We don't have altar calls here; we have 'God moments' or 'Creator re-connects.' And we don't say 'give your life to Jesus,' but you may begin a lifelong love relationship with the Creator-Friend, if you like. But please wait until we are done with sharing time."
    After the service, "new friends" join in the "kick-back hall" for refreshments and conversation with the Dudes and other Hub personnel. They may also join a mid-week "hang-out crew" of 10-12 people which meets in a home, and which is steadfastly not referred to as a "small group."
    "Anyone who wants a break from normal, rigid church life is welcome at The Circle," says Townsend. •

I'm still laughing. I do feel a bit sheepish, however, because my folks call me "Alan" instead of "Pastor Alan," so I guess I can't say much. I just always figured that no one has titles in the Bible, so we shouldn't have them now. But, God save me from making it a rule!

Mission Trips for the Wealthy?

I've got some more stories and pictures from our recent trip to the Gulf Coast coming this weekend, but in the meantime, I thought that I'd point to this article:

                     

Ritzy missions trips aim for wealthy


    HAMILTON, Bermuda — This year, instead of helping a missions team build a church sanctuary in Honduras, Bill Taylor of Open Bible Church in Wichita is evangelizing at beach resorts in Bermuda.
    "Now this is missions work," says Taylor while striking up spiritual conversation with wealthy resort guests.
    As more church-goers tire of spending vacation time in the Third World, churches are taking a break from poverty and targeting the luxury class with the gospel.
    "Our worldview had gotten too narrow," says one pastor. "Rich people need Jesus, too."
    Grace Family Church of Littleton, Colo., recently started a ministry called Higher Calling and sent a missions team to tony boutiques in Milan’s fashion district. The group reached out to watchmakers, jewelry store workers and super-wealthy patrons.
    "People who were never interested in missions trips are jumping at the chance to go," says the pastor.
    Team member Joyce Andrews says the salespeople "will tolerate a lot of evangelizing if you are committed to buying a diamond necklace or a watch." Andrews says she felt vastly more effective evangelizing luxury jewelry shop employees than on her last three trips to Central America.
    "I feel useless in poor places," she says. "But I found I fit very well in wealthier environments. Striking up spiritual conversations at the perfume counter is right up my alley."
    Pastor Brent Keefauver says his congregation in Miami was suffering from "poverty fatigue" because of the malnutrition and generally dismal motif most missions trips offer.
    "We were gaining a global perspective, but losing the joy of the Lord," he says. "We had to switch gears fast."
   

Upcoming Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit

So, I thought I'd start the week off with some thoughts concerning the upcoming Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, TX. I've been asked to take part in a panel discussion on Saturday morning. I am also speaking at 3pm on the topic "Defining and Defending the Continualist Position." I've planned and led quite a few conferences, and my great hope in my participation in this one is that I'll be speaking at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, that time period takes the pressure off greatly.  Generally, only family members, the church custodian, and some guys moving chairs and tables in the back are around at that time, as most have retired to their homes and hotels for a much needed afternoon nap before returning in the evening. Those left in the room usually begin to sink down in their seats and drop their heads in an attitude of prayer that goes on for some time. If not careful, some have been known to actually fall out of their chairs as though they were slain, charismatic style. The 3pm crowd is quite pious, actually.

I'm thinking I really should blow the dust off the old family Bible, crack it open and prepare for this, since I will be surrounded by incredibly qualified people with academic degrees and what not. But, then I thought, why not just wing it?  Since many in the SBC consider those who believe in the continuation of miraculous Spiritual Gifts to base their sketchy theology on experience alone, I thought I'd just show up and see what happens. I'm sure it will turn out all right in the end. I have about 45 minutes to speak, I think, so I thought I'd show a video of people speaking in tongues to each other without interpretation for about 20 minutes. I could get some clips of all types of charismatic phenomena, like people barking, rolling around, and running around the church. It could be entitled, "Coming to a Baptist Church Near You If Continualists Get Their Way!"  Then, since we are experience based after all, I could divide the room up into small groups and ask people to share their feelings about the video. Was it scary? How did it make them feel? After that, I'd blast them for not having enough faith or something. I'm still working on my closing, but I don't want to put TOO much thought into, remember? Spontaneity and all.

In case you didn't realize, this was an experiment in satire. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence by stating the obvious, but I have read comments on some blogs that would lead me to believe that nuance is lost on more than a few. In all seriousness, I am VERY excited about this coming weekend. I feel that it will provide a much needed forum to discuss and debate one of the central controversies in Baptist life today. I am incredibly honored to be speaking and am very excited about the 3pm time, because I will get to go last, in a sense, and I will be able to respond to the statements made by the cessationist speakers before me, Bart Barber and Robin Foster. I am preparing as best I can, and do not plan to just wing it, even though I am sure to be dwarfed by the theological and mental heavyweights that will be my counterparts. So, I appreciate your prayers this week as I get ready for what should be a great experience.

With all the talk about alcohol in the SBC . . .

I ran across this article today and thought it was pretty funny. It just goes to show how we can make the Bible say just about anything we want based on our presuppositions, eh? As you read this, think about other passages that can be taken out of context, viewed in isolation, and used wrongly.

MINOT, N.D. — Jack Crocker, a beer-loving machinist and "part-time Christian," finally agreed to read Proverbs with wife Reanna. He's glad he did.
    "I'm a Proverbs 31 husband all right," says Jack, then quotes Proverbs 31:6-7: "Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more."
    "That's my permission to crack open a cold one," Jack says, having a Coors after dinner.
    But Reanna, a new church member, is pushing Jack hard to stop drinking. She insists he is neither "perishing" nor "in anguish." But Jack researched the Bible on the Internet and found 2 Corinthians 4:16 and 5:2 which say, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day," and "Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling."
    "Everyone is perishing and in anguish," Jack says. "Until we're delivered from these bodies, the Bible says to drink up."
    As part of the escalating family tension he created a "Proverbs 31" category on their weekly budget and listed "beer" under it. He also wants to start a Proverbs 31 Men's Group with his buddies.
    "We're trying to find where the Bible talks about buffalo wings," he says. •

And, in case you didn't know, I found it on Lark News, which is a Christian satire site. They try to make points about how ridiculous we can be through satire, which is usually lost on most people.  I don't approve of everything there, but they usually make pretty good points that get me to think about things in a different way.