The Posture Necessary for Listening

Scot, thanks for your words. Great stuff! Your post about listening to the Word sent me back to some words a former professor of mine wrote. I went back and read again a piece from Leonard Allen's book, The Cruciform Church: Becoming a Cross-Shaped People in a Secular World. Here is a companion, I think, to your reflection about our consumer mentality and the way we read and listen to the Word. Allen offers a helpful corrective to our modern captivity and to the way we often approach Scripture (sorry this is long, but it's sooo good):

"...We must resist the temptation to think that, while our spiritual forefathers fell short in their approach to Scripture, we--with some great burst of illumination--can finally unlock the magic door of theological perfection. We must not imagine for a moment that we have found the one interpretive method that will put every piece into place once and for all. Such presumption we must put behind us. For we do not master Scripture in the way many modern scientists presume to master nature. Thinking we can, in fact, easily becomes a kind of idolatry....

Missing in such a presumption is a most basic confession--our creatureliness. This fundamental confession contains no liscense for abandoning our movement's high ideals or for relaxing our efforts to read Scripture correctly. Neither does it sanction disregard for reasonableness and coherence in the pursuit of truth. But it does demand that we confess our finitude and frailty as a fundamental theological maxim.

Such a confession, far from discouraging hard Bible study and serious theological reflection, will serve rather to enhance it. For making that confession, will lift from our shoulders the unbearable burden of self-establishment before God. It will constantly drive us to the Cross and thereby keep the good news always resounding in our ears. In the process, it will free us to ask new questions and to live--as we sometimes must--with provisional answers.

The confession of our creatureliness always helps us recognize that biblical interpretation is a corporate enterprise, that no one person possesses a wide enough range of spiritual and intellectual gifts to do the task alone. We need the gifts of many people who have submitted their lives to Christ. We need scholars and prophets, pastors and evangelists, women and men, old Christians and new Christians, cautious guardians and adventurous explorers. For we are not meant to be solitary readers of the Bible, "rugged individuals" left to our own devices. Rather, we are members of a body, drawing life from the head and working with one another in the fellowship of the Spirit. In that body we continually discover riches as, together, we explore the strange world of the Bible."

Gardening: is it ears or ears?

The primary target for the word of God is the heart–– by way of the ear. In the parable of the Sower, we read about four soils and the importance about hearing (listening). Jesus speaks of the word of God more as “seed words of God” which are sown in the ear of the reader and then penetrate and grow in the heart. For some, their ears are like paved roads in which no seed can germinate; or rocky ears where no seed can have a deep healthy root system; or ears filled with weeds where no seed can ever hope to grow to maturity. And then there are those with “good-soil ears” in which the “seed words of God” produce an abundance of ears (grain).

Make no mistake about the value of reading God’s word. Reading God’s word is not synonymous with hearing (listening) God’s word. The struggle for me and perhaps for many others is our consumer mentality. This consumerism, which plagues our culture, also infects our hearing of God’s word. Many times we come to the Bible hoping to get something out of it. It’s easy to treat Scripture as something useful for my congregational life, married life, parental life, work life and any other life you want to put in a little category–– as if this is possible or even healthy for that matter. My point is, to come to the bible to see what we can get out of it, is to come to the bible impersonally. When we come to the Bible with an information-gathering mind, we not only misread the word of God, we arrogantly treat the word of God as a possession over which we have control.

The consumer comes to the bible “looking” to get something out of it, or even worse, reducing God’s word to a container of information to be understood. Yet God’s desire is for us to come to him and “listen” for his voice so that we can respond in the relationship he calls us into with a spirit of obedience and with faith (trust). When we respond to God’s voice rather then control his voice his molding and shaping of our lives is unmistakable!

He who has ears to hear, let him hear–– Jesus


Psalm 40:6-8 (NLT)

6 You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.
Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand--
you don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings.

7 Then I said, "Look, I have come.
And this has been written about me in your scroll:

8 I take joy in doing your will, my God,
for your law is written on my heart."

Children of God

This arrived in my inbox this morning. Just wanted to share it:

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…” Galatians 3:26

Even though there were all kinds of things among the Galatians that would make us shake our heads, Paul calls them “sons of God” nevertheless. Being God’s children enables them to right their wrongs through repentance and to guard against sin in the future. Trust in Jesus that is firmly rooted in our hearts makes us certain of our divine inheritance.

It is a fact, however, that many so-called Christians make their divine heritage dependent on something other than faith in Christ. They concentrate on moral improvement, deliverance from wrong and impure thoughts and feelings, and on their own state of sanctification. And because they cannot get rid of their failings, they will never consider themselves children of God.

But Christ is able to make children of God out of weak, sinful beings as long as they have trust in him. Nor will he straightaway void their inheritance when they make mistakes, even serious ones at times—look at the Galatians!

In the end, Christ will lead us through and beyond all our failings as long as we do not misuse faith as a pillow to rest on. Faith becomes a pillow only if it is an intellectual matter, giving the soothing sense of having Jesus without a real trust of the heart. True faith will never turn into a pillow for anybody; it has too much life and vigor for us to go on sinning while pleading faith. Let us remain firm in the belief that God’s mercy is very great toward all who cast themselves on it wholly and utterly.

Johann Christoph Blumhardt, from The Proclamation, Sonship with God.

Welcome To My Neighborhood

I just saw a commercial for a new reality show, Welcome To My Neighborhood. It premires on Sunday, July 10, on ABC TV. Here is the promo:

In a six-part reality series premiering SUNDAY, JULY 10 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET), one of seven diverse families will win a beautiful dream home on a perfect suburban cul-de-sac in Austin, Texas. But in order to win the luxuriously furnished and opulently appointed house, they must first win over the very people who will be most affected by the ultimate decision -- the next-door neighbors.

During the process, relationships become strained, fears are confronted, secrets are revealed, expectations surpassed and the inner-workings of all of the competing families are exposed.

But with every encounter with these families, the opinionated neighbors' pre-conceived assumptions and prejudices are also chipped away, and they learn that, while on the outside we may appear different, deep inside we share many common bonds. The judges find themselves learning to see people, not stereotypes.

The three neighborhood families who will be judging the competing families all love their quiet, picturesque community and are used to a certain kind of neighbor -- one who looks and thinks just like them. It will be up to this watchful group to decide who should move into the dream house next door and who should be sent packing.

Each week the competing families participate in a challenge given by the judging neighbors. This challenge could be in the form of an event or a competition, but there is always an unforeseen twist or turn that will reveal the families' true nature to the judges.

The family who wins the challenge that week will be given an all-important "free pass," thereby becoming exempt from elimination that particular week. By episode's end, the neighborhood judges will determine which one of the remaining families will be eliminated, thus losing their chance to win the house.

Each competing family ends up taking the neighborhood judges on an emotional journey that opens eyes and hearts. In the end, one family's life will definitely change when they win the deed to the house and move into the pristine home. But much to the surprise of everyone involved, a whole community experiences a transformation.

The stakes are high. The families are real. And the neighborhood will never be the same.

Interesting show.....perhaps I'll have to watch. I wonder if the "principle of exclusion" will be in play?

"Die, heretic!"

Comedian Emo Philips tells this story:

In conversation with a person I had recently met, I asked, "Are you Protestant or Catholic?"
My new acquaintance replied, "Protestant."
I said, "Me too! What franchise?"
He answered, "Baptist."
"Me too!" I said. "Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?"
"Northern Baptist," he replied.
"Me too!" I shouted.
We continued to go back and forth. Finally I asked, "Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1879 or Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, Great lakes Region, Council of 1912?"
He replied, "Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, Great lakes Region, Council of 1912."
I said, "Die, heretic!"

The story’s funny but it hits close to home doesn’t it? If we’re not careful, we can buy into the "principle of exclusion." What I mean is we can quickly reject a person who’s not like us religiously. If we’re not careful, we can become afraid of people who have differing theological perspectives. When we fall into this trap our tendency is to draw the circle tighter and tighter–– sort of a who-is-in and who-is-out mentality. Trust me, I know what it is like to have this mentality and it’s an uncomfortable place to live.

Consider wrestling with these three questions:
1. Is there a way to live and be in fellowship with fellow-Christians we disagree with?
2. Must every disagreement result in division?
3. In order to have unity, must all distinctive points of view be abandoned?

Wonderful Words of Life

Mister Rogers stood before 5,000 cheering graduates at the Boston University commencement in 1992, and said very quietly, “You wanna sing with me?” Then motioning them to be seated he spoke again: “Why don’t you just sit down, and we’ll sing this song together.” And then he led all 5,000 in a rendition of It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. One observer said that everyone knew the song, and “waves of red robes swayed side to side, arms intertwined, subdued by the sense of security and ritual that Mister Rogers had always given them.” Graduates, singing what they learned from Mister Rogers when they were young children. Songs have power. Words have power.

“I love you.”
“I’m proud of you.”
“You’re a disappointment.”
“Well done.”

Words shape who we are.

In similar fashion to the way Mr. Roger’s song shaped those graduates, and the ways in which words from our childhood and adulthood impact us, Jesus’ words formed and shaped the identity of the first followers of Jesus, and they shape us today in the exact same way. The Twelve Jesus called became the founding generation of the church. As they lived with Jesus, learned his message, watched his actions, they were molded by him to become salt, leaven, and light in the world. They listened for his voice. When he said, “go” they went. Words have power. When he said “stay here” they stayed put. When he spoke his words, they hung on every syllable, even if they did not always understand, or even sometimes like what he said. Words have power. They shape our lives.

Are we listening to Jesus, the wonderful words of life, or are we listening to someone else's words?

More Gardening Stuff

OK, Scot....I am not planting a garden (and Yes! You are obsessive about your garden!), but I am trying to grow grass (the legal kind). We've had a bare patch in our lawn the past couple of years and we've attempted to do a few things to it, but with little success. Every spring, the bare patch reappears. So this year drastic measures took place.

We broke up the old grass, turned over the soil, and planted with new grass seed. And then we started watering. We have watered, and watered, and watered, and watered, and watered.....we even let God water the grass for us with the rain (what a rainy spring we had). Finally, after three plus weeks, grass has started to grow.

Augustine says this: "We take for granted the slow miracle whereby water in the irrigation of a vineyard becomes wine. It is only when Christ turns water into wine, in a quick motion, as it were, that we stand amazed."

Perhaps the miracle and power of God's love is also seen in its slow drip, drip, drip coverage in our lives. We may not see its dramatic work right away, but with constant irrigation, God's love grows in us and then appears in our lives in authentic and lasting ways.

I just hope my grass stays around for good as well.....

Tomatoes anyone?

About two weeks ago I planted my garden. You know––the usual stuff: 84 tomato plants, 36 cucumbers, numerous zucchinis, habanero peppers, jalapeño peppers, green peppers, red peppers, corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, pumpkin, red onions, yellow onions, eggplant and of course—strawberries. I want you to know, I love my little garden! BTW- my daughter, Jessika, told me the other day that I was out of control and a little excessive. I have no idea what she’s talking about…

Anyway, back to God’s love. The other day my tomato plants were wilting. If you know anything about tomato plants, then you know how dramatic they can be. When they get dry and need water, tomato plants let you it in a dramatic way. They wilt…and when they wilt, they look like they’re dead, or pretty close to dead. So the other day, they dramatically communicated to me and I dramatically responded. I watered. I witnessed amazing results with the little water I gave these plants. I didn’t have to wait days, or pray over them. With in several minutes, my dramatic tomato plants responded (dramatically so) to the water I freely gave them. They stood straight up! They regained their strength and continue to grow to maturity.

I’ve realized something pretty important about this story. My tomatoes and I have something in common. We can be dramatic. The other day I was a little wilty… and God took notice. …you know what he did? He reminded me of the love he has for me and for all he has created in his image.

God’s love is powerful!

"This World"

The Christian band Caedmon’s Call in their song entitled “This World,” has a line that exclaims: “This world has nothing for me, and this world has everything. All that I could want, and nothing that I need...”

You know, we understand a lot about the universe. Yet it’s still pretty hard to give up seeing myself as the center of my own world! It seems to me that when push comes to shove, our human desire is to be like God. Our human desire is to see ourselves as capable of controlling our own world. I suppose this is what the world of science and scientific discovery and their successes produced in our modern world. Science and scientific discovery “has pointed us toward economic and political and social systems that are all about self-government and self-sustenance and unlimited self-development.”

Our world gives us a lot of power and in particular lots of purchasing power. We can buy pretty much anything we want. And many of us buy into the promises that any particular product may claim to deliver. But one of the greatest goods we have in our modern world is life. Think about it… We can buy and sell life. The search for meaning in life is determined more by what you can get (and then become) more than anything else.

Here’s where I’m going with this thought: Is it possible that a good part of our religious life is also treated as another good to be bought or sold in the market place? Is it possible that we acquire this religious life we buy into in order to keep ourselves where we like to be–– at the center of the universe and in control?

I wonder how much we want control of our own religious world when we make choices about churches based on what’s in it for me. Someone might think––“Do people notice me at the level I think I should be noticed?” or, “Do these people agree with the way I think?” Unfortunately, for many people, relationships at church look more like business investments and contracts––simply hoping to get a return on lots of happiness and security. The unfortunate thing about this reality is how disposable relationships can become when we fail to receive the return we expected.

Consider Donald Miller’s words in “Blue Like Jazz”, “The problem with Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money... If somebody is doing something for us, offering us something, be it gifts, time, popularity, or what have you, we feel they have value, we feel they are worth something to us, and perhaps we feel they are priceless. I could feel it so clearly, and see it in the pages of my life. This was the thing that had smelled so rotten all these years. I used love like money. The church used love like money. With love, we withheld affirmation from the people that did not agree with us, but we lavishly financed the ones who did”.

Mercy Not Sacrifice

Tony Campolo tells a story of his ministry experience in Hawaii in the book, The Kingdom of God is a Party.

Up a side street I found a little place that was still open. I went in, took a seat on one of the stools at the counter, and waited to be served. This was one of those sleazy places that deserves the name, "greasy spoon." I did not even touch the menu. I was afraid that if I opened the thing something gruesome would crawl out. But it was the only place I could find.

The fat guy behind the counter came over and asked me, "What d'ya want?"

I said I wanted a cup of coffee and a donut.

He poured a cup of coffee, wiped his grimy hand on his smudged apron, and then he grabbed a donut off the shelf behind him. I'm a realist. I know that in the back room of that restaurant, donuts are probably dropped on the floor and kicked around. But when everything is out front where I could see it, I really would have appreciated it if he had used a pair of tongs and placed the donut on some wax paper.

As I sat there munching on my donut and sipping my coffee at 3:30 in the morning, the door of the diner suddenly swung open and, to my discomfort, in marched eight or nine provocative and boisterous prostitutes.

It was a small place, and they sat on either side of me. Their talk was loud and crude. I felt completely out of place and was just about to make my getaway when I overheard the woman beside me say, "Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm going to be 39."

Her "friend" responded in a nasty tone, "So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? Ya want me to get you a cake and sing 'Happy Birthday'?"

"Come on," said the woman sitting next to me. "Why do you have to be so mean? I was just telling you, that's all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you it was my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?"

When I heard that, I made a decision. I sat and waited until the women had left. Then I called over the fat guy behind the counter, and I asked him, "Do they come in here every night?"

"Yeah!" he answered.

"The one right next to me, does she come here every night?"

"Yeah!" he said. "That's Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why d'ya wanta know?"

"Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday," I told him. "What do you say you and I do something about that? What do you think about us throwing a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night?"

A cute smile slowly crossed his chubby cheeks, and he answered with measured delight, "That's great! I like it! That's a great idea!" Calling to his wife, who did the cooking in the back room, he shouted, "Hey! Come out here! This guy's got a great idea. Tomorrow's Agnes's birthday. This guy wants us to go in with him and throw a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night!"

His wife came out of the back room all bright and smiley. She said, "That's wonderful! You know Agnes is one of those people who is really nice and kind, and nobody does anything nice and kind for her."

"Look," I told them, "if it's okay with you, I'll get back here tomorrow morning about 2:30 and decorate the place. I'll even get a birthday cake!"

"No way," said Harry (that was his name). "The birthday cake's my thing. I'll make the cake."

At 2:30 the next morning, I was back at the diner. I had picked up some crepe-paper decorations at the store and had made a sign out of big pieces of cardboard that read, "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" I decorated the diner from one end to the other. I had that diner looking good.

The woman who did the cooking must have gotten the word out on the street, because by 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. It was wall-to-wall prostitutes…and me!

At 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open, and in came Agnes and her friend. I had everybody ready (after all, I was kind of the M.C. of the affair) and when they came in we all screamed, "Happy birthday!"

Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted…so stunned…so shaken. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle a bit. Her friend grabbed her arm to steady her. As she was led to sit on one of the stools along the counter, we all sang "Happy Birthday"' to her. As we came to the end of our singing with "happy birthday, dear Agnes, happy birthday to you," her eyes moistened. Then, when the birthday cake with all the candles on it was carried out, she lost it and just openly cried.

Harry gruffly mumbled, "Blow out the candles, Agnes! Come on! Blow out the candles! If you don't blow out the candles, I'm gonna hafta blow out the candles." And, after an endless few seconds, he did. Then he handed her a knife and told her, "Cut the cake, Agnes. Yo, Agnes, we all want some cake."

Agnes looked down at the cake. Then without taking her eyes off it, she slowly and softly said, "Look, Harry, is it all right with you if I…I mean is it okay if I kind of…what I want to ask you is…is it O.K. if I keep the cake a little while? I mean, is it all right if we don't eat it right away?"

Harry shrugged and answered, "Sure! It's O.K. If you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home, if you want to."

"Can I?" she asked. Then, looking at me, she said, "I live just down the street a couple of doors. I want to take the cake home, okay? I'll be right back. Honest!"

She got off the stool, picked up the cake, and carrying it like it was the Holy Grail, walked slowly toward the door. As we all just stood there motionless, she left.

When the door closed, there was a stunned silence in the place. Not knowing what else to do, I broke the silence by saying, "What do you say we pray?"

Looking back on it now, it seems more than strange for a sociologist to be leading a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes in a diner in Honolulu at 3:30 in the morning. But then it just felt like the right thing to do. I prayed for Agnes. I prayed for her salvation. I prayed that her life would be changed and that God would be good to her.

When I finished, Harry leaned over the counter and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he said, "Hey! You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?" In one of those moments when just the right words came, I answered, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning."

Harry waited a moment and then almost sneered as he answered, "No you don't. There's no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. I'd join a church like that!"

As we prepare to go out into our community, first, go learn what God means when He says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

The Power

Yesterday I spent the day at Mass General Hospital down in Boston. One of our church members had major surgery. She is doing well. Praise God!

On the way home last night we drove through a ferocious rain storm. The lightning was unbelievable. It felt like it was touching the ground next to the car. Oh, what power!

This morning, in my inbox, appeared this quote. What greater power is in our life!

Not so long ago, a few decades perhaps, we saw lightning in the sky and talked about electricity. Some people began to ponder about this strange power. It did not leave them in peace. They kept thinking, “Who knows, it might be given into our hands. Could not this play of clouds—this faraway, deadly, terrible, yet powerful thing—come into the hands of men?” I remember how millions laughed. Only very few people believed it and did not stop thinking about it. And suddenly there it was.

Something like this happens when we see Jesus. Anyone who has an image of Jesus from the Bible, perhaps even through personal experiences of the heart, recognizes in him the powers we need. At first these powers are very far away. They are heavenly powers, great and divine. They are so great that today we can hardly understand the life of Jesus in a human, natural way. Yet we do see in him the mighty powers of God. We look up and think, “Is it possible that these powers will one day become our possession?”

Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, from Christoph Blumhardt and His Message, Our Human Right.

Without A Thought

You have got to read this incredible story from Joe Quile:

Two days ago my family and I were traveling West on I-20 in Arlington (TX) on our way to meet a friend. It was pouring rain and traffic was bad. Kim had no sooner said, "be careful" when the brake lights came on in front of us in unison. I was in the slow lane and immediately pulled over on the emergency lane when I noticed a car ahead of me do the same. The driver from the vehicle opened the door and and began running towards our car and I looked to my right and saw a Nissan Armada that had rolled over only seconds before and was laying upside down, tires still spinning, 20 feet off the highway down an embankment.

I yelled to the kids, "don't look!"

I opened the door and ran down the hill toward the car just steps behind the other guy. He ran to the front passenger door and then stopped. He turned and looked at me and yelled, "call 911!"

I ignored his reasonable request and tried to open the front passenger door. It was stuck. Again this guy yelled out, "call 911" and mumbled something about the door not being able to be opened. And again, I tuned him out like a guy watching the Super Bowl. I then proceeded to open the rear passenger door.

The door opened up and there on the floor (which was the roof) was a young teenage girl crying uncontrollably and up in the front of the vehicle was her mom. I asked the girl if she was OK and she replied yes and I proceed to climb into the car and pull her out. I handed her off to that 911 yelling guy and went back into the car to get the mom out. I asked the mom if she was OK as she was crying even harder than the daughter. Through her tears she told me that she was seven months pregnant with twins. My heart stopped. I asked her if she hurt anywhere and she said no. I told her to grab onto my neck and I began to pull her out. Once outside of the vehicle she was still holding onto my neck and I held her as she shook and continued crying. Again I asked her if she hurt anywhere and she said that her stomach hurt just a little but she thought it was just upset due because she was so worried about the health of the twins inside her womb.

I asked her if I could pray for and she said, "yes! please! please!" I placed my hand on her stomach and began to beg God for the safety of those babies. Kim stayed in the car with Emily but had Laura run down and give us blankets and my golf umbrella. Laura began to gently cover up the young girl and I continued to hold both of these scared sisters. It wasn't long (maybe 3 minutes) before the firetrucks and the ambulance arrived. Once the ambulance arrived they were put inside (neither of them had a single scratch on them) and I headed back up toward the car, soaked, muddy, and very quite.

I got inside the car and sat there for a moment very still. I relayed the story to Kim and the girls and then I pulled the car back onto the highway. A few miles down the road it hit me that I had not once thought about anything I just had just did. The entire experience took less than 5 minutes and cost us being a little late to our meeting, three blankets, and my shoes remaining clean and yet I will never forget it.

If you had asked me a minute before that vehicle flipped if I would want to get muddy and soaked I would have said, "no way!" If you had asked if I would want to be late to my meeting or give up three blankets I would have said, "no, not particularly." If I had thought for a second about what I might have (could have) been the scene when I opened that door I honestly don't know if I would have done it.

I do plenty of selfish and stupid things without thinking.

I wish I did more for others...without a thought.

Worship for the Sake of the World

In worship, two worlds collide. In worship, God’s reign declares a way to live in the world while not being of the world. In worship, our allegiance is tested. In worship, the exam is given: Which story do we take to be true reality? In worship, we celebrate the reign of God, challenged to live out God’s reign among our neighbors and friends, because the world of God’s reign is our only hope. So what kind of “worshipper” does God want in Romans 12?

God wants worshipers who see worship for what it is: Not an hour on Sunday morning, but a lifestyle of sincere love, hatred of evil, embracing good, and honoring one another above ourselves. God wants worshipers who keep their fervor no matter where they are. God wants worshipers who are maturing to such a point that we learn how to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. God wants us to share with those in need, and to practice hospitality. God hopes we take Him seriously as we run the risk of blessing those who persecute us; that we might exchange what the world encourages us to take on—pride, conceit, wrath—and instead hear the Word of the Lord in Romans 12:16—“Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.” Do we need to read that one again?

That’s worship. The word “worship” means, “A good work.” Do you know what worship looks like in Romans 12:20—“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” That’s worship.

The kind of worship God wants is a lifestyle of faithfulness to Him that brings a joyful attitude into this place so that during this worship service, we proclaim out of our dependence, not out of our pride. Paul’s story in Romans intersects with the story of the people of the church in Rome to show that the house churches that make up the larger body of Christ in Rome learn how to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed them. The world imagined by Paul was a community of worshippers who lived for the sake of the world. The same is true for us.

Today, have a great start to your week of worship!

Where have we been?

Sorry to have been radio silent for the past week or so. I (Paul) have been out of town on trips to California and Michigan. When I got back I've had to catch up with the homefront. Scot went on a trip to Tennessee and recently returned home.

Thanks for checking in even though you've not seen any new postings recently. We'll get back on the horse and ride some more.