Monday, September 25, 2006

Mudhouse Sabbath

So tomorrow I'm in a book group to discuss Lauren Winner's book "Mudhouse Sabbath," and I'm just starting the book now (borrowing it from Laura). :) Here are some quotes I found interesting:

"In churches and homes everywhere people are increasingly interested in doing Christianity, not just speaking or believing it." (xi)

"Practicing the spiritual disciplines does not make us Christians. Instead, the practicing teaches us what it means to live as Christians." (xii) {idea that practice makes perfect? hmm...helps us to love God more, to love others more?}

"What this all boils down to (and boiling is another thing you cannot do on Shabbat) is do not create....Do not create anything at all, for one of the things the Sabbath reprises is God's rest after He finished creating." (6)

"The Hebrew word for holy means, literally, "set apart." " (9)

"Rest for the sake of future productivity is at odds with the spirit of Shabbat...In observing the Sabbath, one is both giving a gift to God and imitating Him." (11)

"To keep kosher is to infuse the simple act of feeding oneself with meaning and consequence." (17)

"The voice is talking not just about food, but also about people; the instructions are not simply to eat, but also to invite both Jews and Gentiles into the Kingdom of God." [Acts 10] (20)

"This God who is interested in how we speak, how we handle our money, how we carry our bodies--He is also interested in how we live with food." (21)

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

magazine quotes

I suspect few of us face hurdles to "quiet time" anywhere near the ones she overcame. Yet we often give up when challenged by far less. And we suffer spiritual anemia when we don't figure out a way or a time slot to make it happen. (on boundless.org)

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been examining my faith—what I believe and why I believe it. That process has produced a wide range of emotion and revelation. Having grown up under the tutelage and influence of Americanized, western religious culture, I discovered that much of what I believed fit quite nicely into my preference for order and organization. In fact, what I really discovered in my beliefs about God and how He fit into my life could be packaged quite neatly into parameters and institutional definitions learned within the context of what we call “religion.” I could place it all in a box marked “God Stuff,” and set it on a shelf, right where it belongs next to the rest of my organized life. (relevantmagazine.com, An Unrestricted Jesus)

When I looked at Jesus, He seemed more concerned with feeding the hungry. ....Jesus said sell everything you have and give your money to the poor. ...I discovered that Jesus was more interested in defending the weak and marginalized. I could go on, because my box was quite full. As I unpacked the box, and stacked its contents up against the Jesus I rediscovered in scripture, I soon realized that God no longer fit in that box. He was so much more than, and nothing like, the religious ideology I had packaged Him with. And I discovered that I have so much more to learn, un-learn and re-learn about my faith. (An Unrestricted Jesus)

Elizabeth's encounter with Zsófi reminds us that evangelism is not a science. There are numerous methods that can help get us started, but no single method "works" in every situation. On the contrary, the very nature of telling the message of Jesus Christ to people requires sensitivity, discernment, and variation in style. (Taking Love Next Door, boundless.org)

This passage has oft been quoted as the missions passage that calls us to evangelize the world. But Jesus isn't interested in us just preaching the gospel; He commands us to "make disciples of all nations." Our evangelistic task is never finished when someone prays a prayer or walks an aisle. Jesus charges us not only to introduce people to His grace, but to help them grow in Christ. (Taking Love Next Door)

Evangelism is all about love — loving a person enough to share the message of Jesus Christ with him and loving him enough to teach him the commands of Jesus, the truths of Scripture, the walk of faith. Loving him enough to disciple him. It is the responsibility of the Church by the Spirit to guide people from pre-Christian life toward maturity in Christ, but it is our individual responsibility to make sure we connect people to the church and to God's truth. (Taking Love Next Door)

Friday, September 15, 2006

"open your eyes and take a good look"

Isn't it a bit unnerving/crazy/weird when you begin to see how things keep coming up, and you see the possibility of what your life could be that you NEVER would've come up with on your own? Interesting things are going on, that I think God may be prodding me in a certain direction, and I can look back and see how events/people in my life have brought me to this point.

Sept/Oct 06 issue of Relevant:
"Are you going to seek God, trust that He has a plan (even if it's one you didn't know about), and follow Him? Or are you going to keep your head down and try to keep life how it is, completely missing something He might've been trying to talk to you about?" (14)

"Learn what it means to love broken people. Don't turn away from the things you don't understand....Don Miller writes in Blue Like Jazz that "something was broken in the world and we were supposed to hold our palms against the wound." That's it. We're called to stop the bleeding. We're called to change the world." (28, twloha.com)

23-24 "It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

34-35 Jesus said, "The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I'm telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It's harvest time!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

a crash course in youth ministry

This weekend I went to Maine for a kickoff quiz retreat with the Wollaston quiz team. To describe the weekend in a nutshell, I think I'd have to call it "a crash course in youth ministry."

First off, I was immediately thrown into my role as "district liasion" or whatever you want to call it. Prof had me start collecting registration money, and I had to also figure out who had already given me money. Next time around, I'm making a checklist.

When we stopped for dinner at Wendy's, we discovered that Pudge (the van) had an issue with a radiator hose. Post-dinner we practiced In Christ Alone and Prince of Peace out in the parking lot, trying to get the notes the best we could, trying to organize the parts the best way. We ended up staying there for quite a while as Prof made calls to decide on the best course of action. Mostly I helped maintain order, and as well bonded with the quizzers so that I was no longer, "Who are you again?" We did some crazy stuff, like dancing to Switchfoot, singing random camp-type songs, and going in out of Wendy's a lot. This kid Drew hung out with us while his dad tried to help us out. Sweetness. The quizzers connected with him and let him join in on the fun. That was really cool.

We did make it to Maine, thanks to a Nashua van. Speaking of Nashua, I need to go find a thankyou card. We got to bed pretty late, almost 1:30, and then got about 5ish hours of sleep.

During the day, I "scorekept" (kept tally is what I figured was best for their King of the Hill type quizzing) in one room. At lunch Lori recruited me to quizmaster in a different area. Though I wasn't too sure about doing it, I went ahead, and was able to trade off a few times and get a break. I thought at times I was being too strict with my calls on the answers, but Prof said I was doing fine. I added little study/quiz tips here and there, like making up your own questions in your head. This one kid from "Skow" (Skowhegan?) said that actually helped him move up a room. Wow. Quizmastering wasn't as bad as I'd thought, because I was doing what seemed to be a mid-JV level. I was also really tired. :)

Part of the afternoon I was with the quizzers studying, as they waited for the other team. One was getting antsy, so I kept trying to give him new ways of studying. I also had one quizzer mention "Akel-damia" (like macadamia) instead of Akeldama, as well as say that the men that appeared to the apostles were "two white men" and not "two men dressed in white."

Worship was really good, and I was thinking during the day about this: I was absolutely exhausted but yet God was still using me, and keeping me going.

Last night in one of our Wolly girls' rooms, a few of us stayed up late talking about anything and everything. Mostly dating, God's beginning, mysteries that we can only come up with more questions for, the da Vinci Code, and reaching out. Amazing.

After breakfast, we headed out to the Brunswick church: a very small congregation with about 40 people (yes I counted as we sang). Prof had us mingling with the congregation, and the people I met included the father of a pastor in Delaware, as well as the uncle of a girl from Second Willy last year. At lunch I sat with this elderly couple. Dick was so funny. I said something about pepperoni, and he called it snakemeat, saying rattlesnakes were around. Jennie was like, "Really!?"

On our way home, we stopped in Freeport at the LLBean place. That was pretty cool, and I returned my backpack (with a broken zipper) and got a giftcard to order another online. Now I'm back at ENC, hopefully going to bed in a little bit since I'm so exhausted.

So would you youth-ministry types say I got a good glimpse into what it is like being involved in youth ministry?

Monday, September 04, 2006

gutsy faith part 1

This summer, I got Gutsy Faith by Jeff Edmonson for free in exchange for a book review. Finally I am getting around to it, using it as my devotional book. I don't know that I've really worked through a book completely--I usually have had the topical teen devotionals, and just skipped around.

Chapter 1 (introduction of sorts): I think I'm going to like the format of the chapters, with stuff to reflect on both in the beginning and at the end. I'm looking forward to being challenged, and growing closer to God this semester.

I think some of the questions at the end of chapter 1 should be rearranged. Maybe to this:
What does it mean to you to have a gutsy faith?
Name at least five people in the course of your life whom you see as having a gutsy faith.
Do you think of yourself as a person with a gutsy faith? Why or why not?
What characteristics do these people possess that you would like to see developed in your life?

I'm not sure about the last 3 questions, the ones on page 15: They seem a bit ...out of place perhaps? I'm not sure if "If not, why do you want to develop those characterstics in your life?" applies to the people question or the self question. In other words, they just seem nonlinear to me.