Fuzzy Thinking

Does life really take Visa??

I’m still trying to figure out what the new Visa commercial says about the times and culture we live in….

Well, I said I would drive my 1992 Geo Prizm until it stopped…and it did. Too bad I was about an hour from home. Also, too bad my wife was with me (so she couldn’t come and pick me up).

While driving the transmission went completely out. So, we were there on the side of the road. Good thing I knew one of the local UMC pastors. He pointed me to a good towing service, who then pointed me to a good repair shop.

I don’t have my car right now. We decided to get it fixed. It was more than I want to pay on a car with 165,000 miles, but it was cheaper than I expected. Now, I guess we get to start the process of looking for a different car so we can replace the Prizm.

So, I am a bit stressed trying to keep up with everything at church, the Katrina Relocation Plan (although Jeff is doing basically _all_ the work now), and trying to find a new car.

Although I have found a cool Volvo, I think because of family issues, we will end up with some type of 1999-2001 Ford Taurus Wagon.

That’s where I am…and why I haven’t written much here.

p.s. Make sure to check out The Katrina Relocation Plan and find some way to implement it (or some type of plan) in your community. This is something that everyone should be involved in because it really does effect all of us.

Perhaps this should be subtitled as “for those who care…”

I find that since I only have dialup at home, I get behind the technology curve quite easily. That is certainly true of podcasting. Even though I’ve figured out how to capture shows such as Prairie Home Companion with Total Recorder podcasting is a bit easier because the feeds are easy to find through iTunes or other podcasting directories.

However, trying to download 6 - 13 meg files over dialup is a real pain. So, for others who are trying to do the same thing, here is my solution.

I use Omea Reader 2.0 (currently beta) to keep current with the podcast feed. Once I find the feed, I can choose to download the enclosure. Since I only have one phone line in which to download files, I use a download manager called Free Download Manager (it’s free!) to queue the download and then set FDM (Free download manager) to download the file later at night when the phone probably won’t be used.

If everything works well, then I’ll have some new podcasts to move to my Tunsten Palm to listen to on the road or other places.

I realize this has nothing to do with Christianity, but many of the podcasts do. Alan Hartung is one who has a podcast on emerging church issues.

There it is….if you are on dialup, I wish you luck. If you are on broadband, I guess this is a document on why you don’t want to go back

I mentioned in my last post (the one I did from my Palm Pilot) that I have been quite busy. Too busy in many respects. The summer brings with it camps to lead, weddings to perform, funerals to lead, kids to be played with, family to vacation, VBSs to organize and a host of other responsibilities. Since no one is telling, or asking, me to blog, my blog doesn’t get very high priority. I’ve even had difficulty keeping up with the blogs I read!

Well, in respect of full disclosure, I probably have had some time I could post to this blog, but I’ve been spending time with my Father’s Day present…which was the new NewsRadio DVD. I loved the show, now I can watch the first and second seasons on DVD.

I’ve also been doing reflection and thinking about church and all. It is beginning to be a pain to be quite honest. After all, I’m part of a denomination who is trying to survive. Numbers are very important to us. So, after 6 1/2 years of being out of pastoral ministry I’ve been placed in a church that is declining. Over the past 2 years we have had over 20 people from our congregation either move to other cities or die. That is over 15% of our congregation that isn’t here any more. To make it worse, a few of these folks were very generous in their giving. So, the issue I’m facing is a declining congregation with shrinking resources.

It could be worse though. Over the past 2 years we have also seen an increase in giving, but it isn’t enough to keep up with the increase in costs.

Of course I would love to see the church grow. But, here, I’m seeing what happens when an organization is looking toward survival issues. The questions surround, how can we make our church grow. Now, I’m all for growth, but deep within I wonder if that is the goal we should be working toward. I’m not convinced that Jesus’ goal was for the church to grow. I believe, rather, His goal had to do with the Kingdom of God. Yes, I know about the great commission. Yet, getting people into a church and through some type of ‘program’ isn’t what I would consider discipleship.

The first disciples were literally world changers. They were not content to sit in a church, join in a few programs, and go home and watch DVDs of NewsRadio. What I yearn for is the same Spirit that empowered those first disciples. What I yearn for is a church whose “motto” isn’t “Come Grow With Us” but rather “Come Help Us Change the World.” I’m hoping and praying that in the midst of us trying to survive (the church I serve and also the denomination I’m in) we will begin looking not at the numbers, but at the purpose for which God has called us into existence. For if we are not about our purpose, what is the point of existence?

A (re)blog post got me thinking…I’m realizing that my understanding of scripture is determined by the context of my life. How then, can I have a ‘fresh’ or ‘new’ reading of Scripture which is more in line with the original understanding of the text. In other words, how can I break free of my “rich, dominant, white, male American” context and be transformed by a truer reading of the text.

[the (re)blog]

The Church Why Bother? - Christianity Today Magazine
Saturday January 08th 2005, 3:30 pm Edit This
Filed under: Church

The Church Why Bother? - Christianity Today Magazine

A pretty good read and it reminds me of the fact that there is more going on with the church than what I believe. I get so concerned with all the ‘trappings’ of the organization when in reality there is something more important. My growth in Christ. God wants me to be mature in my faith and for this to happen I need to be with people whether I like it or not. It is as I interact with people, the good and the bad of people, that I become more Christlike.

Postmodernism and me
Friday October 08th 2004, 11:19 am Edit This
Filed under: General, Church

Reading some books on postmodernism, the church and such issues. I have to wonder where I fit into all this. Some of the leanings of postmodernism I have. However, there is still much that I’m not comfortable with yet.

Dave Tomlisin in his book “The Post-Evangelical” lists many things that resonate within me. Yet, there were some things in the book that I cringed at. Perhaps it is the nature of postmodernism, the now and not yet.

I realize that culture is changing, and I am, for better or worse, a product of my culture. Yet, I want my culture to be changed and transformed by Jesus.

I guess the one thing that I’m rejecting from the more ‘traditional’ church or the ‘traditional way of doing church’ is that there doesn’t always seem to be a focus upon Jesus and his call on our lives. It seems like church (or christianity for that matter) becomes more of a business and that is how we end up structuring things.

At times I wonder if I’ll make it though all the cultural shifts and changes…

Africa Challenge
Monday October 04th 2004, 11:05 am Edit This
Filed under: Church

Well, if you want to be challenged, here’s a link to go to It is from SansBlogue and has a quote from Bono (U2 fame) dealing with how the west has basically forgotten (or chooses not to acknowledge) the issues in Africa.

I’m not really current on the issues, but I do know one of our conference missionaries has also said that he feels the west has given up on Africa.

Free Culture and the Church
Friday October 01st 2004, 11:54 pm Edit This
Filed under: General, Church

Just posted on UMSource a bit about Leonard Sweet’s new book. I was lamenting the fact that we in the church have not picked up on the the Free Culture movement. I didn’t say too much on UMSource, but since no one has found this site yet, I thought I’d post a bit more.

I understand the need for someone to make a living, but it seems like those of us in the church are doing quite well for ourselves. We talk a good game about doing things for God, yet, we have no problem in getting compensated for those things that we credit to God. For example: A pastor may say God inspired him/her or God led her/him to a certain idea, sermon, program, etc. Yet, no one has a problem with that same person marketing that idea/sermon/program and making a lot of money.

Now, I’m not against making a lot of money. The problem is by not participating in a ‘free culture’ or allowing ‘free access’ there are barriers to creativity and extension of ideas. By copyrighting that which we believe God ahs given us, the ability for someone to build upon the thing copyrighted is limited.

My hope is that in the church there would be a free culture movement. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if those who are considered “top notch” move outside the mainstream and risk profit and future to allow God to use their work to enhance others (churches included).

Well, it is late and I’ve rambled a bit, but hopefully someone will be able to build upon these ideas.

Dave.

Sims 2
Thursday September 23rd 2004, 10:31 pm Edit This
Filed under: Computing

One of the Youth Group kids told me they just got the Sims 2. Man. I’m still on Sims 1. I don’t play it very much because I tend to loose track of time. Perhaps at times that is a good thing. I can fall into a ‘driven’ state and Sims might be a good deversion. However, I have trouble limiting my time on the Sims. Plus, I’m always thinking of other more important things I could be doing.

I guess the trick is to somehow get my kids involved That way, playing the Sims could also be spending time with my kids. Or, better yet, perhaps I could pretend I’m a Sim and instead of play the game I’d live my life

Simple Simplicity
Thursday September 23rd 2004, 10:25 pm Edit This
Filed under: General, Church

Just some ramblings ruminating around my mind. I’ve read various books about the church and how to “do” it so it is “successful.” There are people (and some churches) that are making quite a bit of money trying to convince me (and to some extent my church) that if we attend their conference or purchase their material, we too can have ’success.’

What if we are making church just too complex? Is it possible that we believe the complexity of how to “do” church gives us a sense of importance?

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