"Saturday" Means Recap and Stream of Consciousness

Okay, since I seem to be getting a consistent group of people reading this everyday. (yes, believe it or not, I track that sort of thing...Hello, visitor!) I decided to give you a brief summation of the last few weeks of my life. Saturdays are normally a chance to sit back and watch the minions work. I usually catch up on reports and emails and extra-curricular activities. This falls under the obvious latter category. I started classes a couple weeks ago. I am working towards a B.S. in Business Administration. This degree has eluded me for way too long and honestly my work experience should have counted towards 3/4ths the degree already. In the long run, I will start my MBA as soon as I finish the Bachelors. This process will consume the next 3-4 years of my life, but I have never been more primed to make it happen. This probably has to do with the new motivation of being married. Funny how that works. Church has been immensely stimulating. Our summer series on God's Attributes has been wonderful. I am taking notes constantly through out the sermon. I've never in my life had the blessing of TWO amazing preachers. The Gospel is so alive. Every church has its strengths and weaknesses, that's for sure, and I don't want to make a point to call out places of worship that I've previously attended; However, there is something to be said about strong leadership with a strong, forward-looking vision. And this is a separate rant really, but there are certain things that Mega Churches can accomplish that small churches cannot. Bemoaning the Bill Hybels of the world really seems counterproductive in the Kingdom. Should everyone get a free pass? no, certainly not. Intelligent, critical assessment of places of worship are extremely necessary as they are important.

5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

My favorite part of this Matthew 7 scripture is so often missed because people focus on the defense of the first half. "and THEN you will see clearly" in other words, once you yourself have overcome the thing causing your brother to stumble, HELP YOUR BROTHER!. I'm not exactly sure how I piece those two thoughts together, other than that God is quite possibly disappointed by the way we choose to worship Him. He's probably disappointed in a lot of things about us. The SUVs that destroy our environment, the sweat shop factory clothing that we wear, the destructive, sin trap that is the Internet, and so on and so on. The point is: We're all carbon producing, resource consuming, ego maniacs that focus on ourselves FAR before other people in the end. This isn't a call to arms against our behavior, that kind of Hope is only possible through Christ, it's just an honest assessment. We're all a lot more mediocre than we'd like to admit... (unless you're This Guy). But whatever, that's not really the point. I just want people to stop caring about Big Church, Little Church, Contemporary Worship, and Traditional Music. These things matter, but they are not the end game in the Kingdom. I know some really God Centered people in Texas that do community/church in unique and awesome ways and I know people that are quite happy with the flexibility, reach, and creative license that comes with their "mega" church. It's ALL good as long as people see that church is PARTICIPATORY. "Church isn't a building, it is a community of change" (John Kinyon). As we are called to Christ, we are called to the Ecclesia, and we are called to change/to be transformed/renewed. Anyway, that was a digression of epic proportions. Work has been much more exciting as of late. I say "exciting" because "tolerable" makes it sound like I'm simply "getting through" it all. That's not the case at all. I really do like trying to be the best I can be and working towards becoming a better skilled worker. Really, this is all training for something else down the road. That's meant to extremely broad. And lastly, the marriage...Things are great. Communication is always the key. The cure all: Scrubs Well, that's "all" for now.... Enjoy: