ReligioNews

Quote of note

2011-12-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

Always keep your words soft and sweet ...

just in case you have to eat them.

Quote of note

2011-11-01T11:45:00.001-04:00

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot."

- Michael Althsuler

Quote of note

2011-10-01T11:44:00.000-04:00

"The highest reward for a person’s work is not what they get for it, but what they become because of it."

-- John Ruskin

Quote of note

2011-09-02T11:41:00.002-04:00

“To be a superpower is to be the champion of peace, freedom, and democracy, of human rights, environmental quality, and the alleviation of suffering.”
-- President Jimmy Carter, PBS Newshour Interview, 19 Novemeber 1996.

Open thoughts

2011-08-14T03:36:00.000-04:00

An upcoming sermon is about Christians acting with openness. Recent sermons have dealt with boldness and generosity. Below are a few "open thoughts" about openness.

Are you:

Boldly open to new ideas?
Open to the Holy Spirit?
Open to constructive comments?
Open to people not like you?
Boldly open to a different style of worship?
Open in a way that lets others "in" to know you better?
Open to forgiving others?
Open to not getting your way?
Open to focusing on helping others -- open to generously giving of your time, talent, and money when you have more than they do?
Open to letting others help you in your time of need?
Open to changing your mind?
Open to being a true servant leader?
Open to discovering new talents? (You have to try something new to discover a new talent).
Open to asking forgiveness when it's appropriate?

We may think we are "open" in many of the above ways, but would our friends, coworkers, and strangers agree?

Shopping for a church

2011-08-07T15:45:00.004-04:00

In "Church Shopping: Why Do We Do It?", blogger Jamie Lath lists a few reasons:

Fewer people are tied to a denomination.
More people are looking for a sense of community -- a place to feel at home.
There are more church choices today.
We fail to first go to God for direction.

A church friend told a business acquaintance and I that he and his wife were changing to a different church. The other guy said, "Wow! What did they do to make you change churches?" He was thunderstruck at the action. That was the way it used to be. Today, if we get upset at someone in a church, don't think a preacher's sermons will be YouTube hits, or decide that we want to be on a better church sports team, zoom -- off we go to a different church to fill our "needs".

We don't want to help establish or even improve a children's ministry at a church, we want it all provided already. We want a concert every Sunday -- with music that fills our exact preferences. We want to be handed a multimedia extravaganza week-after-week. We want to be fed a perfect sermon every Sunday, but we hesitate to spend any time to "feed ourselves" though personal and group Bible study. We don't care as much about a church's theology; it's more important that we"feel good" about being there.

Jamie's last point may be the most important. It seems that many shop for churches because they are not looking upward (going to God about their choice) or looking inward (examining our motives) or looking outward (how their spiritual life might improve by focusing on and helping others) but rather about their personal wants without regard to any of that.

Our modern society has changed quite a lot in the last 50 years. Is it much of a stretch to think that these changes have had an impact on church selection and even church attendance?

Families live further apart thanks to ease of transportation. Some rarely see each other. Some rarely talk to each other.
Mobility of the workforce means more changes of location due to job changes.
Two-parent families are declining.
More kids are left on their own at a much younger age due to working parents.
We may not even know the people who live next door.
Computers, which were supposed to give us more free time, have really just added stress -- we can get more work done in the same period. We work faster and as hard or harder. Computers have added stress to the workplace.
We multitask more and think we are being more efficient. Yet studies show that multitasking actually reduces efficiency.
The explosion of use of the Internet has resulted in a lot more communication, but in a much less personal fashion and with a drastic increase in trivial communication.
We tend to fill our days, adding stress upon stress. Many people feel bad if they are not always busy.

Easier, faster transportation has "freed" us to travel wider in attending a church. We can no longer assume that someone will attend the nearest church of "their" denomination. Parents can no longer assume that their children will be the same denomination or even religion as they are.

Another issue is denominational identity. With the glut of types of churches, it's sometimes hard to see how they differ.

There is also significantly less relating to people face-to-face today (... no, Skype or Facetime don't really count as "in person" communication). An online "friend" may be someone we have never met, don't really know, and have no deep personal relationship with. We don't even know for sure the gender or age of most people we "meet" online (as some teenagers find out the hard way). Perhaps this lack of personal contact is part of what leads some people to prioritize community in selecting a church.

Our hectic lives remind me of a fire ant mound that someone has just stepped on -- swarming all over the place in a seeming random pattern. So we get home and collapse -- grab a meal and become a couch potato to try, often in vain, to relieve the day's stress. Many may lack the energy to delve into Bible study or church work of any sort.

We work hard to feed ourselves food, but we fail to put as much effort into feeding our souls. Jamie Lath suggests that we need to become less hedonistic in selecting and supporting a church. The result could be great soul food. That's food for thought!

Quote of note

2011-08-01T11:40:00.002-04:00

"The emptiest lives are those stuffed with motion from morning to night,"

-- pastor David Henderson

Don't repeat wrong 'facts'

2011-07-20T11:55:00.000-04:00

We may fall into a trap of "assuming" that what someone claims is factual really is a fact -- that is, completely true. That's how we get led astray and repeat bad information.

Below are a few "facts" that many believe to be true yet are not (I've repeated a few of these errors myself). These come from an article at Ministry Matters.

Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute
John Wesley never said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”
John Wesley never said, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity."
Gehenna was not a garbage dump.

So what can we do? Don't automatically "assume" that because a person you like or trust makes a claim that it's really true. Be willing to check out "facts" before you repeat them.

With another election season coming up this fall, that trait will stand you in good stead. It seems that many politicians hope we will just trust what they claim and repeat it as fact. The result can be voting against our own best interests. Check out the facts from reliable sources. Repeat only truths.

"Checking our Facts" at Ministry Matters by Josh Tinley.

Religion led to cities?

2011-07-15T12:39:00.003-04:00

Did the urge to worship together spark civilization? The June 2001 National Geographic magazine has an interesting article on "The Birth of Religion".

The author says we used to think that increased agriculture moved humans from a nomadic society to one using cities. An archaeological dig in Turkey makes those assumptions suspect, though.

The dig's implications lead him to conclude that wonder at the changes in the natural world led to religion. The earth's warming after the last ice age led to this wonder. The author suggests that gathering together for worship created a need for food. This in turn led to increased farming and cities.

The Birth of Religion article (National Geographic)

Quote of note

2011-07-08T11:38:00.003-04:00

“When we advertise the gospel in terms of the world’s values, we lie to people. We lie to them, because this is a new life. It involves following Jesus. It involves the Cross. It involves death, . . . We give up our lives.”

-- Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, expressing concern about using the language of our culture to interpret the Gospel.

Babies born helpful

2011-07-06T11:23:00.000-04:00

Are we born helpful by nature? Could altruism bebuilt into our genes? Why do we seem to lose that focus as we age?

Digging through some old web links I had collected, I came across one to an article about research indicating that babies are naturally helpful.

Children can also be selfish, but Dr. Michael Tomasello says that we can encourage the almost reflexive behavior to help others. How? By inductive parenting -- telling children about the effect of their actions on others and stressing the logic of cooperating with others.

Don't you wish that more politicians had received good inductive parenting?

"We may be born with an urge to help", NY Times article
"Why We Cooperate" book synopsis, MIT Press

Constitution writers were Christians

2011-07-01T23:25:00.000-04:00

An interesting factoid, derived from a posting by Bill Federer in "The Moral LIberal" blog. The religious composition of the 55 writers of the U.S. Constitution was:

26 Episcopalians
11 Presbyterians
7 Congregationalists
2 Lutherans
2 Dutch Reformed Christians
2 Methodists
2 Quakers
2 Roman Catholics
1 Deist Christian – Dr. Franklin, who called for prayer during the Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787.

Bad religion causes lost faith

2011-06-27T23:11:00.000-04:00

Up to his death Darwin insisted that the Christian faith and evolution were compatible. It was bad religion that caused Darwin to lose his faith says Rev. Martin Thielen, a United Methodist writing in The Tennessean newspaper.

And, says Thielen, there's a lot of bad religion causing people today to lose their faith.

"... closed-minded religion, arrogant religion, intolerant religion and judgmental religion. You can add to that list religion that tells women they are inferior to men and religion that says science is the enemy of faith."

Read the full article

Violence grows in Sudan

2011-06-22T13:59:00.000-04:00

Samaritan's Purse reports that fighting has increased along the border of North and South Sudan. This is happening just before the July 9th date for independence of South Sudan. Meanwhile, the people living in the Nuba mountains are caught in the crossfire.

Among targets in the attacks were two churches in the south -- ones that Samaritan's Purse had built. A church partner has said,

"...we have lost everything of the church. The house where my staff lives was looted, and the offices were burned. Many people fled from town, but some stayed. There is no food or water now for them. There are only soldiers all over the streets. We need prayers and support.

Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham urges Christians to pry for our brothers and sisters in Sudan.

More details

Black history is American History

2011-02-05T17:12:00.000-05:00

The status of Black Americans has improved over the years, but prejudice against them in both word and deed is still around -- just more hidden. An article at the Black Voices web site states that Black History Month is still relevant, but then adds "for now". There is disappointment yet hope in that statement.

The article mentions the comment of Rochelle Riley, a columnist for the Detroit Free Press, "Having a special time to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to American history is wonderful, but when it is used as a substitute for teaching black history to all students all year round, we are stunting the educational growth of students of all colors and backgrounds."

Black History is an integral part of American History. But until history books and teachers include Black Americans in schools, we need Black History Month to help remind more people about the wonderful contributions of Black americans.

Cooking based on the Bible

2010-07-11T18:29:00.000-04:00

Cooking based on Bible foods and passages can "get you into" Bible stories and be fun at the same time. Try it out.

Cooking with the Bible

Is the ministry a vocation?

2010-04-20T14:59:00.002-04:00

Most of us think of a "vocation" meaning a job, or at least a field of interest. An age-old complaint from church members is that their pastor treats the ministry as a job, not a calling. But the word "vocation" comes from the Latin verb "vocare", meaning "to call out".

How ironic! Not only that, but we tend to view "vocational schools" as ones not leading to a profession. A job hopefully, but not a profession. Professionals go to college, right?

We'd do well to remember the Latin root and realize that the "vocation" or "job" of the ministry is indeed a calling. On the other hand, we do expect ministers to do their best to see beyond the daily grind and to give their vocation a more spiritual emphasis than we congregatiuon members do. It's not fair, perhaps, but we do seem to expect that. You might say that we expect members of the clergy to make us think that their vocation is not a job. What?

Vocation -- job -- calling -- profession. It's all quite confusing once we stir the colloquial pot, mix up their use, and ignore their root meaning.

Spiritual Velocity

2010-04-18T13:41:00.026-04:00

This is the first of an intermittent series of notes on sermons I hear.

Why intermittent? I don't always get to be at my home church every week, some sermons don't seem to lend themselves to my note-taking, and sometimes, I confess, I "drift". What do I mean by "notes"? Summaries, a few bullet points, or whatever else strikes my fancy.

These will not be complete sermon outlines -- I'd have to pay way too much attention for that. As it is, I worry about missing a good point as I jot down my notes. My hope is that as I force myself to take sermon notes, not only will I pay better attention, but I'll also have more "take home" nuggets of spiritual wisdom. I post them here for both you and me.

Velocity

Many people think of velocity as how fast you are going. But that's speed. Velocity is both the speed of an object plus the direction in which it's headed.

Spiritual velocity

A few related thoughts:

Where are you on the line from Sinner to Saint?
Are you headed in the right direction?
How fast are you progressing?
Are you even moving?

Mark Twain once said, "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just stand there."

Saul was not headed in the right direction, but when he experienced the "intervention" on the road to Damascus, he "saw the light". He made strong change in spiritual velocity. He was blinded but he finally "saw". Physically he was still heading to Damascus, but spiritually he had done a "180" and would rush onward in the right direction, changing both his name and his outlook. The fervor he once spent in persecuting followers of Jesus he now channeled into boldly proclaiming the good news of Christ's resurrection.

Looking at the ministry of Jesus, his Passion, his crucifixion, and the resurrection, we can see his high spiritual velocity ... moving strongly and in the right direction.

Spiritual drought

2010-04-04T16:55:00.000-04:00

"Spiritual dry times accompany many and diverse situations. Sometimes those droughts have nothing to do with us. A dust bowl descends, and all we can do is remain faithful, waiting upon God. At other times, however, spiritual dryness can be traced back to something for which we are responsible.

Sometimes sheer soul-neglect is to blame. Perhaps we have let the busyness of life or the blur of entertainment squeeze out margins for quiet reflection, regular prayer, and Bible study. Whether out of fear or laziness, pride or sin, we squander our best on lesser things."

Read more of "The Surprising Fruit of Spiritual Drought",
by David Henderson, Discipleship Journal.

A penny for your searches

2010-03-03T00:19:00.023-05:00

Yahoo! has a free service that turns your Internet searches into food for the hungry. Instead of using Google, Bing, or whatever your search engine is now, start using a GoodSearch search toolbar from Yahoo!

GoodSearch is a Yahoo-powered search engine that contributes a penny to your chosen charity -- for example, Decatur Cooperative Ministry (DCM) -- each time you use it to search the internet.

In this case, a penny truly goes a long way!

16 searches = 16 pennies = 1 pound of food from the Food Bank

In just the first week that the DCM staff started using GoodSearch, they raised $3.85. That's 24 pounds of food!

Imagine how much more could be raised if everyone that supported DCM used GoodSearch for all their searches. What if all your family and friends used it?

How to get GoodSearch

It’s easy to install the GoodSearch’s search toolbar in your Web browser:

Go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ .
Click on the "Get the GoodSearch toolbar" link.
Enter Decatur Cooperative Ministry (make sure it’s spelled exactly like that)
Select the Verify button.
This will display “ Decatur Cooperative Ministry (Decatur, GA)” as your choice.
Click on "Get the GoodSearch toolbar or add us to your search box".
Click on the “Download Toolbar” button.
Close any other open browser windows or tabs.
Click on “Download the GoodSearch Toolbar” to accept the licensing agreement.
When the pop-up dialog box appears, select the “Run” button.
When the next security pop-up dialog appears, select the “Run” button (or save it to your hard disk, then run it from there).
Proceed with the installation and select the install options you want.
You may need to restart your browser (or your computer) to make the new toolbar appear properly.

If you use multiple web browsers, do this when you are in each of your browsers.

So, won't you give DCM a penny for your ~~thoughts~~ searches?

Notice

This process adds a Yahoo! search toolbar. If you don’t want an added toolbar in your web browser, do not follow the above steps.

Haiti disaster brings out best, worst in Christians

2010-01-17T14:36:00.010-05:00

The disastrous earthquake in Haiti seems has brought out the best and worst in Christians. True compassion, grief, selfless actions, and earnest prayer have unfortunately been accompanied in some quarters by the false theology of "it's their own fault". Others try to excuse why they selfishly don't want to help God's children who are in desperate need.

Pat Robertson's recent comments appear to show that he has an angry heart fixed on vengeance rather than Christian love. He even seems to enjoy living in the ancient world mindset that did not even understand the weather or other natural happenings on God's earth. In the modern world, an attitude such as Pat Robertson's is like gangrene on the body of Christianity. The cloying stench of its rotting effect is a warning that Christians need to cure or excise this dangerous infection before it spreads to the rest of the body.

But what's the cure? How do we cut out the dangerous infection? Certainly not in a violent way. That's not the way of Jesus. And when someone's mind is so entrenched in evil darkness, mere words likely will have no effect. But God has given us prayer. And Jesus has commanded us to love and help others.

"It matters a great deal how we think about other people. ... The more we are able to keep in mind that the people around us are susceptible to grace and truth, as beings made in the image of God, the more likely we will be to treat them that way..."

... "We need to think like Jesus thinks, ... regard others as Jesus does, and to love them as He would." -- T.M. Moore, "Regarding Others: Why Do People Matter?"

Pray that Pat Robertson, his thousands of duped followers, and other dark souls like him will come out of their darkness into the light of Christ's love. Pray that they all truly "see the light". Pray for their eternal souls. Pray that God will blunt their attempts to abuse Christianity for personal and political gain. Pray that they turn from harmful to helpful words and actions.

"And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me'." - Matthew 25:40 (NRSV)

"... we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" - Acts 20:35 (NRSV)

Nationalized Christianity -- corrupted faith

2009-12-31T23:21:00.000-05:00

In a recent commentary on the book "The Christians as Romans Saw Them", Professor David Gushee (Mercer University) says, "Christianity was persecuted not because most Roman leaders couldn't handle religious diversity, but because they could not accept a kind of diversity that taught people to detach from primary loyalty to the Empire, its sponsoring deities and its way of life. ... Christians will always feel both internal and external pressures to resort to nationalized religion, and this corrupted form of the faith is the version most prevalent in the United States."

Another tidbit: Romans viewed Christianity as an apostasy of Judaism.

After reading the commentary, I wonder if we Christians are not getting really good at persecuting others. We have denominations or even parts of denominations that want to legislate their personal views on society as a whole. We make assumptions that we "know all" about God's Word. Of course we also insist that the particular copy of a particular Bible translation we use is the only accurate one and that we thoroughly understand exactly what every passage meant both to the people of the day as well as to us today. Then we seek to implement our own personal beliefs through local state and national legislation.

It's much too easy for such actions to amount to persecution. And it's the result of people trying to nationalize their religion. The commentary (and the book it pertains to) give much food for thought.

Read more of the commentary, Opinion: The Christians as the Romans Saw Them

A new view of "You"

2009-12-02T01:11:00.003-05:00

Our society constantly pushes us to desire more and buy more. We spend ourselves into debt while others in the scrape by on relative crumbs of money.

The Advent Conspiracy and Rethinking Christmas sites promote increased awareness of others' needs and decreased consumption behavior by us. Pastor Dave promoted those in a recent blog posting, "Advent Resources". The related Trade as One site promotes helping others by buying Fair Trade items. Below is one of their "Trade as One" videos.

Do you have what it takes to lower your stress and decrease the commercialism of Christmas while at the same time helping others?

The Advent Conspiracy

2009-11-29T01:25:00.000-05:00

Here's a new way of "doing Christmas" that gets closer to the wise men and draws us away from the stress and debt of a modern American Christmas.

Do we live our faith?

2009-08-02T01:03:00.000-04:00

Henry Neufeld has food for thought in "Do we live what we believe?". He's editing a book that has some pointed comments. The book's author asserts that the problem with congregational decline may be that people attending church don't really believe what they say they do:

What I do question is how God can be especially present at so many worship services with so little impact. People go back again and again to experience the presence of God and then leave and go on living in the same way.
Either we are not experiencing the presence of God as much as we say we are, or that presence is having much less impact on us than it should.

Beth Quick picked up and expanded on Henry's posting.

Tony Campolo once quipped that Nietzsche came up with his formula that “God is dead” after observing a church service and noting how it felt like God’s funeral.

So ... are our worship services "dead"? Are the hearts of the "faithful" beating only faintly with the Spirit? How many truly feel the presence of God during worship versus how many say they do? Can anyone tell that we are Christians if we don't explicitly broadcast it?

God is with you

2009-07-28T00:41:00.000-04:00

A posting at the Methodist Corner blog by Allen McGraw got me thinking about God-with-us. He referred to the song "Signs" by Five Man Electrical Band. I used Bing to find the song lyrics and then smiled as I couldn't help myself -- I started singing it (the song's guitar chords at a different site).

Near the end of the song, the man says, "thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine." God is with us during hard times. Not that he prevents suffering, but that he's right there with us. Jesus suffered on the cross ... in our place ... for our sins. God knows our pain. As a great piece of inspirational music from Joe Parks said, "We're never alone with Jesus."

Distinctive Methodist doctrine

2009-07-25T11:23:00.000-04:00

What's distinctive about Methodist doctine? A good place to start your journey on the topic is Wikipedia's several pages on "Doctinal distinctives", which are listed in the "Methodism in America" section of the Methodism page.

Serving others vs personal holiness?

2009-07-23T00:31:00.002-04:00

In "Serving Others vs Serving Self", Allen McGraw relates an incident in which someone implied that he preached too much about serving others and not personal holiness. Allen is a United Methodist pastor and seminary student who authors the Methodist Corner blog.

He cites Mark 12:28-34 and states that you can't separate personal holiness from serving others.

This reminds me of the periodic tension between those fervently advocating an evangelism-only approach to outreach vs. those who lean toward a service-only approach. The reality of where Wesley fit was between those two extremes, folks. He preached the gospel and also served the poor and needy.

Allen has it pegged -- if you have real personal holiness, you'll have a true desire to help others. Good deeds flow from faith in God. Good deeds are then God deeds -- we are the vessels of his love.

In the news

2009-07-21T23:54:00.003-04:00

Some news, feature, and just interesting articles:

God = Allah?

2009-06-11T11:34:00.001-04:00

An article titled "YourSay: Each one expresses 'God' in their own way" has an interesting perspective on the term "Allah" as used by Arabic-speaking Christians. The commenters are responding to an original letter suggesting that use of "Allah" by Catholics was offensive and that Methodists and others do not use the word.

Responders point out that differences in the word used for "God" varies worldwide due to native language, not religion or denomination. They also point to early use of "Allah" by people in the ancient world before the coming of Islam. The insistence that Christians not use the term "Allah" is an example of religious persecution of Christians in the modern world.

These are reasoned responses that lead me to wonder about some of the varied Christian viewpoints on Allah. Some hold that God and Allah refer to the same deity. Others insist that God and Allah cannot be the same. These people assert that the Koran and the Bible show two widely different deities.

Is it just possible that we fallible human beings have come to learn of and about God in different ways, through different means, and under different circumstances? If so, would it be so remarkable that each group of peoples would then have different views about God, Heaven, and so on? Since we are fallible, it's highly probably that no one group has the "complete" picture of God.

Perhaps if the proponents of God, Allah, and Yahweh were to approach each others' beliefs with that in mind, we could all work toward a common goal of doing God/Allah/Yahweh's work while we are here on earth.

God - Allah - Yahweh ... the three are one?

Americans increasingly change Faiths

2009-05-11T11:59:00.002-04:00

Research by the Pew Research Center shows that Americans increasingly leave the faith they were brought up in for others or desert religion altogether. The Pew study also has interactive section about the survey results.

U.S. Religious Landscape survey results (Pew Research Center)
Religious Landscape survey - interactive
Americans Change Faiths at Rising Rate (NY Times)
Religious makeup of the United States

Spam hurts the earth?

2009-04-22T21:57:00.003-04:00

According to a study released by McAfee, “Carbon Footprint of Spam,” the world expends 33 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh) of electricity to send, route, and filter spam messages. That’s the equivalent of the electricity required to power 2.4 million homes, the study estimates. And that much energy use emits the same amount of greenhouse gases as 3.1 million passenger cars using 2 billion gallons of gas.

An Information Week article by Thomas Claburn (Apr 16), "Spam is killing the planet", reminds people that even unnecessary computer use causes pollution.

"... the argument that spam should be fought to save the planet can be applied to other computing activities. Consider the environmental impact of more than 11 million World of Warcraft subscribers, or the broader population of gamers and their consoles. How much energy is frittered away as a result of Facebook, MySpace, and other social networks?"

I must confess that I have procrastinated in replacing a power supply in my older computer. So I've had to leave it running 24x7. This reminder should prod me to get that done this weekend. So how serious are we, really, about being good stewards of God's earth? What can you do this week to reduce your computing carbon footprint?

He is risen. Alelluia!

2009-04-20T22:00:00.004-04:00

OK, it's really a Praying Mantis in defensive posture, but I got this photo in an email from a relative near Easter.

"He is risen!" is the first thought I had when seeing it.

Lament at the cross

2009-04-10T23:29:00.002-04:00

Love has departed.
Joyful hearts are dark with sorrow.
Our hope has been extinguished.
Oh God, why have you taken the one we need most?
We pray for strength in our hour of need.
Bring us hope again.
Bring joyful light to a darkened world.
Let love return.

"Encounter with Jesus" Bible Study Technique

2009-03-20T20:57:00.010-04:00

There are lots of different Bible Study methods and approaches. When it comes to the gospels, here's a way to focus on Jesus and spiritual development:

First, select a passage from one of the gospels (a red-letter edition of the Bible may be helpful). Read the passage through and answer the below questions. You may also want to have a Synoptic (parallel) Gospels Bible handy.

Where's Jesus?

Where is Jesus in this passage?
Where was Jesus prior to this event?
With what type of people is Jesus dealing? (crowd, circle of friends, Gentiles or Jews, followers of Jesus, members of what sect)

What does Jesus say?

Summarize or quote everything Jesus says.
Note what Jesus does not say. Silence is often very telling. It can also unnerve people.
Note Jesus' feeling, tone, and attitude.
Is your first impression of Jesus' attitude really right or are you making Jesus "like us" -- too human? Look for alternate explanations for Jesus' behavior or how Jesus said something.

What are others' response to Jesus?

What do others say about Jesus?
What are people's impressions about Jesus; how do they feel about him?
How do people respond to Jesus?

How does this passage and insight help me develop spiritually?

What are my impressions of Jesus from this passage?
What characteristics of Jesus would I like to see in my own life?
Did the people's responses to Jesus in the passage convict me or inspire me ?
What is Jesus saying in this passage that could or would change my life? How can I work with Him to make it happen?

Reference: If you’d like learn more, read or download the full Discipleship Journal article.

Character Bible Study

2009-02-20T21:33:00.001-05:00

Here's one way to study a Bible character:

Use a concordance to locate every reference on that person.
Prayerfully read your character's story several times.
Put yourself in that person's shoes and humbly consider these questions:

What did the character do right? Wrong?
What motivated him or her?
What were the character’s moral strengths and weaknesses?
Was there a clear point at which their decline began or was it gradual?
What opportunities did he/she have to repent? How did they respond?
What could the character have done differently to avoid failing God?
In what way(s) am I like this person?
What do I need to do to avoid making the same mistakes?

Write a summary that includes a personal application plan.
Finish your study with a prayer of thanksgiving and praise.

Reference: "Best Bible Study Methods", Discipleship Journal

WordLive

2009-01-05T14:32:00.005-05:00

Scripture Union, a UK organization, now has up and running "WordLive". It's a multimedia Bible experience that lets you interact with the Word in whatever form you like.

Choose the Bible translation you prefer
Listen to music
Listen to podcasts (voice)
Look at images
Look at video
Download and print a Bible study

WordLive is now offering a five-week Lent study for small groups or individuals. As of January 5, Parts 1 and 2 area available.

Check out this nifty resource. As Scripture Union says, "Grab a God moment".

Music of the Bible revealed

2008-12-31T11:35:00.002-05:00

An interesting 1986 "discovery" ...

UMM have snazzy new web site

2008-11-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

The old look and slow speed of the United Methodist Men's web site is a thing of the past. Praise the Lord! The new UMM site has a greatly improved look, sort of mimics the UMC redesign, and is faster.

Some remaining problems:

A web editor should never let text exceed the "allowed space" (as in the "Nashville news anchor to produce video for 10th National Gathering" text). That's just plain sloppy.
The web addresses (URLs) contain "gobbdegook" code as part of the address. That's common when a web is based on a database and the web administration team fails to make the system display words, not garbage code in the URLs. To me that shows a lack of focus on visitors and a lack of either expertise or lack of caring by the web administrators.

Overall, though, the UMM web site design changes are a significant improvement.

Herod's tomb

2008-11-20T22:00:00.009-05:00

National Geographic Channel will be showing "Herod's Lost Tomb" Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 9pm. So here are some links related to Herod's tomb:

New finds at King Herod's Tomb: Frescoes (includes an embedded video)
Herod's Lost Tomb (includes photos, reconstruction views, a game for the young at heart, information about the burial site, and more.
Herod's Tomb
Herod's resting place (Discovery News)
Lavish burial (Discovery News)
Herod's sarcophagus (photo with caption)
Herod family tombs (Reuters)
King Herod revealed
Herod: Visionary Builder (photo gallery)
Herod the Great (Wikipedia)
King Herod (BBC)

In the news

2008-10-13T06:05:00.001-04:00

Below are a few links related to care for God's earth (one part of Christian Stewardship). What have you done for God's world this week?

An incentive for Bible reading

2008-10-12T15:21:00.002-04:00

Have you tried reading through the Bible but failed to read consistently? If so, Logos may have a helpful tool for you.

The Logos Global Bible Reader (GBR) software (now in beta) lets you pick a Bible reading schedule. When you open the program, you see Bible passages. You login to the reader, read the displayed passages, and then click on "Done Reading" when you finish.

The incentive part of the process is that you are part of a world-wide Bible reading community. Logging on via a free account at Logos, the Global Bible Reading program shows your general location on the globe with a red dot. When you select "Done Reading", your dot changes to green.

The program never identifies you by name, but just seeing red dots changing to green helps motivate you to "go green" by reading the Bible passages.

The program also fosters a sense of community by letting you post a comment about a passage and to read comments from other readers worldwide.

If this sounds interesting to you, surf on over to Logos, create a login account, and download the Global Bible Reader software.

Do we truly follow Christ?

2008-10-10T14:12:00.010-04:00

Sometimes it seems that United Methodists are not truly united. Not that we all need to be of one mind on all issues, but it often seems that we deliberately strive for unloving discord.

Most often the strife is about either social and environmental issues or else spreading the Gospel. It need not and should not be an "either-or" proposition. It needs to be a "both-and" one. We need to bring the light of Christ into a world of darkness. But we also need to realize that a strong faith and truly following Christ expresses itself through Godly actions. That certainly includes social and environmental actions.

People who truly follow Christ consider themselves caretakers of God's earth. They wouldn't dream of spoiling God's wonderful planet, harming his people, or ignoring the plight of his plants and animals. True followers of Christ would not ignore mistreatment of any of God's children. They would also prefer to use their own riches to help others rather than to add more "bling" to their possessions.

Those who truly follow Christ have an "attitude of gratitude" that shows in their everyday actions, their generous giving, their love for all God's creatures, and in their love of others who are not like them.

Military "Biblestick"

2008-09-29T11:53:00.004-04:00

The Military Ministry part of the Faith Comes By Hearing organization has a "Military Biblestick" program. The item is small and looks like a USB flash drive (a.k.a. jump stick). Military Chaplains can request the device to give out to their flock.

About the size of a pack of gum, the Military Biblestick is a portable digital audio player that FCBH pre-loads with the New Testament. A small set of ear plugs completes the package.

Since it's designed for members of the military, the Biblestick has a non-reflective matte black finish and uses only red light for operation.

Donations provide funding for these special Bible audio players for our military. For more details, see the Faith Comes By Hearing site.

Audio Bibles online

2008-09-27T12:41:00.004-04:00

BibleGateway, part of the Gospel Communications family of sites, keeps expanding its Bible Study tools and Resources. It now offers audio versions of the Bible. Current English language versions are the CEV, ESV, KJV, NASB, NIV, and TNIV. Currently the CEV is only available for New Testament readings.

For most Bibles, you can choose between a Flash Player or the Real Audio Player. I prefer the Flash Player, as it's a bit faster to start.

You may want to try listening to the Contemporary English Version (CEV) for New Testament passages. The CEV was specifically translated with a focus on being easy to understand in modern English when hearing it read. It's not a literal translation and it is more thought-for-thought than the NIV or NRSV, but it's a translation, not a paraphrase.

A Spanish Bible and Spanish audio are also available.

Tradition though a telescope

2008-08-15T13:16:00.002-04:00

An odd thing happened while I was doing some Bible Study online ... I suddenly began thinking about the tug between "traditional" worship services and "modern" ones ... between "traditional" music and "modern" in worship. I deliberately use "modern" instead of "contemporary" or similar that currently carries more connotation baggage.

In my experience, some people (clergy and laity alike) link "traditional" worship with "authentic" worship, as if any style of worship other than what they personally prefer is false worship -- not "authentic". Some carry it even further by decrying any use in a worship service of music that's considered gospel style, inspirational, or praise. They insist that "people want" the traditional hymns and service, not the "contemporary" ones. Is that true or are they projecting their personal desires onto "facts" and perhaps even selectively touting research into the area?

Perhaps we would all do well to step back a bit, peer down through the ages and take a long, unemotional look at the work of John Wesley. Wesley was considered a rebel in his day and he didn't make the Anglican Church of England very happy at all. He was concerned not only with feeding people the gospel but in feeding their bodies as well -- a primary regard for the welfare of others. Charles Wesley created tons of new music -- the Wesleys didn't just insist on music of their "good old days" during worship.

What would Wesley think of those who today insist that we must continue singing "old" religious songs merely because they are "traditional" and sung centuries ago? Would he not applaud those who create new religious music to touch the hearts of today's people? If "modern" music and worship services offer some light to people in a world of darkness, would Wesley not consider a good thing?

Like many businesses that stagnate, some current church leaders and clergy prefer to conduct worship "like we always have". We would do well to consider the words of the famous comedian Will Rogers who said, "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

So let us move forward in worship, not backward and not standing still, doing worship "like we always have." Remember, charges were brought against John Wesley for his "unusual liturgical experiments".

Something tells me that Wesley would wholeheartedly approve of using "new" inspirational religious music and even experiments in worship in order to better reach those who so desperately need to know Jesus or to know him better.

Religious Beliefs interactive

2008-07-15T23:24:00.001-04:00

"USA Today" has a neat interactive summary of some Pew Forum research data about religious beliefs in the United States as well as a "Topography of Faith" section. Both use Flash.

You can select one variable and then sort the bar chart of results based on that variable. It's a great way to squeeze out visual patterns from the data.

Ten mistakes of worship leaders

2008-06-19T11:15:00.008-04:00

Rex Miller, author of the Millennium Matrix, posted several articles about mistakes that worship leaders make. They contain much food for thought.

The On Ramp
Introduction: The Epic Story
Mistake #1 - Assuming.
"Worship cannot be taught ... It has to be tasted."
Mistake #2 - Means or end.
"Worship leaders have a tendency to redefine other [service] components as 'worship'."
Mistake #3 - Talent Over Heart: Talent & Beauty Over Heart.
Some churches are about first impressions and attracting people who want a show. They trade worship for talent and "on-stage" appearance.
Mistake #4 - Talent Over Heart - Worship in a box.
Packaging our worship experience "perpetuates a consumerist church and militates against spontaneity and mystery."
Mistake #5 - Worship Equals Music.
"Music is not an essential element of worship."
Mistake #6 - Excellence Equals Complexity.
Keep it simple! People should understand the words they sing, for example. Choose music written for singers, not for the composer or arranger. Complex arrangements can obscure the musical message. Worse yet, a choir may not "perform" a complex piece well and thus distract from the message. Complexity can degrade excellence.
Mistake #7 - Latest & Greatest: Fads.
"[Worship] content has to become not just familiar but very close and personal."
Mistake #8 - Latest & Greatest: The Secret Formula.
"Worship is not a formula."
Mistake #9 - Praise Equals Worship.
Worship leaders need to train their congregations about worship.
Mistake #10 - Jacuzzi Worship.
"Future worshipers are not going to be content with [a performance]."
10 Mistakes bonus post: Familiar vs. Routine.
Worship should be familiar but not routine.

Christian magazines online

2008-05-31T19:26:00.001-04:00

If you have not read an online magazine listed below, give it a try. Some are new and some are ones never linked here before.

CCM. Christ, Community, Music. Modern christian music. Includes audio and video.
Christian Computing magazine
The Christian Pulse. "The place where cutting-edge faith meets the global community, without shame and without reservation. Take Action, Get Involved, Share Life, Be A Light..."
Christianity today online
Christian Women Online
Christian Women Today
Collide."Where media and the church converge"
Grace Centered
Guide. A story magazine for kids.
Guideposts. The familiar magazine with inspiring stories of inspiring people.
The web site logo shows as "Beta" but the magazine is colorful and links work.
Heartlight
Lookout
New Man
Plugged in Online. From the Focus on the Family folks.
Precipice. For and about the emerging church.
PRISM. By Evangelicals for Social Action (ESA)
Relevant
Sojourners. Faith, politics, and culture. Winner of 22 awards.
TheOOZE. The desire of TheOOZE is to create environments where church leaders (traditional teachers/theologians as well as emerging storytellers/artists) can converse about and collaborate on resources and experiences for the broader faith community. This is done by providing places for people to gather and communicate both online and offline about how to be the story of Christ to our emerging culture."
Virtual Christian. By the United Church of Christ (UCC) .

News roundup

2008-04-30T18:44:00.003-04:00

USA Today has a great web page for blogs, podcasts, and videocasts related to religion and spirituality (Christianity section).

Another recent find is the ton of bibles and similar spiritual books that Google now has available for online viewing. One example is "The Bible Unearthed: Archeology's new vision of ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts".

Below are links to religion news in the past several weeks.

The Millenium Matrix

2008-01-07T20:38:00.000-05:00

The book "Millennium Matrix" has an online site with a timeline of changes in communications:

Oral
Print
Broadcast
Digital

The Oral timeline page states, "Jesus lived and spoke in an era so profoundly different than ours that we can miss the full meaning of his teachings. ... His world was not our world."

Though the book is primarily about communications and culture by the futurist author, it includes references to religion. That's normal for a person who graduated with a degree in theology and communication and has been a lay preacher. He also mentions God on the Broadcast page for example.

But perhaps tellingly, on the Digital communications page, when I searched for "God" or "Jesus", I got "Not found".

The book does seem like it might be fertile ground for religious group discussion, Sunday School classes included.

Wireless devices may affect church sound system

2008-01-05T15:07:00.000-05:00

Oh, great -- one step forward, two back. The FCC plans to open up frequencies now in the analog TV range to any wireless device once all TV stations have to transmit digital signals in 2009.

The problem is that devices such as church wireless microphones now use the frequencies "in between" the analog TV ones. These are called the "White Spaces". Once the whole frequency range is open to all wireless devices, cell phones, Blackberries, and more could wreck havoc during church services. The Shure Pro Audio site linked above has more information on the matter.

Some in Congress want to speed up opening these white spaces; others want testing on interference done and protection in place before opening up the frequencies. For example, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), an ordained Baptist minister, introduced a bill, "Interference Protection for Existing Television Band Devices Act of 2007".

Read more about The Dark Side of White Spaces and decide if you need to contact your members of Congress.

Mary, did you know?

2007-12-26T00:34:00.000-05:00

Membership is down - give more?

2007-10-21T16:07:00.001-04:00

No sooner had I posted about Christian Stewardship being cheapened by equating with money than I noticed (on this blog) the news item from UM Reported, "Changing demographics impacts funds".

The article has several interesting facts and figures. One negative action popped out at me, though. The GCFA governing board, in response to the decline in giving, has penned legislation that, "among other things, the legislation aims to hold leaders at all levels of the church accountable in their responsibility to promote, support and model Christian giving."

Whoa! So let me get this straight. The denomination is seeing a decline in membership and a decline in giving. The solution is to give more? It sounds like the old semi-joke about some office managers, "Management has observed that morale is low. Beatings will commence until morale improves." Maybe we are getting more concerned with funding than with meeting the spiritual needs of the least, the lost, and the last.

Perhaps if we focused our actions on them, as Luke shows us Jesus did, we'd be getting more members, who would want to contribute to the great spiritual work being done. Are we putting the cart before the horse? Are we failing to see the spiritual forest for the financial trees?

Stop demeaning Christian stewardship!

2007-10-21T15:34:00.000-04:00

It's fall and the most common time for "Stewardship campaigns" a phrase that makes me cringe. Christian stewardship encompasses a very broad area. As Clarence Stoughton said, "Stewardship is everything you do after you say yes to Jesus Christ.". Churches demean stewardship and ignore the many needed actions areas of Christian Stewardship when they make it all about money.

What churches usually really mean is "annual financial campaign". Using the word "stewardship" makes some people feel better about asking for money, but it seems disingenuous. Sometimes churches add little "talent" cards to justify calling it a Stewardship campaign. But that too barely scratches the surface of Christian stewardship. And it's tacit admission that the campaign is a financial campaign running under cover of the term "stewardship".

Churches do need financial support. There's nothing wrong with a financial campaign. Let's be more honest about the process and call it just that. Doing so may also defuse criticism by unchurched people that churches are sly, world-like, or hypocritical.

And let's have true Stewardship campaigns in our churches. Ones where we inform members about all aspects of stewardship and encourage their daily involvement as stewards for Christ.

Let's stop equating Christian stewardship with asking for financial support, needed though it is. Let's be up front and honest when we conduct our annual financial campaigns.

[cross-posted from Open Mind Dave blog]

Rushing on the Day of Rest

2007-09-03T15:18:00.000-04:00

"Hurry" sickness. Most of us have it. And it's not good. A recent sermon at our church was about rushing around on the Sabbath and the need for a true day of rest.

Rev. Dave referred to Blue Laws, child labor, and the impact of our computerized world. Some points he made:

Blue Laws "protected" Sundays for Christians, but now that most State legislatures allow businesses to be open on Sundays, guess who's patronizing them? Christians.
Sunday school started as education of children on their only non-work day.
Computers were supposed to give us more free time. Instead, they we have let them get us to do even more work in the same period of time. We are busier than ever, even on Sundays.
We have increased the amount of business work we do, even taking more of it home.
We need to find the courage to "Just say no" to added work.
Learn to accept God's gift of rest.
Slow down, stop, and let your cup fill with true inner peace -- Shalom.

Americans are the most productive workers in world, but it's because we work long and hard, even taking it home. (Mea Cupla!) That's great for a business' bottom line, but we need to take a hard look at work vs. rest.

When asked by a rabbi why he was rushing by, a man replied, "I'm running to work to make a living."

"Are you sure", asked the rabbi, "that your livelihood is running away from you and you have to rush to catch it up? Perhaps it's rushing toward you and all you have to do is stand still and let it catch up with you." [link]

On the seventh day, God rested. Do we think He was a slacker? Do we think we're better than God? Is it even really restful to try to rush around and squeeze in as many non-business activities as we can on a weekend, even Sunday? Do we incorrectly consider resting to be "doing nothing"?

Related links

Are you missing out on a blessing from God? (Good News Magazine)
Child Labor
Child labor in America, 1908-1912
Blue Law (Wikipedia)
Keeping the Sunday Sabbath - Does such a Thing Still Exist? (UMC.org)
The origin of Sunday School
Report: U.S. Workers Are Most Productive (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Robert Raikes and Sunday Schools
Sabbath-keeping is a discipline and a blessing (Interpreter magazine)
sleep. sabbath. surrender.
Take back your Sabbath (Christianity Today)
What religious groups say about the Sabbath
When it's Rush Hour all Day Long: Finding Peace in a Hurry-Sick World (book)

Cafe sermon prep?

2007-08-29T16:37:00.001-04:00

The Allan R. Bevere blog, host to the "Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup", has periodic polls. I found one interesting -- "Where do you prepare your sermons?"

http://arbevere.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/098

The interesting part is that more pastors now prepare sermons at a cafe than at church, though most do at home. Perhaps cafes are getting more popular as a sermon preparation spot because many have Internet available (for research) as well as good lattes. The poll size is not large enough to warrant a high confidence level (+- 5%), but interesting nevertheless.

Religion videos

2007-08-20T23:22:00.000-04:00

The advent of YouTube has brought a slew of videos to the web. Here's a few that are tagged as "religion" or "church":

Moving a 100-year old church, complete with choral music - 4 min.
Church-hunting (King of the Hill) - 9 min.
The Orthodox Church - A Visual Journey - 9 min.
The Spirituality of Early Christianity - 26 min.
Mr Bean Goes to Church (a classic) - 4 min.
Baby got book - a rap about "I like big [KJV] Bibles" - 4:24 min.
Inside Scientology (From Britian's "The Big SHow") - 21 min.

Why people leave churches

2007-07-21T20:39:00.000-04:00

Dr. Richard J. Krejcir, a church consultant, in his "Why Churches Fail -Part 1" article says that in his study of over 1,000 churches for more than 10 years, he found that people who leave a church other than to move out of the area do so because of:

Conflict or gossip in the church
Hypocrisy and judgemental attitudes and actions of the leadership
A lack of hospitality or concern
Unwillingness to deal with sin.
People need a place to feel at home and to grow in their faith; a place that helps them cope with the sins of the world -- their sins.

Krejcir says that we should be stressing:

Prayer
Bible literacy and it relevance
Discipleship

We should avoid trying to add "consumers" of Christianity to the pews instead of participants and disciples. He says we go for what's glitzy, what's popular, what the most "mod". We concentrate on dumbing down worship to the pew-sitters instead of encouraging the congregation to worship God. We put the focus on ourselves instead of God, he says.

Why Churches Fail - Part II
Are you willing to take a hard look at why people are not attending your church?

ReligioNews blog changes

2007-07-04T14:40:00.000-04:00

The "sidebar" (right column) items on this blog are not set in stone, nor is the design for that matter. Over the past months I have moved the order of the sidebar sections as well as added and deleted some links.

Today I added "The Revealer", a daily review of religion and the press, to the "Methodist, Other Blogs" sidebar section. For example, today's main feature at The Revealer is "Fundamentalism's Colonial Drag", which also links to the original "Newsweek" article.

So remember to check the sidebar links for changes now and then.

I'll try to remember to plug new features in the blog. For example, I'm excited about some new features being tested by Google right now, including an install poll (survey).

To robe or not to robe

2007-07-02T21:01:00.000-04:00

Matt, a United Methodist pastor and author of the Catching Meddlers blog, asks if wearing of robes can get in the way to communicating the gospel message. John the Methodist, author of Locusts and Honey blog, picked up on this and his entry has over a dozen comments already.

My two cents -- if a particular vestment gets in the way of communicating with the pastor's current congregation, change the vestment. It's the message that counts, not the garment. Or as my Dad used to say, it's the potatoes that count, not the potato sack.

Some congregations may feel that wearing of robes is being "overdressed". Heaven forbid [pun intended]. Others may have a tradition of the pastor wearing robes in winter and a suit or even less casual in the summer. Others may prefer a less formal vestment such as an alb or even just a clerical shirt and collar.

The key appears to me to be the pastor and congregation arriving at a "dress code" that does not distract nor detract from the spiritual message being delivered via the worship service.

I did find David's comment at the Catching Meddlers blog educational:

"... the robes traditionally worn by Methodist pastors are known as "academic robes" and are testament to their accomplishments in that arena. To me, an alb is a symbol of humility and service that does more to link me with the congregation rather than to highlight how "smart" I am."

Faith videos

2007-07-02T20:59:00.000-04:00

Christianity Today has a slew of videos about faith. Though they sell them, you can watch a small version online for free. Some examples:

An audience with God
Money - the world's narcotic
Follow (does it matter what we wear to church?)
Jesus ministered slowly
3 minutes with 3 lost people

Sunday School Software, Resources

2007-06-18T17:59:00.000-04:00

Do you have some favorite software (other than electronic Bibles or normal Bible references) that you use of education at home or at church? Leave a comment (though I check all comments before allow them, so pure business posts that I feel fall short won't get added).

One source that I've located and think has a lot of interesting material is Sunday Software. This business has a ton of interesting software (much of which I'm getting ready to buy and test at home) such as these aimed at youth though adult:

Awesome Bible Stories - for ages 5 - teen
Exodus Adventures - 3-D interactive, with characters. Includes locations, re-enactments, special effects, and scripture narration,
Holy land 3-D
Life of Chirst - for 3rd grade through High School, though may be suitable for new believers. Some parts are suitable for K-2.
Pathways through Jerusalem - a multimedia tour of the political and religious history surrounding Jerusalem.
The Ten Commandmants - a virtual learning hike up Mt. Sinai for ages 7 through adult.
A walk in the footsteps of Jesus - photo bubbles with navigation.
Walking in Their Sandals - a multimedia Bible Atlas

Sunday Software also has non-software materials too, for example:

Some free Cokesbury materials:

Magazines and Free Newsletter for Teachers & Christian Educators (Cokesbury)
Free sample Sunday School/Bible Study lessons (Cokesbury)

Evolving Christianity?

2007-06-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

Different people in different times have come to know God in different ways. In today's world, different groups try to apply that knowledge in a myriad of ways. Below is a collection of related links, in no particular order.

Agape
Agape workplace initiative. Includes free downloadable (PDF) studies.
London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
Christians at Work.
At-work bible studies
UM touts evangelism
Impact of the Internet. This Pew Life study shows impacts on church communications --younger people communicate differently than older ones.
If we could do church (From the "Real Live Preacher" blog. There's a "part 2" also)
What is liberal Christianity? (blog)
What would Jesus say today? (blog)
Evangelism Today (blog). Thought-provoking news and commentary.

The Trinity

2007-06-16T14:33:00.000-04:00

Christians of all sorts believe in the Trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (aka Holy Ghost). But the word "Trinity" is not specifically mentioned in scripture and the concept was not used until years after Jesus' Ascension. This has led to all sorts of "takes" on the concept.

Nazarites point to a pagan origin and say that the Torah does not mention the Trinity. Skeptics claim that the term was invented. Some claim that the concept was needed in the early church but that it is now an anachronism that is no longer needed.

Some even point to the term "Spirit" being feminine gender ("her") in Aramaic, the language that Jesus used. In Greek, the word in neuter gender ("it"). Only in Latin is the term masculine gender ("he").

I look at the concept of the Trinity as a way we try to understand God. We fallible mortals can never understand God perfectly, but the concept of the Trinity helps us get closer to an understanding.

What's your take? Is the word "persons" in "God in three persons" a mental stumbling block? Would a word such as "aspects" convey the concept better?

Related links

United Methodist Articles of Religion - Article 1, the Trinity from the 2004 "Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church"
Meaning of the Trinity, St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (PDF)
Holy Trinity is a mystery (Catholic); second, personal page
Catholics, Methodist agree on Trinity
Evidence of the Trinity in the Old Testament (Catholic)
Trinity concept no longer needed
Is the Holy Spirit feminine?
Ode 36 of Solomon uses feminine gender for "Spirit"
There is no Trinity (Nazarite)
Holy Trinity invented (a skeptic)

Atheists, Agnostics, Believers

2007-05-29T14:23:00.000-04:00

Atheists are pessimistic Agnostics. Deep down they are not sure (Agnostic), but they'd hate to be made a fool of by believing the wrong thing. So they claim to not believe at all. It's a buffer against being put down. Maybe they have had great trials and sadness in their lives and cannot believe that a God would allow that. They need your compassion and understanding, help and encouragement. They need to know of any change that being a believer has made in your life. Don't try to make them a believer in one big step. If they become an Agnostic, they are on headed in the right direction. Don't give up on them.

Agnostics really amount to pessimistic believers. They want to believe, but cannot bring themselves to for one reason or another. Perhaps they could become a believer by seeing your faith in action and by your compassion toward their own concerns and needs. Maybe sharing a bit of why you are a believer would help. Just don't get too "preachy" or you'll turn them off.

Believers may be strong or weak in the faith. Those who declare they are new believers may really be optimistic Agnostics. So, as Paul cautions (Romans 14), beware of tempting those weaker in the faith. Encourage the faith of new believers, offer friendship, compassion, and understanding. Include them in your Sunday Schools, but try not to swamp them with detailed Bible study right away. Give them time to grow. Water that growth with agape love. Be available to talk with other believers about their faith challenges and life's trials.

"Won't power"

2007-04-28T15:12:00.000-04:00

I, like many people, have a fondness for sweets. Chocolate, ice cream, southern sweet tea, cookies, and more. Over the years, I have become about 30 pounds overweight. Lately I have been thinking about that "treat your body like a temple" adage. My temple needs some work on it to look more like God intended, though handsome it will never be.

So I read with interest an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article on sugar overload this week, "Hiding in plain sight". It suggests changing a soda a day to a bottle of water a day. I detest paying for water (Evian backwards is "naive", after all), but since I'm spending money on empty soda calories maybe paying for plain water would be a better decision.

The AJC article linked to another very informative site - NutritionData (ND). It has pages listing the nutrition value of foods commonly searched for (an example is raw bananas) as well as foods from varied commercial eateries such as McDonald's and Blimpie. The nerd in me is especially intrigued by the cool data displays:

Caloric ratio pyramid
Nutrition balance indicator
Nutritional target map, which includes a "fullness factor"and a rating

ND also has a "better choices diet" page.

So will all this great information prompt me to clean up my eating ways instead of my plate and to clean up my temple? I am a sense-oriented person, which is why I so much enjoy music (and pretty pictures ... a nod to John the Methodist) as well as food. Maybe I can replace that bottle of soda with water. And maybe a bit less of those delicious Chocolate peanut butter Treasures. I have plenty of "Will Power" ... as in "I will eat that cookie now". What it takes is "Won't Power."

Does Religion Make You a Better Person?

2007-04-21T22:51:00.004-04:00

The Youtube video "Does Religion Make You a Better Person?" is anti-Christian (actually, anti-religion), but Christians should watch it carefully. I can't personally verify or dispute the statistics claimed. If real, they are alarming. Please feel free to refute any of the many statistics, but provide a link to a credible source of data. No flames, please.

Will the real Methodists please stand up!

2007-04-19T20:56:00.000-04:00

We say we're Methodists, yet we seem to shun Wesley's ways. We say we're United, yet we're fragmented, self-oriented both as congregations and as various groups within the denomination. We seek higher numbers of members, relegating spiritual growth to a lesser role.

So the question is ... are Methodism's problems a result of losing sight of the spiritual in pursuit of funding, programs, social contact, Sunday School based on best-seller books, and being sort of a religious country club? Are we so lost in trying to force our own interpretations of the Bible on each other that we fail to bring the lost home to Christ?

Have our Sunday Schools lost sight of the type of Bible study that Wesley's "Bible-Moths" would approve of? Scripture was the most important part of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, not just an equal quarter of the whole.

Andrew Thompson, author of the Gen-X Rising blog, says, "Let's decide: Are we Methodists or not?" He takes a good poke at churches that seem so ashamed to be United Methodists that they leave that part out of their publicized church name. Either be Methodists or don't, but don't be half-hearted Methodists, he seems to say.

Andrew suggests that it is a good and fruitful thing to follow Wesley:

Shun religious pretension
Practice rigorous discipleship
Actively pursue the way of salvation
Tirelessly carry the gospel to the lost and the poor

So ... how are you and your church doing? Are you truly Methodists?

The United Methodist Reporter site has picked up several other Gen-X Rising articles in 2007:

As a side note, Gen-X Rising is now linked in the "Methodist, Other blogs" section of this blog.

Passover and the Passion

2007-04-03T00:27:00.000-04:00

Christianity and Judaism are forever linked this time of year. A Boston Globe article, "Passover and the Passion", reminds us that Holy Week is structured around Jesus' observance of the Jewish Passover.

The author points out that as new converts came from the Gentiles, those people didn't fully grasp that Jesus was a Jew. "The Jews" became a scapegoat. He suggests a reading of the Gospels that takes into account such culturally relevant factors.

Homosexuality costs some Black pastors

2007-04-03T00:20:00.000-04:00

Black pastors are often caught between between two bad options -- ignoring the marginalized in our society or losing conservative members, often the older, bigger donors. The March 27 NY Times article, datelined from Atlanta, elaborates. Will money or love win out?

"What does it mean to have a [worship] service that welcomes all but makes an effort to target those whom society has shunned as unclean and undesirable?" asks Becky Garrison in "Easter for the Outcasts" at the God's Politics blog.

Multitasking slows you down

2007-03-31T11:22:00.000-04:00

An October 2001 study reported in the "Journal of Experimental Psychology" informs us that the brain takes extra time "switching gears" when we switch tasks.

"The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once."
– Samuel Smiles

A recent broadcast on National Public Radio discussed University of Michigan research that found it takes people longer to accomplish a series of tasks if they multitask than if they do them one at a time. Multitasking slows you down. Many (most?) people believe that multitasking is faster, but in reality it is not.

In addition, humans we remember and learn differently when we multitask.

"To do two things at once is to do neither."
– Roman sage Publilius Syrus

Microsoft suggests several problems with multitasking. Among them:

Interruptions break user concentration and thus hurt longer-term tasks. Why? Users often can't tell which interruptions need to be handled right away, making it hard to maintain current task flow.
To successfully complete tasks, you need to know when to stop a current task and return to one you have on hold. Researchers have found that people often pause tasks while waiting for some outside event, for example an expected email or phone call. They then wanted to resume the original task as immediately after the interrupting event. But ...
People have trouble getting back on task after shifting their attention away."

Multitasking problems have even crept into churches. For example, one pastor had a habit of shouting over the last hymn as we closed the worship service. But paying attention to his words meant paying less attention to (or stumbling over) the words of the hymn. If a hymn is important enough to sing, it is important enough to concentrate on. We should pay more attention to the words (text message) of hymns, not less (but that's another topic).

Even church staff members need to focus on one task at a time as much as possible. Acting against that goal are an always-open email program or email notifier, an open instant messenger (IM), constant visitors, phone calls, etc. So Pastors and church managers, help your church staff focus. Seek to lessen interruptions to their tasks and they'll get more done in the same amount of time. They'll also appreciate the reduced stress.

Lent and Passover

2007-03-31T10:38:00.000-04:00

Before Lent heads into the final week, you may want to read "Muskrat love." No, it's not the song. It's a Catholic Online article about Michiganders who abstain from meat on Fridays yet have a tradition of eating muskrat on Fridays (and why).

You may want to bone up on Holy Week and Passover...

PBS airs pioneer evangelist story

2007-03-30T18:21:00.000-04:00

A conservative Protestant evangelist who knew how to pull in people and win souls. Pastor of one of America's first megachurches. Pioneer of Christian radio. Divorced at a time when divorce was a stigma (a topic for another day).

Canadian farm girl Aimee Semple McPherson (Sister Aimee) mixed religion and entertainment like nobody before her.

You can watch the PBS program on Sister Aimee Monday, April 2, at 9pm.

Other links:

Health articles, healthy recipes

2007-03-17T16:52:00.000-04:00

We are to be good stewards of our God-given bodies -- of our health. Here are some links to health-related articles:

Evil incarnate

2007-03-17T16:16:00.000-04:00

A book review of "Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Satanic Abuse in History" brought to mind religious and political actions in the past decade. Author David Frankfurter says that historically, the real atrocities seem to occur during attempts to purge what one group claims is evil. (Also see the UNH Magazine Review)

The extreme accusations and labelling of political candidates in recent years seems to fall into this category. Political strategists appear to actively promote wild hyperbole presented as fact. Using religious slander seems to be an increasing trend. The motto appears to be, "If you repeat a lie enough times to enough people, it will affect their opinion of the candidate and thus the outcome of an election."

I find that morally repugnant. Politicians who treat the American people as ignorant dummies that can be led by the nose at will are spiritually bankrupt. Yet we continue to adopt and, worse, repeat their false mantras and we elect them. Perhaps we deserve the results we get.

I imagine it's quite hard for an honest, moral politician to stay that way when broadsided by those of "the dark side". The temptation to adopt evil, immoral tactics because they work must be tremendous. But wouldn't it be nice if politicians just lived their religion instead of trying to (mis)use it during campaigns and while in office? Don't quote Bible passages in speeches; live them. Don't tell me how moral you are. Show me.

As we head into the next election season, be on watch for evil at work, whether the candidate is "yours" or not. Consider not encouraging such behavior in our politicians. Check supposed "facts" before you repeat them. Let "your" candidate and party know that you won't accept morally bankrupt behavior. Don't help do the Devil's work.

Religious music online

2007-03-07T00:30:00.000-05:00

I am very sense-oriented. Food, music, movies, ... I enjoy our God-given senses. I find that Christian music can elevate my mood during my long daily commute. It helps put me in a positive frame of mind. It makes me a better person that day.

So I'm especially pleased when I find sources of religious music, especially Christian music, online. I often preview music online for possible choir or quartet use. These uplifting offerings take many forms and styles.

Some disparage certain styles of music when used in worship or even as just a religious song in general. But we must remember that Paul didn't hesitate to adapt the message to whatever group he was addressing. So it should be with Christian music. There is no one "right" style. The message is what counts! Here are a few sample sites to get you started on a wonderful journey in song. Some may be an unexpected pleasure.

Streaming audio of anthems at publishers such as Shawnee Press.
Example: "Burdens are lifted at Calvary" (Patti Drennan)
Samples of commercial CDs.
Example: 1-minute samples from the "Jesus is Lord" CD (Dallas Christian Sound). After finding this site, I now plan to order this CD of 31 songs. The teaser 1-minute samples worked.
Free praise songs and sheet music
Example 1: "All of my love" by Elton Smith and Larry Holder. The score is also downloadable.
Example 2: "Your love is sweeter than wine" by Susan Tolle-Knight. This includes a Flash movie with music. I really love this sweet and lyrical song. And the Flash graphics (with words) are truly excellent.
Instrumentals. The choices range from traditional to techno. Example: "Awesome God" by Faith Incisive - it's not the default song on that page, so just click on the title link.
Joyous accidental finds.
Example: "Thank you, dear Lord for music" (an MP3 download) at the national S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A (Barbershoppers) site.
Free downloadable sheet music (PDF).
International Christian songs.
Example 1: some Christian Tamil songs
Example 2: "Baba Yetu" (Swahili Lord's Prayer) (download the MP3, then play) -- incredible!
Eaxmple 3: Songs at the GBGM's Global Praise site. The CD collection (and music clips) include songs from Africa and Carribbean, Spirituals, and more.

News Roundup

2007-03-01T22:01:00.000-05:00

News features

Pagans, ancient and modern
Children of Abraham
21st Century diplomacy & Religion
Sacred Wilderness: An African story
"Secrets" of Mary Magdalene (quotes are mine - take with a large grain of Kosher salt)

References

Beliefs and Practices (from FaithStreams)
Women and the Church (from FaithStreams)
The Word in Song (music, from FaithStreams)
History of "Lift every voice and sing"
"Lift Every Voice" exhibit (Univ.Va.)

Islamic artists, math nerds, and tiles

2007-03-01T21:36:00.000-05:00

It seems that ancient Islamic artists were much more talented than many thought. And it looks like math nerds helped them in creating very complex, non-repeating tile designs.

Read the full Islamic art article at USA Today

8,000 Muslim women taught Koran

2007-02-27T22:56:00.000-05:00

Sunni religious scholar Mohammed Akram Nadwi has for eight years done research for a bibliographical dictionary of hadith scholars who were women. To his surprise he has found 8,000 such women dating back some 1,400 years.

Some of these women advised scholar husbands and even issued fatwas.

Now it is up to modern Islam to reconcile this with current traditions regarding the status of Muslim women. Some, both men and women, hope this will encourage a more liberal treatment of the spiritual gifts of Muslim women.

Archeologists blast upcoming Jesus documentary

2007-02-27T22:18:00.000-05:00

Scientists debunk an upcoming Discovery Chanel documentary about 10 possible burial sites of Jesus. It sounds interesting, though. After all, the March 4 TV show is directed by Oscar-winner James Cameron, who claims that Jesus' bones (and those of his family) were found in some ancient ossuaries in Jerusalem.

Ironically, the BBC visited this "story" over a decade ago and archaeologists at the time criticised the claims even then. Discovery Channel has even added a special "Lost Tomb of Jesus" site to plug the show's assertions.

The AP article in USA Today online mentions several areas of misinformation and disagreement with the claims. Adding to this is the fact that forgeries of ancient artifacts are well known to have been made. But, hey -- it's TV -- anything for a buck.

Despite this, I still suggest watching the show. Christians need to view and be knowledgeable about material that can affect Christians who are "young in the faith" or the unchurched who might be swayed by misinformation. After all, if there really were bones of Jesus, there was no resurrection. Mass media and even information available on the Internet can easily turn false information into "facts" that then get repeated as "gospel." View the show, but view it with an analytical eye.

Help others through Hunger Walk

2007-02-07T00:24:00.000-05:00

You can contribute to Atlanta's Hunger Walk/Run 2007 and get a T-Shirt whether or not you actually run. The Feb-April 2007 issue of their newsletter "Food sharing" says, "Can't make it to the event? Be a Phantom Walker! Just fill out the form [donate] and mail it in and we'll mail you a t-shirt." How can you resist being a "Phantom Walker?" You don't even have to wear purple tights.

The event supports six local non-profit organizations and walkers may choose to have a portion of their funds go directly to one of the organizations:

At the Atlanta Community Food Bank site you can also learn about Atlanta's Table, Community Garden Initiative, Hunger 101, Kids in Need, Project Rescue Center, and TACK - The Atlanta Cooperative Kitchen.

You don't have to live in Atlanta to donate to these worthwhile groups.

Diabetics: Beware cold products

2007-01-30T22:13:00.000-05:00

Decongestants and some other cold remedies contain sugar or else a chemical that causes and increase in blood sugar warns the American Diabetes Association.

Stay informed. You can't treat your body like a temple if you don't know what's trying to pull down your pillars of health.

WWF 2006 Annual Report

2007-01-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

The 2006 annual report by the World Wildlife Federation is interesting for all who want to be good stewards of God's creation. But it's also kind of neat to look through.

The WWF report uses a special online report viewer program that lets you flip pages, zoom in or out on a page and even use hyperlinks to jump to sections of the report. Maybe I should call it nerd and nature nurture.

The Language of God

2007-01-22T00:38:00.000-05:00

America's top genetic scientist, Francis Collins, is also a devout Christian. His book, "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief", is generating some buzz. He defends evolution as well as stem cell research and finds harmony between science and religion.

"...the point of Scripture was not to teach science"

Collins believes that most of the people who strongly oppose evolution do so not because of politics but because they have unfortunately been taught that evolution and faith are not compatible.

"If we've done a poor job of explaining science to the public, is it any wonder that it has political consequences?"

Christian and moderate

2007-01-21T00:20:00.000-05:00

PBS has an interesting story about Christian moderates. Here are a few comments by people in the article:

"I hope that we're not entering a time where Christians are interpreted as being evangelical Christians alone."

"We evangelicals can sometimes become too dogmatic and legalistic."

"It seems unlikely to me that God working in the world is delivering contradictory messages to me in my church and to the white evangelicals in their churches."

Christians divorce Jesus from Judaism

2007-01-21T00:03:00.000-05:00

In her article in "The Christian Century" magazine, Amy-Jill Levine criticises Christians for misusing Jesus -- incorrect portrayals of Jesus in regards to Jews and Christians, social issues, and more.

Jesus, she reminds us was:

Not against the Torah (Law)
Not against the Temple, but rather its leadership
Not the only one concerned with social issues

"This divorcing of Jesus from Judaism does a disservice to each textually, theologically, historically and ethically."

To disregard history, she says, is to be unfaithful to both Judaism and Christianity.

Pot luck

2007-01-20T23:34:00.000-05:00

"We are never more at home than around the table", said a former pastor of mine. And the friendly warmth of people gathered in a joint luncheon or dinner is almost palpable.

I do confess, though, that sometimes my system is later disturbed by what I have fed it. "Why is it that people eat food in church that they wouldn’t eat anywhere else?" asks Lillian Daniel in her Theolog posting, "Potluck Gourmet". Garrison Keillor said Methodists had a secret longing for macaroni and cheese. Me? I like food. Someone once asked me if there was anything I did not like to eat. I paused only slightly and replied, "Well, there's a very bitter Filipino green vegetable ..." Laughter ensued, though I was serious.

The word "potluck" can have either a positive or negative connotation, you know. If you arrive too late at a buffet, you have have to be content with "pot luck".

I am reminded of my wife's shrewd coining of the phrase "'Choose your own' dinner" for a meal of leftovers. The kids got to select exactly which leftovers they wanted. Of course, the first to choose had the best array of the potluck offerings. But all of them seemed to relish the idea of getting a choice in what they ate. Clever, very clever, she was.

Lillian, pastor of a Congregational Church, says when she gets to heaven, she'll want a good old Midwestern Congregational Casserole.

So ... are there any types of food that you just will not eat at a Pot luck supper? Or do you arm yourself with an antacid tablet? Do you tend to "pig out", eat reasonably sized amounts of just a few dishes, or take small portions of as many dishes as possible?

Should a future posting be about treating our bodies as temples?

UMC should clean house

2007-01-20T23:12:00.000-05:00

Rev. Mark Schaefer, in his sermon-containing blog, daydreams about the United Methodist Church swooping down on American University, dissolving the board of trustees and just starting over.

His sermon, "Grapes and Vineyards", starts out with that musing. But the musing points out the denomination-owned aspect to many Methodist properties.

... Something to think about ... but it assumes that the denomination administrative structure has the "cure". It sometime seems that the administrative structure makes secular decisions when spiritual ones are needed.

We seem to have an undue emphasis on protecting the "job security" and "pay" of clergy. The UMC denomination leadership sometimes appears concerned more about district, conference, and denomination politics than members themselves. Maybe if we were all concerned more about the spiritual health and needs of congregations and their surrounding communities, we'd be growing in numbers as we grew in faith and saved souls.

Presidential religion

2007-01-20T23:05:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what religion our past presidents have been?

Wonder no more. South Carolinian Charlie Wilborn, author of the "Religion Class" blog, has spelled it all out for us in "Presidents and Religions".

Who is going to Hell?

2007-01-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

People of faith hold no common answer as to who goes to Hell and who does not. Christian denominations have differing views, and those differ from Jews or Universalists.

Louisiana's Herald-Argus newspaper posed the "Who is going to Hell?" question in an article and got a lot of comments. Feel free to read them and even add your own.

Methodists may be interested to know that the denomination's belief in prevenient grace might mean that God may allow anyone to escape an afterlife in Hell, according to Dean William Lawrence, SMU Perkins School of Theology.

Prevenient grace is divine love preceding any conscious action, a concept that John Wesley wrote the concept into Article 8 of the Articles of Religion he adapted for American Methodists.

Doomsday clock creeps nearer to midnight

2007-01-20T21:44:00.000-05:00

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has announced that the time of its symbolic Doomsday Clock is now two minutes closer to midnight -- the time representing global cataclysm. It now stands at 11:55pm.

This is only the fourth time since 1948 that the Bulletin, which focuses on manmade threats, has moved the clock forward. When started in 1947, the clock was set at 11:53 pm. The furthest from midnight was in 1991 (11:43 pm), when both the U.S and Russia were pulling back tactical nukes. The closest, 11:58pm in 1953, was in the era of U.S.-Soviet tensions.

The two main factors causing this they say is mankind's threats to human civilization posed by global warming plus nuclear tension related to Iran and North Korea. Director Kennete Benedict says the dangers of global warming are nearly as great as those of nuclear weapons.

Our challenge is to be good stewards of God's earth, even if it "costs" a little more. A legitimate Christian concern is whether a government administration's actions have eased or worsened the dangers posed by global warming and nuclear weapons.

Related article: Nuclear Doomsday: Is the clock still ticking?

Some Dove messages not so sweet

2007-01-14T21:07:00.000-05:00

I like chocolate, especially dark chocolate. One Christmas present this year was a basket of varied chocolates, among then some individually wrapped Dove dark chocolates.

The Dove chocolates came individually wrapped with foil that has "PROMISES Messages" printed on it. Cute, I thought, but maybe a bit too much "New Age" for me. Then I came across some that wiped the smile clean off my face.

The candy maker appears to have no compunction about using phrases that are harmful to our society. For example:

"There's a time for compromise --
it's called "later"
"Temptation is fun ...
giving in is even better."

It's as if the company executives are from Mars and have no clue TWIXT right and wrong. They seem full of Snickers at the problems they foster. The anti-Christian Messages continue, full of empty PROMISES. There are no Kudos here.

Should Christians stop buying Dove candy and encourage the manufacturer, Mars, to clean up its Dove wrappers? This is one candy I find not so sweet.

About the new UMC Web site

2007-01-09T20:05:00.000-05:00

The United Methodist Church's denomination web site is undergoing some significant changes. Unfortunately, the phase-in of those changes is not as smooth as I'd like to see. There are many disconnects, pages with a lot of "This feature is still under development" pop-up balloons, and broken links.

I was always taught to never use "under construction" type web pages. Make the development on a development server, then go public all at once. The current UMC method may be the result of a desire for feedback while development proceeds, which might also mean that the denomination is still unsure of what the final outcome will be. But maybe this method will get the massive changes done faster.

The new web site has a fresh new look, more color, more animation (for those that like that sort of thing), and either access to lots more information or else links that make the old information easier to find. Of course I do cringe at the heavy use of green in the navigation menus. My web development training has been to try to avoid red and green colors due to people with the most common form of color blindness.

The "Pastor: Overview" page has text overlap problems (at least in IE7) in the right-side "Related information for" box. But you can tell the type information that will eventually be there.

A few new features:

A horizontal menu and a horizontal submenu that changes with the top menu item selected. Some studies show that people prefer left-side vertical menus, but this one works, though it takes a bit of getting used to.
The home page has a link to a new "Methopedia".
Role-based (some say "personality" or "profile") sections of links, in Leader Resources, for example. Four common role-related links appear at the right side of the main horizontal menu: Pray, Give, Serve, Connect, Lead.
Added syndication capability for webmasters
Personal Profile pages, "similar to MySpace, FaceBook, and similar social networks", the site says. Sure, go ahead and add a nice sharp photo of yourself and some juicy personal information that an identity thief would love to get his grubby little hands on. Parents need to keep track of this area if their kids use it.
"Our World" has a collection of feature "stories of faith".
Most main menu index pages have a nice, medium size color photo. The overall page design is attractive.

IRS: 2007 charitable contributions need proof

2007-01-06T20:25:00.001-05:00

National Public Radio reports that, "The IRS will begin requiring documentation to deduct cash donations of any amount next year [2007]. That means church-goers who put cash in collection baskets may have to switch to checks if they want to claim it on their taxes. "

The same will apply to monthly cash donations by United Methodist Women sub-unit members to special projects, donations through Sunday School classes, and similar donations that most people have done by cash in the past.

Perhaps this is a good opportunity for churches seeking to assist members to offer an automatic withdrawal from checking accounts and/or credit card donations capability. An alternative would be to offer giving envelopes to all, letting the giver write their name plus their address on the outside and then the church providing all such people with donation receipts at the end of the year.

As for Sunday School classes and the like, the treasurer will have to make detailed receipts for each member or else members will have to write checks. Bummer.

The automatic withdrawal from checking accounts is relatively easy. It also might be a good way to ease the summer problem of dropping contributions as people are out of town on vacations. Some people just forget to "catch up". Automatic withdrawal eases that problem and helps members meet their pledged amount.

News roundup

2006-11-26T23:34:00.000-05:00

Jews in Iran

2006-11-25T11:59:00.000-05:00

Jews have been in Iran since the diaspora and many have no intention of leaving. In fact, Iran has the largest number of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel. Jews even have one representative in the Iranian Parliament.

Read the full BBC article about Jews in Iran. You may find interesting information that contradicts the opinions of many Westerners.

Related links

Iran in maps (land, cities, ethnic groups, population, etc.)
Percentage of women in Universities heralds social change
Uncovering Iran - BBC Radio series
Iran - Wikipedia profile

God's earth slow to heal

2006-11-24T17:15:00.000-05:00

The ozone hole over the Antarctic is the largest ever.

Despite actions to reduce gasses that deplete the earth's ozone layer, scientists have discovered that the at the current rate, it will take about 60 years to heal. Of course, if countries and corporation let their worship of money overcome their worship of God and protection of God's earth it might never happen.

Give thanks

2006-11-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

Dear Lord, our great provider,
we bow our heads in prayer
for all the ways you've blessed our lives
and for Your loving care.

We thank You for the hands
that prepared our special treat
and pray that You will bless all those
who have no food to eat.

Forgive us of our sins
and keep us close today.
And bless this food You've given us.
In Jesus' name, we pray.

Amen.

[Adapted from a Thanksgiving prayer by Betty Jo Mings]

Birth of MethoBlog

2006-11-10T10:35:00.000-05:00

Jay Vorhees has started "the methoblog - a place for United Methodist conversation". The methoblog is the new home of the MethoBlog Roll now that Shane's ministry has mushroomed and left him too little time to keep up with the that Blogroll he kept on his now retired Wesley Blog.

A cool feature of the methoblog is that it lists the "Latest UM Blogposts" from the blogs in the MethoBlog Roll. It takes about an hour or so for a new posting to appear; this new feature is a really great service. Thanks, Jay!

So if you want to keep up with the Methoblogosphere, check out this new blog service linked in the "Methodist and other blogs" section in the right column here.