Swiming upstream:

I wonder, from time to time, how do we as a Church ever compete with the other 6 days of the week? Think about it; we have basically one day to influence each other, while the world gets the other six days.

Walking out of the auditorium we step into the world of: TV, radio, Internet, advertisement, entertainment, literature, school/homework, work, vacation, the news, hobbies, sports, ect. The deck is staked against us. This competitive question isn't even addressing how our collective attention span has been hampered by video games and/or the sound bites we are bombarded with, either. I'm simply talking about,

who is influencing our thinking/beliefs more, the world or the Church...?

If we counted up all of the hours spent together as a community of believers each week, what would our total be?

An hour and a half, to two hours for many of us. Some come to Bible study 1st, and then the morning worship services, so there's around two and half to three hours. If you come back Sunday night or go to a lifegroup, the entire Sunday might accumulate five hours focused on worshipping God and your spiritual growth. If we included Wednesday nights, we might up-it to six or seven hours a week of time focused on Biblical issues. It's hard to estimate though if it's focused time when we text-message during the assembly or become distracted by other concerns when we gather together.

Compared to the rest of the week, three to seven hours is not a lot of time.

A recent study released says on average, children watch at least 24 hours of TV in a week.

Hmmm. What can we do?

Well, we could wring our hands and grumble about how the world is going down the drain. That's not going to help change anything.

We could become like the Amish and seclude ourselves from the world.

That won't work either; I doubt we could give up our modern-day conveniences even if we wanted to...

Perhaps instead of only trying to tell each other what to think, we should focus on how to think as well? Preaching and teaching and passing on correct doctrine is essential; but it's not sufficient. IT's vitally important we are committed to knowing the truth, but that's not enough. We also have to know how to think, not just what to think. We have to be able to reason through logically, and have an ownership of our faith. And that's what helps us to keep our head on straight the other six days.

Moses' instruction to continually fill ourselves with God's Word every waking hour is worth considering here:

Deut 6:6-9, "6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Pair that up with what Paul says in II Cor 10:3-5, "3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ..."

New Middle school class:

Tonight we kick off the new class for the middle schoolers, "How to understand everything: a study of Genesis chapters 1-11"

Sounds pretty ambitious, huh?

I hope to get the kids excited about the primeval history that Genesis provides, and I hope to shape the way they think about/see reality. I think almost everything we need to know is found in the 1st eleven chapters of Genesis. Not everything, but just about thing is there...

I'm excited about teaching the Middle school class for several reasons. High schoolers typically are too cool to participate and interact as much as the MS class... Adults are even more reserved in a class setting. But, you never know what's going to come out of the mouth/minds of these MS kids though! I love the questions and the responses these kids consistently throw out!

One of my favorite teaching experiences was with the MS class when I taught them the class on "What does the Bible say about....?" and I let the kids ask any question they wanted about any subject, and we studied the Bible to find the answers. We looked at weird topics like UFOS, demon possession, topics like how did Adam name the animals, what happened to the dinosaurs, and contemporary topics like how do we treat homosexuals. Nothing was off limits, and the kids were great.

I wonder if the kids will ask were Cain found a wife this time around???

Mom thinking outside the box:

This story was too good not to comment on... How dumb can you get? If it was just across the subdivision people would freak out, but this lady is on the highway?

Ala. woman lets daughter ride in box on top of van

(AP) – 15 hours ago

ALBERTVILLE, Ala. — An Alabama woman has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after police say she let her daughter ride in a cardboard box on top of their van. Albertville Police spokesman Sgt. Jamie Smith said the 37-year-old woman was arrested Sunday after police received a call about a minivan on a state highway with a child riding on top.

Smith said the woman told police the box was too big to go inside the van, and that her daughter was inside the box to hold it down.

Smith said the mother told officers it was safe because she had the box secured to the van with a clothes hanger.

The 13-year-old daughter wasn't harmed and was turned over to a relative. A jail worker said the mother was out on bond Monday.

Information from: The Huntsville Times, http://www.al.com/hsvtimes/hsv.html

Story, narrative, or what?

Yesterday when I preached on Daniel in the Lion's den, I used the phrase several times, "story of" "story about," etc. It was gently and lovingly brought to my attention that some people mistakenly think the word story is almost always synonymous with fiction. I recognize that's the case with some people; it's easy to misunderstand the intended meaning of the word "story" in a day and age when people don’t always value absolute truth. So, let me try to alleviate this misperception on the use of the word story...

Somehow the term story seems to have a significantly greater force than some of the alternatives, so I'd really like to stick with the word story. How then do we avoid being misunderstood, how do we convey that story is, in this case, a legitimate real — authentic relay of information? I know what I mean when I use the word; getting that across might take some extra effort.

We could use several different words, when we mean story: account, narrative, report, chronicle, or maybe even statement, again, instead of story. This is tough, especially since I plan to preach through the "great stories" of the Bible between now and next May. I don't think it will be appreciated if every week, each sermon begins with a disclaimer on the intended meaning of the word story.

Perhaps occasionally saying things like: these are real people, real places, this really happened, or some equivalent to that, might work. I’m not sure what’s best. Maybe a combination of every so often reminding people that story is not synonymous with fiction, and then every so often replacing the word story with “account of” “description of” or “retelling” might work.

If you have an idea on how to clarify this, please let me know J Who knows, your “story” of helping me out might just make it into the Sunday morning sermon…

Fathers' day...

Psalms 127:3-5 (ESV), “3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”

There’s a special time in a man’s life when he can stand back, remembering his childhood, contemplating the present, and looking to the future… all in a single moment. I’m in one of the blessed positions right now.

I still have the advantage of having my dad, and Tammy’s dad; I know if I ever need to call on them I can. All four of our boys are alive and healthy; I’m here for them whenever they need me. I’m a son, a son-in-law, a father, Lord willing in a few days I will be a father-in-law! Which means that I can see a future of grandchildren; though I’m not in a big hurry for that phase of life J

It is an understatement to say that each of us is shaped to a great extent by the relationship we have with our father (or father figure). Bill, Tammy’s dad, has taught me several things, and among them was how to tie my tie… so each Sunday morning when my tie is crooked you know who to blame, just kidding J My dad taught me a lot about life growing up, and he instilled in me a strong work-ethic.

Equally true is that we are shaped by being fathers! My boys have taught me more about myself personally, and life, than I could’ve ever imagined! I think our sense of self-worth and self-esteem is rooted in our belief in how we think our dad sees us, and as grown men, in our belief we have what it takes to make it on our own as a dad.

I know this much: A good father provides more than a roof over your head or food on your table. He prepares you for this life and the life to come. Tammy and I share three guiding-parental-priorities while raising our boys: 1. That they are responsible. 2. That they are independent. 3^rd, That they are spiritually mature. Everything else is secondary.

June 14th: Celebration!

Dear Life group hosts and leaders:

We are planning an end of the season Life Group celebration for June 14th immediately following the morning worship services. We are asking if one member from each life group could please contact the members of your life group and for all of them to please bring:

1 - 2 2 liters (if bringing cans please put in a cooler with ice)

1 Choice of: potato or green salad (please bring the dressing for it) or cole slaw. Enough to feed about 12 people.

****If you have another salad that is your specialty, that would be fine as well ;-)

Rolls about 12

Feel Free to bring a dessert as well.......

Chicken will be provided as the main entrée.

We are meeting at Shelter 12 at the Eastman Recreational Facilities on Bays Mountain after morning services. We have the shelter until 4 pm, so we would recommend bringing the dish and drinks to the church along with clothes to 'play' in, especially if you live too far away to stop at your home after church. We are hoping to play games, so bring any outdoor games, balls, mitts, volleyball nets, etc...

If you are unable to contact the members of your group, please let us know who we can contact. Also, please email Nanette or myself with the numbers of people going from your group and if we need to supplement any food (many out of towners, etc..). Below is a list of the people we have listed in your group, if there are any corrections or additions, please let us know. We tried to delegate the food evenly between groups with these numbers in mind.

Remember, we are inviting the entire church, and we (the Life Groups) are the hosts. We are looking forward to a great time of fellowship, encouragement and fun!!

Season's end?

The Lifegroups have officially or technically ended for the summer.  We typically have small groups from the Sunday after Labor day, till the Sunday before Memorial day.   So, here we are.

I know there are some groups that are grieving the conclusion of Lifegroups, esp after an abbreviated season.  Some folks, even in our group, are eager to continue through the summer.  I personally wouldn't want to take a break from meeting in homes, fellowshipping and studying together...   The reality is, like fish, after a while company begins to stink :-)   As a practice, we've taken summer breaks to keep the host homes and the lifegroup leaders refreshed and ready for a new season.

So... if your group does continue to meet over the summer, keep in consideration how to help your host family out.  Rotate your location.  Meet at the park.  Shake it up.  Also, don't feel like you'll have to meet weekly.  Go every other week, or monthly through the summer.

It is greatly encouraging to hear that sooooo many people don't want to stop for the summer.  That says something wonderful is happening.

Peace,

Craig