Love Thy Neighbor is not a piece of Advice

Bono receives the NAACP Chairman's Award and gets some pulpit time. Enjoy!

Transcript is here.

How good and pleasant it is!

We were blessed to have the Ben Wall family stay with us this week. On Thursday night we had a gathering of supporters.

Reminded me of Psalm 133!

1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

A Song on My Heart

What do you do without a songleader or even your standard music material? Tonight I just asked, "Does anyone have a song to share?" And we were blessed with beautiful impromptu solos from Juanita and Roy! Juanita said the LORD had placed her song on her heart this morning, and she didn't know why, but was grateful for the chance to share it with The Gathering.
And then the blessing we received from Kelly's testimony! She confessed that she had fallen back into her drug habit recently, but was again on the way out of it and looking for a better life. I'm glad she and Victor found a way to come share with us tonight! The world is watching!

Where Are The Women?

This post by Heather Hodges has got me thinking. Here's an excerpt:
"From the time I was a child I heard the names of Sarah, Rachael, Leah, Jochebed, Miriam, Abigail, Tamar, Deborah, Jael, Rahab, Esther, Ruth, Hannah, Elizabeth, Anna, Mary, Martha, Dorcas (Tabitha), Lydia, Phoebe, Chloe, Priscilla, Junias, Lois, and Eunice. These women served in every roll imaginable in the kingdom. There was a mother of nations, a song leader, a ruler, a warrior, a hero, a determined convert, a rescuer, a faithful mom, a loyal wife, a prophetess, a hostess, a church planter, a teacher, an apostle, a philanthropist, a business woman, a devout Christian, and a woman honored above all other woman as the mother of Christ.

Throughout Scripture we read story after story of these great women who had distinct roles in the kingdom of God. Whether they were pious or not, they were used for the glory of the Lord. Unfortunately, many Christian churches today have let two culturally restrictive Scriptures (1 Co 14:34 and 1 Tim 2:12) over shadow the rich history of women in the Bible. Scholars agree that these two Scriptures were cultural directions that dealt with specific situations and are not to be directives to all churches for all times. However, many churches have applied these two restrictions to all women for all times. Other churches have softened their stance for women’s roles but have kept women in the background because of “heritage values.”

It is time for a better understanding of Scripture and a better understanding of how the Lord has used and plans to use women in his kingdom. So, where are the women in churches today? They are where they have always been. They are behind the scenes planning, coordinating, and organizing. They are in the kitchen, nursery, and classrooms. They are on their knees in prayer. They are battling the enemy head-on in their homes, at work, the community and the mission field. They are raising-up generations of faithful believers."

Good points and well written! I'm not even sure how we have a dialogue about this topic in my faith community without people feeling alarmed and threatened. We are probably in that group of churches that "have softened their stance for women’s roles but have kept women in the background because of “heritage values".” But, I'm also distressed that many believers' giftedness lies dormant due to the restrictions we're placing on them, especially when the needs of the church are so great! Yes, I know the Scriptures, but I'm no longer a "flatlander", viewing all Scripture as of equal height and weight and literal relevance to this culture, to be read in the same manner and with the same "lenses". Honestly, who can read Job and John in the same way? Or Psalms and Philemon? Or Ruth and Revelation?

My goal is not change for change's sake; my goal is honoring God and loving people as He does. I have questions; I am seeking Truth. I would love to have some healthy discussion on this, and soon.

The God of Second (and Third) Chances

Well, Carl did it again. He didn't have his rent money, again, since he went with some friends to Shreveport and drank and gambled it all away! (But at one point he was $2500 ahead! sigh....) So now he comes to The Gathering very contritely and cries and pleads for help. The father and rule-keeper in me wants to punish him and "teach him a lesson", and something does need to change, and quickly, for his own good. But then I have to wonder how this God of second chances I've been talking about looks at Carl, and me. Has he been faithful to forgive us (me) each time I've made a poor choice and then returned to him on my knees? I told The Gathering that a proper view of the nature of God allows and empowers us to live a life in the Kingdom, so, Greg, is he the "Great Rule-Keeper in the Sky" or is he the Father who loves me SO MUCH? Is my faith strong enough to allow me to forgive and sacrificially give? I don't get many opportunities like that, so I decided to give it a try this time, for "His steadfast love endures forever." The world is watching! HALLELUJAH!

Camping Inside the House

From Barbara Brown Taylor's "Leaving Church",
"I have learned to prize holy ignorance more highly than religious certainty and to seek companions who have arrived at the same place. We are a motley crew, distinguished not only by our inability to explain ourselves to those who are more certain of their beliefs than we are but in many cases by our distance from the centers of our faith communities as well. Like campers who have bonded over cook fires far from home, we remain grateful for the provisions that we have brought with us from those cupboards, but we also find them more delicious when we share them with one another under the stars.
This wilderness experience sets up a real dilemma for some of us, since we know how much we owe to the traditions that shaped us. We would not be who we are without them, and we continue to draw real sustenance from them, but insofar as those same traditions discourage us from being with one another, we cannot go home again. In one way or another, every one of us has gotten the message that God made us different that we might know one another, and that how we treat one another is the best expression of our beliefs."
Well said! As I struggle with some of those same issues, I often feel like I'm a "camper" while still in the center of my faith community! Ever raise your tent in the middle of your own room? And that is the great blessing I've found at Glenwood; my "campiness" is accepted, and even embraced, at a level that allows me some peace with the situation, even as I continually search out fellow "campers", often near the edges of the community, as they are in the process of easing into or out of the household.