Thursday, October 28, 2004
agh. we had the best speaker today in chapel. Everything hit right at home and was wonderful.
He spoke about his experiences being a youth pastor at a very large church in another part of the country. He finally left when the senior pastor admitted to him that he told other staff members that what they are fully responsible for is running a ministry- not sitting down and having conversations with people. That was his last straw and he left to start a new church here in Portland. Incidentally they meet at a pub across town because "it's 75 dollars a week! that's cheap!"
He did such a great job I wish everyone I knew could've heard him. While he talked against a lot of the stuff large churches do, he admitted that there are good things that go on there, and humbly forewarned us that what he was going to talk to us about wasn't supposed to be an "i'm better than them" attitude.
His whole deal was about what a real church looks like- in the sacrificial, community sense. That a church should be a place for people to belong- space to ask and seek and wonder. That the church should be a place for people even before they decide to become Christians. That we cannot base our faith around not going to hell- and if that's what it means to be a Christian, then that is not fully living a Christian life. That God told the man that knew the Law that it was more difficult for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God- the rich being everyone who lives the middle class life... pointing at all of us and saying "even if we only have 20 dollars in the bank account".
One of the things that really hit me was his talk about large, attractional churches. That they have "great worship" or "great preaching"... somehow implying that it you can measure that sort of thing. And then what happens when the church down the street gets something better? When we make churches attractional we make them competitive- and that was never what God wanted. We should never try to find our needs met at our local church, but instead go trying to meet the needs of others- because that's what Jesus talked about when he talked of selling things and giving to others.
edit and add-in: I just remembered his schpeel about youth groups- the same idea with the church bigger and better down the street. Where the small churches (like mine) struggle is that we really, really just want to love and accept kids, and share what is best for them, yet we can't compete with the mega churches that can afford x-boxes on big screens and skate parks. I have 3 seventh grade boys I try to relate to on a weekly basis... so of course i almost started to cry over the frustration of it all-- it just leads to a lot of sighs. It's hard to find a youth pastor who wants real relationships with kids who doesn't mind staying at a small church.
"The Church is not here for us. We are here for the Church-which is here for the world".
He spoke about his experiences being a youth pastor at a very large church in another part of the country. He finally left when the senior pastor admitted to him that he told other staff members that what they are fully responsible for is running a ministry- not sitting down and having conversations with people. That was his last straw and he left to start a new church here in Portland. Incidentally they meet at a pub across town because "it's 75 dollars a week! that's cheap!"
He did such a great job I wish everyone I knew could've heard him. While he talked against a lot of the stuff large churches do, he admitted that there are good things that go on there, and humbly forewarned us that what he was going to talk to us about wasn't supposed to be an "i'm better than them" attitude.
His whole deal was about what a real church looks like- in the sacrificial, community sense. That a church should be a place for people to belong- space to ask and seek and wonder. That the church should be a place for people even before they decide to become Christians. That we cannot base our faith around not going to hell- and if that's what it means to be a Christian, then that is not fully living a Christian life. That God told the man that knew the Law that it was more difficult for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God- the rich being everyone who lives the middle class life... pointing at all of us and saying "even if we only have 20 dollars in the bank account".
One of the things that really hit me was his talk about large, attractional churches. That they have "great worship" or "great preaching"... somehow implying that it you can measure that sort of thing. And then what happens when the church down the street gets something better? When we make churches attractional we make them competitive- and that was never what God wanted. We should never try to find our needs met at our local church, but instead go trying to meet the needs of others- because that's what Jesus talked about when he talked of selling things and giving to others.
edit and add-in: I just remembered his schpeel about youth groups- the same idea with the church bigger and better down the street. Where the small churches (like mine) struggle is that we really, really just want to love and accept kids, and share what is best for them, yet we can't compete with the mega churches that can afford x-boxes on big screens and skate parks. I have 3 seventh grade boys I try to relate to on a weekly basis... so of course i almost started to cry over the frustration of it all-- it just leads to a lot of sighs. It's hard to find a youth pastor who wants real relationships with kids who doesn't mind staying at a small church.
"The Church is not here for us. We are here for the Church-which is here for the world".
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
I was a cry-y girl today.
First I read this:
"Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters,
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance."-Isaiah 55:1-2
so i cried over that.
then I went and met with my 410 reader... and cried... out of frustration and confusion with myself.
"If I could be
(if i could become the servant of all)
Your servant
(no lower place to fall)"-mewithoutYou
First I read this:
"Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters,
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance."-Isaiah 55:1-2
so i cried over that.
then I went and met with my 410 reader... and cried... out of frustration and confusion with myself.
"If I could be
(if i could become the servant of all)
Your servant
(no lower place to fall)"-mewithoutYou
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
I'm sure everybody does this... I will hear a band's name over and over again and just assume what kind of band they are. I thought Broken Social Scene was a punk rock outfit (that makes sense, right?) and that Coheed and Cambria were atmospheric rock. hm wrong on both accounts.
i am a really strangely selfish person, mostly when it comes to my music. Not just people borrowing it, but adopting it, loving it, admiring it. Do other people do this? Music was meant to be shared, but I usually grow a deep, personal attachment to it and find it hard to let other people have the same thing with the music i've discovered and grown attached to.
i am a really strangely selfish person, mostly when it comes to my music. Not just people borrowing it, but adopting it, loving it, admiring it. Do other people do this? Music was meant to be shared, but I usually grow a deep, personal attachment to it and find it hard to let other people have the same thing with the music i've discovered and grown attached to.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
I've realized lately that my jealousy over certain things is getting to a ridiculous point. jealousy helps no one, harms relationships, and makes your life feel like crap. on another happy note- i'm also dealing with another huge issue that may solve itself in a week, but last a lifetime. Lord knows i need some help with these things.
