Offended Church People

This is funny and it isn't. Mosaic is a very cool church and I suspect the people involved in this were immature believers doing what they thought was best.

Enjoy the excerpts here or read the whole article.

[Editor’s note: Author Craig Gross is cofounder of XXXChurch.com, a website created to make people aware of all the issues about porn and provide Christians with accountability and hope. The organization has recently completely covered a Toyota Scion xB in a graphic containing their website and slogan: “Porn site for the entire family.” They affectionately refer to this car as the “porn mobile.”]

...

I stayed behind, and she headed to the porn mobile. When she arrived, she found three people surrounding the vehicle and a note on the car. The note read: “You are more than welcome to come back to this church, but please do not park the car here or bring the car at all.” She tried to enter the car and was harassed by one of the three people. He kept telling her that XXX is a dirty word and should be taken out of the slogan. She kept telling him that it was a good thing and that the website targeted people struggling with pornographic issues. He kept mumbling and wouldn’t leave. So, she got into the car and proceeded to feed our son.

...

I wrapped up my discussion and headed to the car to meet my wife, unaware of all that had gone on. My wife was visibly upset and got more upset when I started laughing at the stupidity of the whole situation.

As I walked toward the car, the parking attendant informed me that the police were on their way, and we should take the car and leave.

“This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard,” I said to him. “Why am I going to leave and try to escape?” We stuck around for a few minutes, and sure enough, the police car entered the parking lot. I started taking pictures of the whole scene and was hoping he was going to try to handcuff the vehicle.

...

Why Good People Quit Seminary

Not as bad as it sounds, but I thought Lance might be interested. Off-the-map

Gracious Living

Here is a blog that might be an interesting read. It says it is written by Elaine Ness, Life Coach. Life would be great with a coach.

This subsection on handwriting analysis will probably be interesting to my wife.

Friday Five

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year? Transitioning to Mr Mom.

2. What was your biggest disappointment? Having to cut salaries at The Crossover.

3. What do you hope the new year brings? Joy, clarity, fruit.

4. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? If yes, what will they be? Be more humble. Try to go with God's flow more rather trying to create flow. Work harder in the areas where God is flowing.

5. What are your plans for New Year's Eve? Go to Josh and Shawna's house. Probably do a live blogging broadcast.

True Reflections

By Dave Matthews Band

When you look into a mirror
Do you like what's looking at you?
Now that you've seen your true reflections
What on earth are you gonna do?

Find some inspiration
It's down deep inside you
Amend your situation, yeah
Your whole life is ahead of you
Your whole life is ahead of you

Remember the time you hung out with the boys, now
Remember the things you used to say
I thought by now you'd be the president
But after all that was yesterday
But you've had time to go out in the world now
But you chose to run away
Well, people ask you what you're doing now
You don't even know what to say

Find some inspiration
It's down deep inside you
Amend your situation, yeah
Your whole life is ahead of you
Your whole life is ahead of you

Find some inspiration (yeah)
It's down deep inside you
Amend your situation, yeah
Your whole life is ahead of you
Your whole life is ahead of you

You think your life is like a movie
Where it all works out in the end
I think your life is like a desert
Where does it go, where does it begin?
When you look into a mirror
(When you look into a mirror)
Do you like what's looking at you?
(Do you like it?)
Now that you've seen your true reflection
What on earth are you gonna do?

Find some inspiration
It's down deep inside you
Amend your situation, yeah
Your whole life is ahead of you
Your whole life is ahead of you

Find some inspiration (yeah)
It's down deep inside you
Amend your situation, yeah
Your whole life is ahead of you
Your whole life is ahead of you

Find some inspiration
It's down deep inside you
Find some inspiration
It's down deep inside you
Find some inspiration (inspiration)
It's down deep inside you
Find some inspiration (inspiration)
It's down deep inside you
Find some inspiration
It's down deep inside you
Find some inspiration...
It's down deep inside of you.

What is the Emerging Church

The question started this morning via Cooper at PoMoMuSiNgS questioning whether Mars Hill is an Emerging Church.

Creech had some good stuff:

The question for me and for many church planters - people who have jumped out of the boat to find another island - are doing is trying to get to the heart of the matter - what IS the church? Why is it here? All the answers we have EVER been given are on the chopping block - they won't do simply because they are there. So, we lay them all down and we pick them up one by one and ask, "why is this here?" - "is this legitimate?" - "does this harm or help?" - and the big one - "does this or that help to effectively form me and those whom I am bound together with into the image of Jesus Christ?" The answer to this question is what causes me to "be the church" how I be it. The question, you understand me, is NOT, "does this or that effectively communicate the gospel to the postmodern generation around me?" If that were the question, I would not be asking deeply enough. I would be asking within my former framework of thinking. I would still be wondering how best to get people to come to church and how to make that church service relevant to them when they do come.

and

But don't just look to find things that seem cool and copy them! Jump off the cliff and hit the freakin' rocks below and die a bloody death to everything before! Do it now!!! If you do not, you will never ever know if any of it is good and healthy and formational or not. You will not know because you will have stayed in the land of assumptions. So, you may come back alive from that death and realize, for instance, that liturgy IS good and DOES help to form people effectively into the image of Christ - and then you will do it because of that and not because you never questioned it and you assumed it was just good. And you will not do it because you were desperate to reach the young people and you found out they like that cool, mystical crap and so you cranked up some candles and incense and did it, and they came, and declared, "it is cool."

Merry Christmas!

Christmas was much better than I expected, mainly due to my wife, who made it so.

She was very sneaky about giving me an MP3 player. I love it! I'm listening to Dave Matthews Band right now. I downloaded some Brian McLaren sermons for later. This might just get me walking again. Danelle also got me some much needed clothes. Very nice.

I bought Danelle season tickets to the Little Theatre on the Square. Not so much a surprise, since I just renewed last years tickets. I also got her a JC Penney gift card. She has lost some weight and is dying for new clothes, but I wouldn't want to pick them out. The newest Jan Karon Mitford book and a teacher desk calendar rounded out her loot from me.

The kids, again due to Danelle, all did pretty well. Danelle's self-sacrifice reminds me more of Christ than anything but Jesus himself in my life.

This post makes it sound like I think Christmas is about stuff. I know it isn't. What Christmas is about even more than stuff to most people is about expectations. Did my gifts and my family live up to my expectations? The answer is usually doubtful.

Jesus was about humbleness and graciousness and Christmas seems to demand the opposite in so many situations. But Danelle rescued me out of it with her humbleness and her graciousness. I may be the luckiest man in the world.