elfed

From Calvary's own Mary Alice Birdwhistell:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/dWLfSdXCzDPrz0d2OgKA



Enjoy!

a word from Ben Stein

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary. My confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened.. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu .. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. We said an expert should know what he's talking about.. And we said okay. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.' Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing yet? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein

piece on marriage in America

Interesting, and scary, piece on marriage: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/12/16/ward.sears.marriage/

The dirty truth is that the divorce rate among self-professed Christians are slightly higher than the rate for non-Christians. I'm an adult child of divorce [first time I've typed that] determined to make certain that my kids don't have to call themselves that.

Knowing that there are reasons for divorce and knowing wonderful second marriages, as believers the burden of these conversations fall upon us. We need to teach and preach and listen to those in difficult marriages and those who are no longer married. Or there will be more broken homes, children raising themselves and statistics like those on the link.

the gift of grace

From Shane Claiborne, "A Season for Mischief and Conspiracy: A New Take on Christmas Charity."

Critiquing the thick irony of the Christmas season is fair. It's ludicrous that we celebrate the birth of the homeless baby Jesus by indulging in the biggest consumer spending of the year, scurrying around trying to find something to buy for people who have everything.

Nonetheless, there is something beautiful about giving, generosity and the contagious cheer that fills the world (not just the malls) during Christmas. We just need fresh imagination with how we celebrate amid the frenzy and clutter.

So we've started a new tradition here in the post-industrial concrete jungle of North Philadelphia ... we call it the "Christmas Carol Conspiracy".

A suburban congregation wanted to do something for families in our inner city neighborhood. We were all tired of distant acts of charity that do little to address the roots of poverty in a neighborhood like mine where we have a couple hundred thousand jobs in the last 30 years. We were all suspicious of do-gooder volunteerism that can so easily give a handout while pick-pocketing people of their dignity. And yet we were also convinced that inequity breaks God's heart and should break ours, and that we have the power to do something about it. There must be a way to be more creative with giving money away than the corporations
are with getting all of it.

We prayed for imagination. And we put our minds together. Our goal was to practice generosity in a way that was so creative that even money would not corrupt the act of giving. (After all, Jesus said to be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves as we deal with the stuff of earth, like that green stuff that keeps things going but is always overstepping and trespassing on our souls.)

So the dreaming began. As we started plotting goodness, there were a few things we noted. The suburban folks had money and some of the folks in my neighborhood could use a little. The suburban congregation didn't know how best to share the money in a way that protected the recipient's dignity, and they had the humility to ask which was fantastic. Finally, we all knew that for some folks $500 would be a gift and to others it would be a curse.

Here's what we came up with. A group of us who live in the inner city pray, and then come up with a list of a dozen of our neighbors who have had a particularly difficult year -- like my friend who worked for the shelter which lost its funding and had to lay everyone off, or our neighbor whose house caught on fire, or the family around the corner whose 14 year old got pregnant this year. Then, we give that list to our suburban co-conspirators, and we let each family know to expect a little visit at a set time (though we keep the details of the visit on the down-low).

On the special night, the carolers roll through the neighborhood. They visit each home with some lovely singing, deliver a plate of baked goodies, and then they head out. They are long gone by the time the family has opened the envelope underneath the cookies -- which contains several hundred dollars and a note that says, "Know that you are loved. Merry Christmas."

Last year our little mischief-makers gave away over $10,000 to families around the city. And the cool thing is the families do not even know who they are. They don't even know the name of the congregation and may never see them again ... all they are left with is a little reminder that they are loved.

So let the Christmas Conspiracy spread.

Imagine if every neighborhood had a little conspiracy like this one, and imagine if every suburban congregation began plotting goodness with folks in poverty.

Do an anonymous act of love this season.

It was the Christ-child who said, "When you give, do it in secret ... don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." It is an invitation to mischief -- sort of like the old "ring-and-run" prank we played in high school, only better.

This mischief is holy mischief. It is a divine conspiracy. It is about reminding the world that it is loved. And that seems to be what Christmas is all about.

real world example of When Helping Hurts...

From the LA Times on December 13, 2010: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-haiti-aid-20101213,0,5340743,full.story

book review

Below you can find notes from another book on Life Groups. I'll provide some additional commentary on the book, and a flaw I see within it's model, in a later post.

Building a Church of Small Groups, Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson.

Community is bodies in a circle but, those bodies must face one another. Bodies in a circle doesn’t work if you have souls turned away.

Connect truth with life and life with truth.

Tell the last 10%--that’s the hard truth.

Manage group conflict:

1. If it happens in group, process it in group

2. Leaders is responsible for process, not outcomes

3. Validate the conflict

4. Conflict need not be resolved at the meeting

5. Process conflict with trust and confidentiality

Navigating breakdown:

1. Start soon. Don’t wait 2 weeks.

2. Meet face to face. No emails.

3. Affirm the relationship.

4. Make observations, not accusations.

5. Get the facts.

6. Promote resolution.

Leading is based on discipling—intentional shepherding. Built on 5 g’s:

1. Grace

2. Growth

3. Groups

4. Gifts

5. Good shepherdship

Leaders are not counselors. They are shepherds and work for mutual growth in group. Leaders are to gather (invite current and potential members into community); during meetings this means building intimacy; between meetings this means build friendships and seek new ones. Leaders are to develop (take each person the next step in spiritual growth); during meetings this means create a place where truth meets life; between meetings this means shepherd members and develop apprentice leaders. Leaders are to serve (complete ministry tasks); during meetings this means plan and prepare for strategic serving opportunities; between meetings this means serve personally outside the group or serve together as a group.

When working w/new leaders, emphasize: role of leader-shepherd, invite people to the group, lead a discussion, guide prayer, promote safety, build a team, cast a vision, form a covenant.

P142 gives good example of training meeting.

Advocate open groups. Allow unconnected and new people to choose between new and open groups.

notable quotable

File this under Notable-Quotable and News from the Pews:

Calvary's own Gerry Cleaver is featured in the December issue of Christianity Today. The Baylor physicist talks about String theory, and that model's latest unified theory of everything M-theory, and how this points to a creative and imaginative God. The article attempts to explain String theory but, as someone with two masters degrees who reads about quantum physics on the side, I still don't get it. However, the point of the article, and one that Gerry highlights, is that the universe(s) leave ample room for God and a God that is interesting (as opposed to a deity/watchmaker).



The December issue of Christianity Today is in the Welcome Center for your perusal.

advent devotions

A dear member put me onto to daily advent devotions. D365 is a website that provides a short online devotion each day. They are covering Advent, of course.

While I'm not too keen on the background music (they do have a silence button right on the browser), their material does have depth and clarity.

The website for the Advent devotions is www.d365.org/followingthestar