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A thought from this week in history

There has been a great deal of buzz in Presbyterian circles over the course of the last week as the 500th Birthday of John Calvin was remembered/celebrated on July 10th. Several of my Presbyterian colleagues noted this momentous occasion on their blogs/facebook/twitter accounts.Calvin was certainly a significant figure in the life of the church and given that his theological insight is still highly regarded some 500 years later reminds us of just how brilliant a mind he had. 

But on this week in history it is not the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin that comes immediately to mind. It is another event that this year marks its 40th anniversary.

On July 16th, 1969 Apollo 11 took to the skies, blasted into space by the great Saturn V rockets, destination Moon. Four days later, July 20th, Neil Armstrong would walk on the moon.

Kennedy had proclaimed that before the decade was over the United States would put a man on the moon and they did. With Kennedy's words a dream was born, a vision ingited and in 1969 a man walked on the moon. As Tom Hanks notes, while playing Jim Lovell in the movie "Apollo 13," "From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it's not a miracle, we just decided to go."

"We just decided to go." It makes you wonder what might be possible if we jsut decided to do it, if we heard a rallying cry and went after it with great abandonment.

I was nine months old when Neil Armsrong walked on the moon. My mother made sure I was awake and watching the TV when it happened. She didn't care that I wouldn't have the memory of it, she just wanted to make sure I didn't miss it.

I wonder what the next great event that no one will want to miss will be? Is there a dream, a vision ingiting in the hearts of God's people that could transform the world? I believe there is. 

Just a thought on the death of two celebrities

An actress and a singer died today. It's all over the news, Brian Williams had to bump his lead story on the actress to lead with the death of the singer. NBC did a special on the actress, CBS ran one on the singer. It will probably be front page news in tomorrows papers and the news magazines will have them on their covers next week.

While death is always a tragedy and our hearts go out to the families of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett I can't help but think of how we have all been caught up in our celebrity culture. We live in a culture in which talent comes ahead of character and real heroes, people who are making a significant difference in the lives of others, are rarely recognized.

Actually I'm not convinced that its ever been any different but God is much more interested in us developing a Godly character than increasing our talent.

Thought from Bryan Burton

Great thought from my friend Bryan Burton... here

Bryan challenges us to live for the kingdom of God.Publish

A thought on this weeks sermon

This week I'm preaching on the topic of justice. It is a wide topic and one that touches on a great many issues. So for those of you who read my blog and listen to my sermon (currently only available live and in person at First Presbyterian, White Bear Lake) know that the sermon will necessarily be limited in its scope. The justice issue that the sermon will touch on is extreme poverty and the call of God for us to live justly in the light of that issue.

Some of my favorite books on justice are...

The Irresistable Revolution - Shane Claiborne (easy to read and told as a story)

The Hole in Our Gospel - Rich Stearns (a challenge for the President of World Vision)

Just Courage - Gary Haugen (International Justice Mission)

Evil and the Justice of God - NT Wright (a theological but readable book on the subject)

Exclusion and Embrace - Miroslav Volf (theologically weighty, worth the read)

Websites I read...

World Vision

Amnesty International

Sojourners

International Justice Mission

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "We are not simply to bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, but we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself."

Friday Thought from Bono

"You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that as you reap, so you will sow stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff."

Friday Thought from Bono...

“But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb... The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humble... It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.”

Just a thought...

This morning I went to worship, we sang songs from the hymnal accompanied by the organ... on the way home I sang along with Bob Marley, The Who, Bruce Cockburn and U2.

Hmmm...

Friday Thought from Bono...

"The future needs a big kiss."

Just a thought from - Bono

The more I listen to the new U2 album the more I'm enjoying it. I love these lines from "Magnificent"...

Only love, only love can leave such a mark

But only love, only love can heal such a scar


Justified till we die, you and I will magnify

The Magnificent

Just a thought from Paul Harvey...

I just love this quote from the late Paul Harvey, used it in the sermon this morning...

"We've drifted away from being fishers of men to being keepers of the aquarium."

Just a thought from Rich Stearns...

I'm enjoying reading Rich's new book, "The Hole In Our Gospel." In it he gives a paraphrase of Jesus indictment against the goats in Matthew 25. It's very convicting and I fear all to accurate!

"For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved."

A Thought Or Two On Good Friday

From Timothy Keller

“The Christian faith has always understood that Jesus is God. God, did not, then, inflict pain on someone else, but rather on the cross absorbed the pain, violence, and evil of the world into himself.”

“This pattern of the cross means that the world’s glorification of power, might, and status is defeated. On the cross Christ wins through losing, triumphs through defeat, achieves power through weakness and service, comes to wealth via giving all away. Jesus Christ turns the values of the world upside down.”Timothy Keller

From NT Wright

“It isn’t that the cross has won the victory, so there’s nothing more to be done. Rather, the cross has won the victory as a result of which there are now redeemed human beings getting ready to act as God’s wise agents, his stewards, constantly worshipping their Creator and constantly, as a result, being equipped to reflect his image into his creation, to bring his wise and healing order to the world, putting the world to rights under his just and gentle rule.”

From Miroslav Volf

“The death of Christ understood as an act of grace is an undeniable offense against dues-paying morality governed by a need to restore the balance disturbed by transgressions.”

Just a Thought from Herman Melville

"Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and pagans alike - for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending."
                                                             Melville, Moby Dick ch. xvii

A thought on change

A couple of hours from now I'll board a plane and a couple of hours after that I'll arrive in MN where I'll go to a friends house for dinner. As I board the plane I'll have to put my phone (if you can call it that) on "airplane mode" so I can use its other features without receiving calls, text messages or emails. I will probably use it to listen to music, I may play a game of chess or space invaders or read the Bible and I will probably watch a movie I downloaded to it last night. 

I'm not sure why they even call it a phone any more?

My first cell phone, only 12 years, ago was big and gray, they only came in gray or black. I had a 60 minute plan that cost me more than I care to think about. The pace of technological change and human adaptation to it has been extraordinary to watch.

I wonder how we adapt to change in other areas of our lives... like church

Left or Right?

Here's a crazy optical illusion. The silhouette can be seen to be spinning in both directions... don't believe me just watch long enough and you'll see it (you may have to focus on the shadow the shadow to see it change direction.)

Is she spinning clockwise? YES! Is she spinning anti-clockwise? YES! Can she be spinning both ways at the same time? NO! But two people could argue rightly for hours over which way she is actually spinning.

Hmm... makes me think about how important it is to listen to others who may see things from a slightly different perspective.

Just a thought from Michael Polanyi...

"To learn by example is to submit to authority. You follow your master because you trust his manner of doing things even when you cannot analyze and account in detail for its effectiveness."

                            Michael Polanyi, Personal Knowledge: towards a post-critical philosophy

A Thought from Peter Drucker...

"Every few hundred years in Western society there occurs a sharp transformation. We cross... a 'divide.' Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself - its worldview, its basic values, its social and political structures, its arts, its key institutions. Fifty years later, there is a new world. And the people born cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their parents were born."
                                                    Peter Drucker

I believe we are living in such a time and that presents unique challenges for the church. I'm almost done reading "Who Stole My Church: what to do when the church you love tries to enter the 21st Century" and will write a review here shortly. There are many today who feel "their church" is being taken or "stolen" from them. There is a great challenge before us in creating a truly intergenerational worship service.

A thought from Eugene Peterson

OK, so its two posts in a row drawn from the latest edition of Leadership. I found this statement by Eugene Peterson (translator of The Message) to be very thought provoking.

As a pastor, I'm not a theology policeman. Of course there are going to be misunderstandings - that goes with language. How many times in a marriage do a husband and wife misunderstand each other? And those misunderstandings don't occur because they use incorrect grammar.
       But if we are part of a community where the Scriptures are honored, I don't think we have to worry too much. The Spirit works through community. Somebody will have a stupid, screwy idea. That's okay. The point of having the creeds and confessions and traditions is to keep us in touch with the obvious errors. Because we have those resources, I don't think we have to be anxious about it.

Times have changed!

The first computer I had the opportunity to use was the Sinclair ZX81. It was released in 1981 and had a whopping 1kb memory and a lightning fast processor speed of 3.5 MHz. Programs were loaded from a regular audio cassette.

I'm glad we've advanced well beyond these good old days!

Secrets

Secrets, do you like them, do you keep them?
Are secrets important to have?
National secrets, family secrets, personal
Secrets that need to be told

Sins to confess
Truth hidden from others
or
Confidences to keep
Trust to be built

What are your secrets?
Someday all will be known
Are you ready for that?