Friday, April 22, 2011

It's late...

OK - its about midnight and I should probably be asleep. The reality is, whenever I have a lot going on at work, I tend to have difficulty sleeping as I tend to over analyze and get a wee bit paniced.  Anyway, all that means is I am currently awake, and had some thoughts I probably shouldn't write, but will anyway.

I dislike Marcus Borg. OK - that's not true, I don't know him. The reality is, I'm sure he is a fine person. I think he probably cares about people, etc. Where does my dislike come from? Honestly, from my perspective, he comes off as being Christian. In fact, that is how he presents himself. Ok, your right, who am I to judge who believes in Jesus and who doesn't. But that is the problem. I read some of his stuff and watched him on youtube, and from what I can tell, he is no Christian. Here I am, preparing for what I believe is the most important day of the Christian year (Easter) and Mr. Borg is telling Christians that you can be a Christian without believing in an actual resurrection (I'm pretty sure he doesn't). I'm not referring to having doubt. What Borg talks about is the idea that Christianity is not centered around the death and resurection of Jesus. Ugh. As Christians, that is where we are centered. All Christian churches, while we disagree on things such as sexuality issues, communion, baptism, etc., we come together when it comes to the Apostles Creed. Not to mention the fact that Paul thought it was a big deal.

If somebody doesn't want to believe in the resurrection, that is fine, don't. But please, oh please, be careful to willy nilly change the meaning of what the word Christian means. If Jesus wasn't divine and you want to focus soley on His teachings, fine, do so.... but come up w/ a different name for your religion.

As I was leaving church tonight, I began to walk by a lady. She said "where are you coming from?" Being the friendly guy I am, I said, "oh, it's Good Friday, and church just finished." She said "I KNOW what day it is..back in my day, all the churches had church together." Me - "yea, but it just doesn't work well anymore, so we do it seperately." Her - "Church looked really black tonight." (BTW - she wasn't there, she was just walking by on the street as we were finishing).  I said "What?" Her - "You heard me.". I kept walking.

Awesome.

Hey - but on the other hand, I am really excited about Easter, so that's good, right? When I say excited, I mean nervous, horrified, etc. Our worship band w/ a few youth, is playing at the 6:30 a.m. service. Other students are doing a drama. It should be really cool. I'm excited.

Anyway, I'll probably have to edit this post later, but I'll put it up for now. Have a great night!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Easter is coming...

Ok, as some of you may know, I am a very big Twins fan.  In fact, going in to this season, I had very high hopes.  Alas, in a week of games, they currently have 2 wins and are currently getting walloped by the Evil Empire.

Along those same lines, we are in the midst of lent, and it feels similar.  Granted, lent is supposed to be non-joyous time..you know, giving up stuff, not able to say alle...ia, etc.  For me, it usually means having to send out emails and phone calls begging people to make soup, serve soup, clean up soup, etc.  Its part of my job that I really don't look forward too.  Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy the actual time visiting and serving with students and parents.  Its a great time for me to get to know people, and I really enjoy it.  What is not enjoyable is hearing from people how busy they are and how they don't have time to help.  Its not that I don't understand, its more just a frustration.  I don't get angry at anyone, it just creates more of a hassel and I feel as though I have to beg to get people to be here.

A little bit ago, I received an email from a couple of parents informing me that both of their boys have to work tomorrow night, but they would be here to help serve soup.  Is this a big deal?  Well, yes and no.  Now, I am not a part of a country club, nor do I see myself joining one. However, what I do know is that the first men's night is sort of a big deal. Typically, it has to be something pretty important for somebody to skip it. The dad from above is part of a country club, and will be here instead, serving and cleaning up soup.  I know him, and to be honest, I know it is not a huge deal for him that he is doing this, but it is to me.

Right now, in all honesty, I am sitting here thinking that Easter is coming. In our darkness, there is hope. The dad is making more than just a statement of "I want to be helpful", but rather he is also making a statement to his sons that his church, his faith, is important enough that he will prioritize it over other things in his life.

Anyway, no, the Twins season isn't over after 6 games.  Soup suppers will finish at some point and time.  And in a few weeks, we will have a chance to celebrate the resurrection.  There is hope...