The Holidays...Sacrifices to the gods...

Admittedly, the e-mails have been few and far between this “holiday” season. Perhaps I’ve been to focused on shopping. Last weekend we had a good experience cooking a meal for some very hungry folks in Woodlawn. It was a great group of workers…including many of our kids on the front line. That had to be the best part of the whole thing. The other thing is, the people we cooked for aren’t that much different from you an me…not different at all… I think our kids just saw people coming to a meal. Thank God.

I know Jamie and Blair have sent around the lessons stuff. I will open up the blog to allow any comments/postings from anyone…so please post as we discuss things in class… www.rmcbuilders.blogspot.com.

To reflect on the tragic death of a security guard at Walmart on black Friday, I would like to share this commentary from an NPR commentator. As we are moving around this year, and every year, we should remember that people are more important than stuff…that love is really the best gift to others and to ourselves.

All Things Considered, December 3, 2008 · After Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush told us to go shopping.
Seven years later, Lehman Brothers went under.
In the aftermath, our panicked leaders prophesied doomsday if we didn't immediately go shopping to save America from recession.
And so we went shopping! We so went shopping, in rumbling herdlike elephant masses, we killed a guy who didn't get out of the way fast enough. It's a tragic incident, but by no means meaningless. Shopping is a religion, and some religions demand sacrifices.
The Wal-Mart employee died for us on Black Friday, but have we stopped to think what his sacrifice means? Not at all: We're stampeding right on through to the other side of Christmas. We aren't just shopping: We are saving America.
There were some voices that said on TV that maybe we should start saving instead of shopping. We heard those voices, too, especially when gas was $4, but we seem to have quickly forgotten them. Save what?
The business of America is business. And for you and me, Mr. and Mrs. Citizen Average, that means shopping.
I'm not going to make anything out of the fact that the killer mob stormed Wal-Mart, not Neiman Marcus, because the tragedy could have happened anywhere. Shopping mobs are unstoppable regardless of whether they are after diamond-encrusted slippers or Chinese lawn ornaments. The urge is the same: Get to it before they quit running the sale ads and America goes down.
And now that we are officially in a recession and too tired from shopping to figure anything out, they are making us feel guilty of murder, which we may well be. But we were just following orders.

Islamist...not terrorist...notes from ASH...

I went to the lecture by Dr. Esposito, a renowned religious/political analyst at Samford University on Thursday Oct. 9. Title of the lecture "Is Terrorism Ever Allowed In Islam?"

Short answer: No...

However, all of the negative stereotyping and media hype about the "bad" Muslims put a different view in our heads...Nothing of the good between the Muslims and Christians is ever publicized highly in the media...THEREFORE, see this web site: http://www.acommonword.com/ - it is a documented compilation of the Muslim and Christian community and both of their views on things going on in the world and the response from each denomination. Click on the left hand side to see the agreement made between the religions and the responses of Christians and Jews to this.

There can be religious interrelation...there can be tolerance...there can be love and understanding... IF ONLY THE MEDIA would help portray those things...

If you want to talk to me about the lecture and what was said about terrorism and the use of the excuse of "a war for the people on 'God's' side" I would be glad to share my notes. Maybe I will type them out one day and send another email...Maybe.

until then-
ashley

Freedom of Expression

On Sunday, Andy brought up a situation in which an employee might be stopped from adding scripture versus to the bottom of her e-mail communications. Is this right? Would it have been o.k. to have "intellectual ideas" from Gandhi or Buddha?

Greg said he was told he had to remove his Bible from the top of his desk. Is this religious persecution or sensitivity to your fellow man?

Your thoughts...

What's Going on With God and the Economy?

This is so stressful, this time we are living in. I can't help but watch CNN like what's happening is going to change what I eat for lunch...or if I can pay for it. I'm watching the DOW like it's the speedometer on my life...the EURO like its up or down movement will make me content or send me into a tail spin. This isn't right. I'm a Christian for God's sakes... Say a prayer, believe that He's in control. It's supposed to make everything o.k. People are calling asking for food to feed their families...what about my family? I'm worried about loosing my health care coverage...we have (in a biblical-neighbor sense) brothers, sisters, and friends in war zones and developing countries who don't have medicine, food, or a Walmart to buy them in...

So how do we slow down, back up, and let our God get a grip on our emotions day to day?

Pride, Resentment, Ingratitude...

Last Week’s Lesson - Was The Sins that are Deceptive…but deadly… I added the last part because we talked about Pride, Resentment, and Ingratitude. Our lesson taught us that these sins grow and fester and corrupt our entire being, if we don’t work on them. Many times, they are the root of a lot of vile and evil stuff that comes from our lips and inspires our actions. Good news though…God’s spirit within us overcomes our sin and our weakness. What is the most important part of attacking our sin? Being a cool looking Christian…getting a better spot at the table on Wednesday night? Of course…it is so that we can more useful to God every day of the week. What has he called you to do today? Listen for the answer…

The point is not to be a better person...there's no hope in it. It's to be a better follower of Christ. Why? So we can follow Christ...duh. We don't do it FOR anything other than to fulfill our purpose on this earth. We should be loving, ministering, helping, feeding, holding, carrying each other everyday. It's the ENTIRE reason for living. There isn't anything else that isn't LOVING... IT sums it up, it is the beginning, then end, and the everything. Without it...nothing matters...With it...everything matters and has purpose. Thanks to God. He is why we have the capacity to LOVE...He is LOVE.

I got a plank in my eye...

Our SS Lesson 9/7/08 came from Mathew 23:

"Woe to You, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For You clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full bf greed and selfindulgence."

Reminds me of the inside of my son's sippy cup after it sat in the car for a few days. It looks good, but boy will it give you stomach ache if you drink it. The idea that Jesus was trying to get across is that the real condition of our heart is what matters...not the outward show of religion, spirituality, or church-i-ness. I think I'm making up words, but you know...

It's amazing how easy it is to simply talk about Christianity. It is another thing to genuinely live it out. Is this a problem you share? How do you work to overcome it? Prayer and contemplation should yield true change in our hearts that becomes evident in our actions. It's like the really nice looking fruit tree that fails to produce fruit. What's the point?

Refrigerator Rights

For those of you who were not present at church today (9/7), or even for those who were, Jim mentioned, in the midst of his sermon on not "walking" alone, a term used by author Will Miller known as "Refrigerator Rights." This notion of being so comfortable at someone else's house to just get up and go grab a snack or drink from the frige, is a really neat concept. As we are growing together in our class, one of our new goals is to reach a more personal and intimate relationship with all of the class members - a few of the additions to our everyday Sunday meetings are meant to harbor and nourish these relationships. Think about who you would give refrigerator rights to!

Children and Spirituality

Can and should our children be Spiritual? It's a very cool idea...that our kids can start talking to God, listening to God, and building a relationship with God. After all... Jesus wants us to approach him like kids. He says that kids have the right attitude and disposition toward him. It's not that they are gullible, but that they don't make simple things complicated. As adults, we can teach our kids to thank God for the good things in their lives...and we can teach them to pray to God about the tough things. If they start developing these habits of "talking to God," then they will be on track to do that all of their lives. It also affects us too. As we talk to our kids about what is good in their lives, we are thinking about the relationship between God and their daily lives. It makes us think about OUR lives too. It puts things in perspective. When our kids are having a hard time with something, we encourage them to Pray about it. That makes US pray about it too, instead of just marching in to "solve" their problems. Just as God wants to teach us through our trials, surely He wants to teach our kids.

What other ways can we present God to our kids? How about music, worship, reading stories together. We can encourage them to think about God by themselves too. Be creative and pray about how to present God to your kids...It doesn't have to be perfect...it doesn't have to work the way WE think it should...

So how do you bring God into your kids' lives? How have your kids taught you about your relationship with Him?

Tibet and the Olympics

Greg Cottrell gave an interesting lesson on Tibet and The Olympics...He talked and the class discussed a little about the Nature of Freedom, the Meaning of Human Rights, the Desire to Govern, and the Intuistic Part of Culture.
He discussed a little of the history between Tibet (country who wants to be free and govern themselves) and China (want to govern and use Tibet for demographic resources). Due to the invasion of China in 1950 and the successive leave/exlie of the Dalai Lama in 1959, Tibet has had its governing done from India where the Dalai Lama resides while the Chinese government still seize control over physical Tibet. (Hence the "Free Tibet" stickers and demonstration posters)
We also discussed the purpose of the Olympics and whether or not political/religious/cultural customs of an Olympic host country should be under examination. Consensus was that the IOC should give the bid to a host country not based on whether or not that country is willing to change, but just as the country is - did they really expect China to "work on" their human rights issues after they had accepted the bid for the Olympics...

Have something else to add? We'll share it in class next Sunday...

Seasons of the Church

The lovely Lana brought us a cool lesson Sunday fresh off of a wild Saturday night at the class Luau and the Journey concert. That's some stamina.

The lesson was a good reminder of why we do what we do in the church...deepening our experience of our worship. You usually know what season you are in by the weather. In the church we have Advent - preparing for Christ's birth, Christmas - 12 days of it in the church, Epiphany - the revealing of the good news to the world and/or arrival of the wise men, Lent - repent...after a good mardi gras, Easter - the mother of all seasons...Resurrection!, Pentecost - the coming of the Spirit, and common time - that's right, a lame name because we don't know what else to call it...we're just kind of waiting around for the next season to come. Some church's call it summer vacation.


The colors change for each season and are displayed in the stoles the ministers and choir wears, the banners around the sides of the church, and the linens over the altar. It may seem kind of formal or old school, but if you think about the meaning of each season when you encounter the colors, your worship can be enhanced and better informed. It's not that God really changes, but that we focus on a different aspect of our relationship to God throughout each church season. God is a real and active participant with us in our lives in the form of the Father (Advent and Lent), Son (Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter), and Holy Spirit (Pentecost)...and with us even in the "common" times...

Fellowship

It's a really funny word and it seems to get applied to everything from gray-haired ladies covered dish get-togethers to the Builder's Class Luau...and all things in between. But fellowship in the context of believers in Christ has a higher purpose. It's not that we have to have communion before we karaoke. It's not that we need to make sure we pray before every meal we have at these functions. The real meaning of fellowship is that we have a deeper relationship with each other - a responsibility towards each other - a connection that is put their by God.

We are called together to worship, to play, to share food, drink and fun. And, we need to recognize that the element that makes it all possible is God's gift of Love to us. He gives us the capacity AND the responsibility to love each other.

Sometimes, that love makes us go do things for another person when they are in need. Sometimes, that love calls us out to listen when someone needs an ear. Sometimes, it means sharing a beer and shooting the bull. And sometimes it means asking God what He is calling us to do to show His love to our brother and sister...and doing it.

Fellowship may be the one "ritual" in which it is most easy to SEE God in this world. In these acts of Love, we get a glimpse of something that is un-wordly and very Godly. It's like watching the wind by seeing how it moves the trees. In a relationship with another person, you can really FEEL the Spirit of God at work and SEE God's hand working through another.

Angels...8/3 Lesson

Ashley Kitchens brought us a very non-cliche lesson on one of Christianity's cliche images - angels. It's one of those topics that's a little weird and a little scary. Throughout Christian art (think Sistine Chapel...etc) and popular western movies and TV (Michael, Touched by an Angel, It's a Wonderful Life), angels have been depicted in one way or another. That depiction versus the Biblical references to them was the topic of our lesson on Sunday. Some are good and some are bad. But how do we know what is right?

As with most things spiritual and Christian we can use three basic tests... Is the idea/belief/action supported by God's Biblical Word? Does it fall in line with Christ's example as revealed in the Bible? Does it glorify and lift up God and not man? Think about the "angel" examples you know of...how do they stack up?

In the Bible there are accounts of "fallen" angels that are working at cross purposes to God's plans in this world. We considered their role in the chaos and confusion that exists in this world...how their messages don't bring glory to God, but strive to push us toward following our own selfish goals and desires.

There are several different roles that the good angels play in the Biblical stories...protectors, providers of provision, messengers, encourager, and many more. One of the dangers is not seeing past the "angel" to the One who they are representing...God and His Son. Does this whole "supernatural" thing kind of scare you? It does me, but then what is God and Jesus and this whole Christianity stuff, but some really BIG, OUT OF THIS WORLD idea. Jesus wasn't just some humble little teacher, and God isn't some little benign clockmaker that wound up the world one day. According to our beliefs (and according to logic...see CS Lewis Mere Christianity), we are in a world that is locked in a battle for the hearts of men. We are either working for God or against...but we are living "in enemy territory" - again CS Lewis... There are forces at work, we are a part of the battle, what we do really matters.

So thanks for a good lesson Ms Ashley Kitchens...you got us thinking a little bit about the darker and lighter side of this life...in a supernatural sense.

Ministering to Eachother

I think one of the most difficult aspects of being a Christian is ministering to someone you know. It's kind of easy to help those you have no regular contact with. You can go to a community kitchen and serve or you can give to a cause, no brainer. But what happens when it's someone that you really know and see on a regular basis. That's some hard work.

We have to pray, alot to know what to say and what to do. We have to get past the awkwardness that comes from not knowing how to approach someone. We have to get over all of that to respond to God's call to love one another, not just casually, but actively.

There are a lot of big needs right in front of us every day. Within our SS class, our church, our companies, and our neighborhoods. God has already equiped us...he's given us the Holy Spirit. Let's trust Him to be there for us and reach out and show some of His love...through us.

Go love someone today.

How to Grow Our Class

What do you think? What do we need to do to grow our class and keep everyone engaged and involved. There's no easy answers...but your positive suggestions would be welcome.

What are you missing? What can we do to fix that? How can you be a part of the solution?

Spirituality and Religiosity...What Do We Need

Spirituality vs. Religiosity. One, the other, or both. It's what we talked about in our class last week. Some say I'm not religious, I'm just spiritual. Can you have one without the other? What is Spirituality in the "Christian" sense of the word?

Most of us agreed that we need some sense of the "Spirit" (that is the HOLY Spirit) in our lives if we are to truly experience God. One of the ways to experience this Spirit is to try to commune with God. We might borrow from the eastern model of meditation and stillness. We might throw in a little bit of Jesus' example of retreating to a place by ourselves. We might even try reading a little of the Bible and letting the words just kind of play around in our minds and soak in.

The bottom line seemed to be that Spirituality is how we live out the relationship we have with God. It is getting in touch and staying in touch with the "otherness" of God...the non-human, transcendent aspects of our God.

What do you have to say???