Thursday, September 07, 2006

Scripture reading

At small group last night we got talking about spiritual disciplines and Gordon (the Pastor) shared about Bible reading and he challenged us to just read until something stands out to us and to then journal what and why

I got out my Bible tonight and spent some time reading (for the first time in weeks) The scripture passage that stood out to me was:

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness....

[Jesus says to...] Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received.

Matthew 10:1,6-8

This stuck out to me because of what God entrusts to us. I see myself as a disciple of Jesus and the challenge here is to do good in the world and announce the Kingdom of God through this.

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This photo is out on a friends farm, I love it out there :)

Monday, September 04, 2006

My Word Cloud

I saw this on the merry rose blog and I thought I'd do it for my blog as well

image.php

The word cloud website analyses your blog and creates the above images based on the words it finds on your blog.

To create your own go here

The church, Church Services and Questions...

A friend from the states posted a comment up that I thought is worth responding to in a full post...

Ok, I have just read your entire blog just now. I like your ideas, even though I'm not a christian I can see the good in them, however, after reading certain posts I've become opinionated about something...
OK First of all your my friend, and I'm taking the time to comment because I care. This goes back to the post about being lonely. From what I can gather from my research, church is about community (among other things) Now as someone who is as dedicated to his church as you are I am really sad to hear that things are getting lonely for you, I would be asking myself questions, "Is this the right church for me?", "Are other members feeling the same way?" To me Church shouldnt be just about God, but about growing relationships with people who share your faith (inside and outside of church) and if people only feel obligated to do that at church they are missing the point. Then again I could be wrong. I'm going to bed now.

Chris it is great to hear from you and to get your feedback, I appreciate it. I should clarify that when I talk about the church in my posts, I am referring to either

a) A Church Service or

b) The christian community in a certain area. "The Church"

I mix and match the use of the word Church based on what I am talking (ranting?) about.

It's funny you should suggest those two questions that I should be asking, I have been asking these questions and have had interesting answers...

"Is this the right church for me?" - I have asked this one of myself repeatedly and have come to the conclusion that I need to see what other communities are out there, I have started going to a different church in town that seems to have a good group of young adults; I am unsure yet if it is where I want to 'lay roots' but I am open to seeing what they are like.

"Are other members feeling the same way?" - I have been asking other 20-somethings similar questions, I had a very interesting discussion with some friends from out of town, they come from a Christian background and they have been questioning the character of God. Questions like "If heaven is so perfect, why did Satan leave?" or "What about all the suffering in the world, how can a just God allow that?". Personally I believe it is healthy and good to question and re-evaluate what we believe and why we believe. The reaction from the Christian community to them asking these questions has been (in my opinion) shocking. My friends either have been ignored or they have been given the hollow answers rather than actually listening to what is being questioned and giving permission to search for answers. I am quite angry about how they have been treated and it has disillusioned me a little about the church. But I believe that the church still has an important role to play. I came across this quote the other day:

 The church is a she.

She's a mystery, isn't she? Still going after all this time. After the Crusades and the Inquisition and Christian cable television. Still going. And there continue to be people like me who believe she is one of the best ideas ever. In spite of all the ways she has veered off track. In spite of all the people who have actually turned away from God because of what they experienced in church. I am starting to realize why: The church is a double edged sword. When it's good, when it's on, when it's right, its like nothing on earth. A group of people committed to selflessly serving and loving the world around them? Great. But when it's bad, all that potential gets turned the other way. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Sometimes in the same week. Sometimes in the same day.

Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell pg. 172

So I'm not giving up on the church yet, but Chris you are right Church is also about community and that sense of connection with others who share that belief.

BTW Newt I'm in hungary tell Edwy to get me a Sandwich +1!!! (inside joke)