Reading List

I’m such a slow reader.  That does not mean I actually read slow, while others read fast.  It means that I will read a chapter of a book and then I won’t get around to reading another chapter until a week later.  I have a bad habit of doing that.  I don’t just sit down and read through a book in a day, or a few days.  I read a little here and then I read a little there until a month or two later (sometime 3 or 4 months later) I finish the book.  I want to do a better job of being a disciplined reader.  OK, enough about that.  What am I reading right now?

I’m currently in three different books.  I have been reading through Philip Yancey’s book entitled Prayer for quite a while now.  I’m really really enjoying it.  He writes with such honesty, and this book on prayer is an honest portrayal of wrestling with prayer.  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in prayer (which should be all christians!).

I am also making my way through Mike Erre’s book, Death by Church.  It is a powerfully written book about the Kingdom of God, and the churches mission to live Kingdom lives.  The back cover of the book reads:
“The early church was a vibrant counterculture – an ‘outpost of heaven.’ These fledgling communities lived in contradiction to the world around them and saw themselves as an entirely new expression of humanity. But today, much of the Western church is merely an increasingly irrelevant and powerless reflection of society’s values and priorities.  The church has ceased bearing witness to the dynamic and all-encompassing kingdom of God and has instead become an end to itself.”
This book does a wonderful job (my opinion) of explaining the “already/but not yet” aspect of the Kingdom.  And Erre tackles the question, “Is the church the Kingdom?”

The third book I am reading through is by Larry Osborne.  It is called 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.  It is a simple read and very practical.  Osborne deals with what he calls “spiritual urban legends.”  He hits myths like: faith fixes everything, God brings good luck, God has a blueprint for my life, and forgiving means forgetting.  I’m thinking about using it as resource for a future sermon series.

Is anyone else reading anything good right now?

Boxing up Baptism

John Mark Hicks’ discussions on baptism and children (Part 1 and Part 2) have made me think about the different imagery used in the NT for baptism.  I was taught to believe that baptism was for the purpose of washing away sins (and quietly we would add that we also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit).  I was also taught that if you did not come to baptism with this understanding then your baptism was invalid.

I still believe that baptism washes away sins, but is that the only way to approach baptism?  Have we put baptism in this little box, and then claimed that we have the final word on baptism?  Have we taken something mysterious and multi-faceted, and domesticated it to a single facet?

As I read through the scriptures I get a much larger view of baptism and its many different facets.  Jesus’ baptism had nothing to do with forgiveness (for he was sinless).  It was a moment of obedience and identity.  Cornelius and his family were known as devout, God-fearing people.  Their baptism seemed to be more for the purpose of belonging and acceptance, not for sin washing.  In Acts we find some people already being labeled “disciples” and they were baptized solely for the purpose of receiving the Holy Spirit.  In Peter’s first letter he indicates that baptism is about our consciences because baptism is “the pledge of a clear conscience toward God” (1 Peter 3:21).

Please note that I am thinking outloud more than anything.  I have not come to any strong conclusions on this issue.  I have a high view of baptism, so this is not about the neccessity/importance of baptism.  This is about the purpose(s) of baptism.  What are your thoughts?

Man looks at the outward appearance…

Go to Jim Martin’s blog to see an amazing video and to be reminded that the outward appearance is not the best measuring stick for true beauty.

Surviving Tordandoes

Kate and I attended Middle Tennessee State University for college, which is in Murfreesboro, TN.  We have great memories of that place, and some of our best friends still live there.  Last week a tornado hit Murfreesboro and it killed a couple of people and injured many more.  David Young was the preacher at the church we attended (he left to preach somewhere else, but returned a few years ago).  He got firsthand experience with this damaging tornado.  Here are his words:

“I went running on the Greenway (off Thompson Lane) about 12 o’clock, ran a couple of miles. When it started lightning real hard and hailing, I went back toward the house. I got about behind Goff’s Barbecue, the hail was coming down pretty hard, and I got down near the river behind the bushes to keep the hail from hitting me. I heard the train coming. I said this is a tornado and I’m out here in it.

I wrapped my arms around a tree and curled up. About three or four seconds after that, I looked up and the tornado was right above me. I was in the tornado and trees were falling and flying through the air. There was debris, and a building flew over my head. My legs went out from under me and they  flapped in the wind like a flag.

The eye settled on me for a couple of seconds and I settled back down on the ground.

When the back wall of the tornado hit me, it knocked at least two trees on me, but they caught all the debris … and probably saved my life.

Within 15 or 20 seconds it was gone. I managed to crawl and hobble up on the parking lot where Design Landscape parking lot is. I was hobbling along and I must have looked worse than I thought. Two guys put me in the back of the pickup truck and took me to the emergency room. I suffered a concussion and a beat-up leg. Other than that, I’m all right.

Man, I looked up and I was in the middle of that tornado. I was thinking I’m gonna get to be on Oprah. Honestly, I wasn’t scared. Really what I was thinking, I was hoping nobody else was one the Greenway. When I got up, it looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off. That tree I was holding onto was the only thing standing. That tree and I were the only thing left. Everything else was wiped out …

While I was holding on to the tree I had a two-hour conversation with God in 15 seconds.”

Isn’t that an amazing story?

Read Another Blog

I have always appreciated what Trey Morgan has to say on his blog.  I now want to direct your attention to two different post on his blog.
The first one is called Traits of a Real Man.  All you men should check this out.

The other post was written by his wife, Lea.  It is called Traits of a Real Woman.  Some good thoughts for women to reflect on.

I Survived!

Thankfully those famous words from my last post did not become my famous last words, ha!  I survived to preach another day.

In all seriousness, it went really well.  I had told myself that there was no use answering those questions if I did not feel I could answer them straight from my heart.  I am blessed to be ministering in a church where I can make myself vulnerable by opening up my heart without fear of what might happen.  I did not want to answer for the Churches of Christ.  I did not want to answer for Elmwood Church of Christ, or even our elders.  I wanted to answer for Gilbert Kerrigan.  Again, I am blessed to have a group of shepherds that allow a minister to do this and will even hold up the shields if arrows were to come flying my direction.  Thankfully, no arrows came flying my direction.

My shepherds all told me how much courage it took to say what I said.  I disagreed, and told them it was not courage.  It was stupidity, and I have plenty of that.

Anyway, I just wanted to emphasize how blessed I am to be a part of this wonderful church family.  I also want to let you know that I survived to preach another day.

Famous Last Words

I just may discover that a preacher’s famous last words are, “Ask questions.  I’ll answer them Sunday night.”

This whole last month I dedicated my sermons to talking about the Lord’s Supper.  It was a wonderful month, with much encouragement from the congregation.  Most of my time was spent talking about the theology of the table.  I did not get much into the mechanics and how-to’s.  I thought it went over very well.

Last Sunday I told the church that if they had questions that I had not covered yet, especially dealing with mechanics, that I would answer them this Sunday night.  I told them to email me the questions.

Maybe this was not such a good idea after all.  I should have known that I would receive questions that can get me fired for answering.  My wife jokingly asked me today if we should put our house on the market, ha!

Famous last words: “Ask questions.  I’ll answer them Sunday night.”

Kingdom Ramblings

Allow me to think outloud about the Kingdom of God for a moment…

The kingdom is not a place or a people, it is the reign of God.  The kingdom is not a place, it is a reality that can be experienced any place.  The church is not the kingdom, not in full anyway.  The church represents those who have received the kingdom (who have submited to God’s reign in thier lives).  The church preaches the kingdom (the rule and reign of God) and demonstrates the kingdom.  But that is not the same as preaching the church, which Churches of Christ have historically been guilty of doing.

Vacation

I have been visiting my parents for the week.  It has been relaxing and fun.  Most of my time has been spent on the lake fishing.  We have caught a good number of bass, some hybrid, and a few crappie.  I caught the biggest hybrid I have ever seen before.  My dad and I figured it would weigh between 15 and 20 pounds.  Here is a pic.

My little boy caught his first fish.  He even held up for a picture.

Last night we went to one of my very favorite steak houses.  It is in Dothan, AL and it is called Conestoga Steak House.  While I was there eating my 12 oz Ribeye steak I had an Elvis sighting.  Yep, you read that right.  Elvis is alive and performs in Dothan, AL.  Here is the proof.

The group sitting at the table next to us was throwing someone a surpise birthday party.  Elvis was one of the surprises.  He came into the steak house singing a couple of his classic tunes.  It was hilarious and awesome!  Eveyrone in the restaurant pulled out cell phones with cameras on them (including me!).

I’ll be heading back to Lafayette tomorrow.

Lord’s Supper

I’ve decided to take a break from recapping the National Preaching Summit.  No one was commenting, so I have no idea if the recaps were even being read.  On to the next topic…

I am currently preaching through a sermon series about the different aspect of the Lord’s Supper.  It has created quite a stir at Elmwood.  This is a good stir, not a bad one.  People are responding very favorably and are asking, “What do we do now?”  So far, I have only preached two sermons in the series.  I have two more to go.  My first sermon connected the Lord’s Supper to the Jewish Passover event.  I talked about how Passover was a time to remember, experience, and celebrate their redemption.  I really focused a lot on the celebration aspect and talked about how our time at the table should not be a time of guilt and pennance, but a time of joyful remembrance and celebration.  If you have read John Mark Hick’s book, Come to the Table, he refers to the difference between the altar and the table.  This celebratory apsect is one we don’t emphasize much, if any at all, in most Churches of Christ.

My second sermon was about the connection between the New Testament discussion about covenant and the covenant event that takes place in Exodus 24.  In Exodus 24 we are told that after the words of the covenant were read and the sacrifices took place that “they saw God, and ate and drank.” I truly believe this was a covenant meal with God.  A meal in which Israel and God sealed the deal, so to speak, with the covenant.  This was a meal where Isreal said, “Yes!” to God’s covenant relationship invitation.  I then discussed how our time around the table is a time to renew our allegiance to God.  It is our covenant renewal meal.  Every week we get a chance to say “Yes!” to God’s invitation to remain in covenant with him.  At the table we eat in God’s presence to seal the deal.

Like I said, I have two more sermons to go in this series.  Next week we will focus on the communal aspect – this is a meal where exhibit our oneness and community (1 Cor. 11:17-34).  The week after that I will focus on the “forward looking” aspect of the meal – this is a meal where we get a glimpse of the future and look forward to the return of the Messiah.

People are now asking, “What do we do with this?  How can we actually turn this into a celebration, instead of our normal silent introspective moment?  How can we emphasize the covenant aspect of this meal?  What will change after these sermons?”

I’d like to hear from you.  What are some unique ways that your church has practiced the Lord’s Supper, or what are some ways you have heard about others trying?