Being seeker sensitive…
I happened to go to Cali last week and I had a great conversation w/ a big brother friend of mine. I was sharing with him how I felt in my gut that most churches on Sundays are pretty much going through the motions of doing church. you know, create a skit, pick some tunes, read a few passages. create a new series w/ a catchy tag line and maybe some song and dance numbers to kick it off. My bro told me that it wasn’t only me but that there is a wind of change for churches’ as we know it today. he said that it would be a great thing and that he couldn’t wait for it.
he believed that people are tired of the slick productions and ad campaigns. that they just want to draw closer to God. If that is the case, then i am excited to see what God will do in His church.
going back to the topic of ’seeker sensitive’. i had a revelation this past week. perhaps many of you know it already. i realized that WE are the church. we should be seeker sensitive. the place of worship i believe, should NOT be. we shouldn’t DUMB DOWN the gospel for the sake of getting people in the seats. if the power of the gospel in our lives compels those around us who are seeking to join us in our house of worship on Sundays then that’s great but to water down the gospel? in the long run, is NOT gonna do it.
“Brothers, We Are Not Professionals”
This book looks interesting.
“WE PASTORS are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry. The more professional we long to be, the more spritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikenss (Matt. 18:3);….”
________________________________________________________________________________________
here’s a synopsis:
A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry
The aim of these thirty short exhortations to pastors is to spread a radical, pastoral passion for the supremacy and centrality of Jesus Christ in every sphere of life and ministry and culture. Increasingly, a ministry under the banner of Christ’s supremacy is offensive to the impulses of professional clergy who like to be quoted respectably by the local newspaper. The title of this book is meant to shake us loose from the pressure to fit in to the cultural expectations of professionalism. Satisfaction for our aching souls — and our hungry churches and the waiting nations — flows not from the perks of professional excellence but from the pleasures of spiritual communion with the crucified and risen Christ. John Piper is jealous to spread this joy to (and through) his fellow pastors, which is why he says, “Brothers, we are not professionals.”
Dreams…
Do you have dreams and aspirations? How do you know if it’s His dream or yours? Perhaps:
If you attain your dreams by exploiting others it’s not His dream.
well ain’t this a surprise…
honey, this is going to make your day. now you can nerd out with the best of them… ;P
John & Pete Saddington … and adoption…
I’ve had the privilege of getting to know a young couple at the Austin Stone who were originally from Georgia. John and Sue Saddington and their daughter, Roenne. John as it turns out along with his twin brother Pete, was adopted from South Korea and was raised by two loving christian parents. It’s ironic that his parents now live in our neighborhood. Well John and Pete had a wonderful opportunity to meet their birth parents. This is the culmination of their journey aired on KBS television, S. Korea. This is a link from John’s blog… I can’t help but to get welled up every time I watch or read it. I love the other stories of the other adopties as well.
An interesting insight on the future of the music industry…
I think David Byrne is a consumate artist. I like alot of his work and I just think it’s neat that he was a visual artist that later permutated this expression through music and other forms of installation and performances. I keep hearing from so many musicians that the music industry is going to hell in a handbasket. I for one absolutely hated the status quo of the music industry of the past. Artists were generally hosed, and the labels got all the money and sometimes, all the rights to the songs written by these artists.
Here’s what Mr. Byrne had to say.
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne?currentPage=1
Well this doesn’t surprise me… but then again, there’s nothing new under the sun.
So finally after about a year Satriani sues the band – Coldplay.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/coldplay_copyright_infringement;_ylt=Alx6RQ0Mz1EEcE1SvX9qIcPZn414
Corgan said it best…
…that despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage…
First time in my life…
I want the holidays to be over… this will be the first time I’ll miss Christmas and Thanksgiving with my family. What a helpless feeling… I just want to die.
