"Let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens...lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.." Long before the judgement of dispersion fell upon them, men already had a premonition, dim fear that they might break apart and that their languages might be confused. They sensed the hidden presence of centrifugal, dispersive force.
"This arises from the fact that they have suffered something that might be called the 'loss of center' and that now they have banished God from their midst they no longer have anything that binds them to each other. Always the trend is the same: wherever God has been deposed, some substitute point has to be created to bind men together in some fashion or other...
"All of these are substitute ties, conclusive attempt to replace the lost center with a synthetic center. But this attempt --- is doomed to failure ...
"... In other words, if man is no longer subject to God, then he is under the domination of his instincts, his opportunism, his ambition, his will to power. The day may come when he will stick to nothing if it seems opportune to him. For every one of us has some kind of lord, we are driven to something - if not God, then an idol, if not from above, then from below. That's why I (Thielicke) am afraid of a man who has no ties and am on my guard against him.
"I believe that Hitler was just such an unbound, authority-less person and that we can apply to him (Hilter) Jacob Burckhardt once said of Napoleon, that he was the personification of absence of guaranty. For him (Napoleon) there were no binding ties, humanitarian, legal, or religious The very moment he signed a treaty he was prepared to break it, if this served his interest. For Napoleon thought only of interest and not of any tie of loyalty. of any obligation or authoritative court of appeal."
"All of these are substitute ties, conclusive attempts to replace the lost center with a synthetic center."
How much of our political energy, international relations, our political party pandering, egocentric maneuvering is due to the loss of our subjection to God and thereby placing us on the domination of our instincts etc.
Hitler, Napoleon, Stalin, you name them, even some of the current people who live out opportunism, will to power, ambition, instincts ---- no ties, no loyalty except to their political philosophies and party line!
.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Two Beautiful Ladies
In the past 2 weeks I've attended services for two beautiful Ladies - Josie Babcock and Kay Velker.
Josie the wife of Bryce and the mother of Matt and Mike - grandmother of 3 year old , one of the absolute joys of her life.
Mike and his wife are missionaries in Romania.
Matt and Sharon live in the Seattle area where Matt is now an artist working with iron - gave up that architeck stuff.
At the funeral service Mike, Matt and Sharon wonderfully spoke about Josie. Sharon, the daughter-in-law, opened the door into Josie's heart. Sharon found freedom in being with and around Josie. The freedom to really call her Mom - not out of duty, but for the joy of Mom!
Mike hugged his dad all through the service - only later did I realize the hugs were as much for his own sake as for his dad. The lose of Mom hits everyone so differently!
During the reception I saw a young lady standing off to the side so Wilma and I with Patty G. engaged her in conversation. This conversation also gave us a glimpse of Josie's heart. Having been diagnosed with cancer the young woman (I'll call her Ruth) contacted Josie and they developed a friendship out of their mutual struggle with cancer - they never had the chance to meet. This professor at the University of Michigan, born in Germany, lives just around the corner from Westminster Presbyterian Church so she came to the service in order to honor her friend whom she only knew via telephone or email..
Josie touched many lives at Westminster, and at the University Reformed Church, where we met Josie and Bryce probably 40 years ago. At the URC they influenced our kids and those of many other families.
Kay Velker - her memorial service was yesterday st the Church of The Living God in Traverse City, Michigan.
Kay was the daughter of Henry Velker a member of the Thursday morning group in Ann Arbor for at least 40 years starting in the early 1960s. On occasion Henry would bring Kay to sit in on.group, and then Henry brought his son Lou to the group and now Lou is the most faithful of all of us. Last Thursday Lou shared about Kay's death.
Henry and Anne - Glen, Kay, Marie and Lou - the Velker family an Ann Arbor legacy which is still growing. Let me share a little of what Kay's sister Marie ( Ree) wrote, "How do I begin to share a 68 year relaltionship with my sister, Kay? AMAZING! she was on the pedestal from the get go. We always called ourselves 'the meat', our two brothers were just the bread on the outside! We shared a bedroom when growing up and never argued, which was unusual in most normal families. When she was in college, I loved talking with her boyfriends on the phone (I was in H.S.).
"Our relationship got even better when she sent me the book The Cross and The Switchblade by David Wilkerson and shared her experience accepting Christ as her Savior. She wanted me to be a 'sister' in all ways and to do the same. If it was good enough for Kay, it was good enough for me! She loved me into eternity."
Hearing about and watching Kay over the year reminded me of another lady who never married, in the conventional sense, Mother Teresa. Both of these ladies were "married" to Jesus Christ and lived their devotion to him by serving others. Mother Teresa started in Calcutta and went around the world. Kay started in Cincinnati and served for the rest of life in Traverse City with trips to serve at several places around the world including two tours on Mercy Ships as a volunteer.
In a book titled -Mother Teresa - Her people and Her Work - Desmond Doig quoted Mother Teresa, "The vows we take make our religious life. Our vow of Chastity is nothing but our undivided love for Christ in chastity, then we proceed to the freedom of poverty - poverty is nothing but freedom. And that total surrender is obedience. If I belong to God, if I belong to Christ, then He must be able to use me. That is obedience. Then we give whole-hearted service to the poor. The is service. They complete each other. That is our life."
Two Beautiful Ladies both of whom, in their own unique ways, lived and walked as did Mother Teresa.
Mercy Ships
P.O. Box1930
Garden Valley, TX. 75771
This was Kay's request for any memorial contributions
Josie the wife of Bryce and the mother of Matt and Mike - grandmother of 3 year old , one of the absolute joys of her life.
Mike and his wife are missionaries in Romania.
Matt and Sharon live in the Seattle area where Matt is now an artist working with iron - gave up that architeck stuff.
At the funeral service Mike, Matt and Sharon wonderfully spoke about Josie. Sharon, the daughter-in-law, opened the door into Josie's heart. Sharon found freedom in being with and around Josie. The freedom to really call her Mom - not out of duty, but for the joy of Mom!
Mike hugged his dad all through the service - only later did I realize the hugs were as much for his own sake as for his dad. The lose of Mom hits everyone so differently!
During the reception I saw a young lady standing off to the side so Wilma and I with Patty G. engaged her in conversation. This conversation also gave us a glimpse of Josie's heart. Having been diagnosed with cancer the young woman (I'll call her Ruth) contacted Josie and they developed a friendship out of their mutual struggle with cancer - they never had the chance to meet. This professor at the University of Michigan, born in Germany, lives just around the corner from Westminster Presbyterian Church so she came to the service in order to honor her friend whom she only knew via telephone or email..
Josie touched many lives at Westminster, and at the University Reformed Church, where we met Josie and Bryce probably 40 years ago. At the URC they influenced our kids and those of many other families.
Kay Velker - her memorial service was yesterday st the Church of The Living God in Traverse City, Michigan.
Kay was the daughter of Henry Velker a member of the Thursday morning group in Ann Arbor for at least 40 years starting in the early 1960s. On occasion Henry would bring Kay to sit in on.group, and then Henry brought his son Lou to the group and now Lou is the most faithful of all of us. Last Thursday Lou shared about Kay's death.
Henry and Anne - Glen, Kay, Marie and Lou - the Velker family an Ann Arbor legacy which is still growing. Let me share a little of what Kay's sister Marie ( Ree) wrote, "How do I begin to share a 68 year relaltionship with my sister, Kay? AMAZING! she was on the pedestal from the get go. We always called ourselves 'the meat', our two brothers were just the bread on the outside! We shared a bedroom when growing up and never argued, which was unusual in most normal families. When she was in college, I loved talking with her boyfriends on the phone (I was in H.S.).
"Our relationship got even better when she sent me the book The Cross and The Switchblade by David Wilkerson and shared her experience accepting Christ as her Savior. She wanted me to be a 'sister' in all ways and to do the same. If it was good enough for Kay, it was good enough for me! She loved me into eternity."
Hearing about and watching Kay over the year reminded me of another lady who never married, in the conventional sense, Mother Teresa. Both of these ladies were "married" to Jesus Christ and lived their devotion to him by serving others. Mother Teresa started in Calcutta and went around the world. Kay started in Cincinnati and served for the rest of life in Traverse City with trips to serve at several places around the world including two tours on Mercy Ships as a volunteer.
In a book titled -Mother Teresa - Her people and Her Work - Desmond Doig quoted Mother Teresa, "The vows we take make our religious life. Our vow of Chastity is nothing but our undivided love for Christ in chastity, then we proceed to the freedom of poverty - poverty is nothing but freedom. And that total surrender is obedience. If I belong to God, if I belong to Christ, then He must be able to use me. That is obedience. Then we give whole-hearted service to the poor. The is service. They complete each other. That is our life."
Two Beautiful Ladies both of whom, in their own unique ways, lived and walked as did Mother Teresa.
Mercy Ships
P.O. Box1930
Garden Valley, TX. 75771
This was Kay's request for any memorial contributions
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Words of encouragement
Old African proverb: "Asking is not stealing!" from Marv Bowers - Colorado Springs. Missionary pilot in Africa for many years.
Old Chinese (?) proverb: "When the student is ready, a teacher will come!" from some friends in China
New Bullard proverb: "A word of encouragement may open a 'stuck' door!" from having a blogging door opened by a word and act of encouragement. Now to learn how to close a door and let some thoughts germinate before sending them into the world.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
First Chapters in the Bible
HOW THE WORLD BEGAN by Helmut Thielicke, (1908 - 1986). Pastor and teacher in Hamburg, Germany during World War II This book has brought me to a better understanding of myself, and everyone I know, and the and whole of the human race. Even the evening news is no longer a mystery! The book is subtitled "Man in the first chapters of the Bible".
My hope is that I will be able capture, in context, short passages of the book which might challenge and provide insights into why Jesus of Nazareth is still so very important in our personal lives and the affairs of the whole human race.
Chapter 3..."The Light of the World"
And God said, "Let there be light", and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness God called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Genesis 1:3-
"Many of us, surely, remember the passage of Joseph Haydn's oratorio, 'The Creation,' where the words occur. 'And there was light.' The first three words are sung moderately, but at the word 'light' the orchestra and the choir burst forth in extreme fortissimo, in a wild transport of ecstasy. It is as if the suns and the lights of the cosmos blazed up at one stroke, like a fountain of light ascending to the heavens. 'The world is here, the world is here, for light has come.'
"So the first 'Let there be' rolled through the primeval darkness and out of the formless darkness there rose the contours of structured space. And the great light came from God.
"And God saw that he light was 'BEAUTIFUL' (for this is the literal translation). So the first response the young, dew-fresh creation evoked from the heart of God was joy in the "dew-fresh creation" in its beauty, the rapture of the creator.
"So the Bible begins with a word about beauty. And even before the heavens began to praise the Eternal Majesty, God's own heart was filled with joyful song that there should be something so beautiful arising here in the shimmer of the first light. Above the nascent world lay the serenity of God."
In the last two paragraphs of this first chapter of his book Thielicke wrote, "The great light is already here. The festival of light has already been inaugurated by God for you and for me. We need only to throw open the shutters of our dark house and let in the flooding fulness.
"Otherwise, if we always keep the shutters closed, how should we ever know what God wants to do for us? But the person who plants himself in this light, the person who dares to make the leap from his own dark life will begin to shine himself. He will experience a new form of joy, a joy that will fill his eyes with tears."
So for me the word "beautiful" open a new and marvelous understanding of these first chapters. God's heart being revealed in these words, not just the stagnant dialogues of, "seven 24 hour days" or the meaning of some other time frame. God's heart, for we his creation, has been missing - who ever talks about the heart of God anyway - out of Genesis?
My hope is that I will be able capture, in context, short passages of the book which might challenge and provide insights into why Jesus of Nazareth is still so very important in our personal lives and the affairs of the whole human race.
Chapter 3..."The Light of the World"
And God said, "Let there be light", and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness God called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Genesis 1:3-
"Many of us, surely, remember the passage of Joseph Haydn's oratorio, 'The Creation,' where the words occur. 'And there was light.' The first three words are sung moderately, but at the word 'light' the orchestra and the choir burst forth in extreme fortissimo, in a wild transport of ecstasy. It is as if the suns and the lights of the cosmos blazed up at one stroke, like a fountain of light ascending to the heavens. 'The world is here, the world is here, for light has come.'
"So the first 'Let there be' rolled through the primeval darkness and out of the formless darkness there rose the contours of structured space. And the great light came from God.
"And God saw that he light was 'BEAUTIFUL' (for this is the literal translation). So the first response the young, dew-fresh creation evoked from the heart of God was joy in the "dew-fresh creation" in its beauty, the rapture of the creator.
"So the Bible begins with a word about beauty. And even before the heavens began to praise the Eternal Majesty, God's own heart was filled with joyful song that there should be something so beautiful arising here in the shimmer of the first light. Above the nascent world lay the serenity of God."
In the last two paragraphs of this first chapter of his book Thielicke wrote, "The great light is already here. The festival of light has already been inaugurated by God for you and for me. We need only to throw open the shutters of our dark house and let in the flooding fulness.
"Otherwise, if we always keep the shutters closed, how should we ever know what God wants to do for us? But the person who plants himself in this light, the person who dares to make the leap from his own dark life will begin to shine himself. He will experience a new form of joy, a joy that will fill his eyes with tears."
So for me the word "beautiful" open a new and marvelous understanding of these first chapters. God's heart being revealed in these words, not just the stagnant dialogues of, "seven 24 hour days" or the meaning of some other time frame. God's heart, for we his creation, has been missing - who ever talks about the heart of God anyway - out of Genesis?
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Abigail Inn --- Lexington, Va.
Lexington was as close to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington that Wilma and I were able to get this year. A great small town in the mountains just a short 3 hour drive from DC. The home of Washington and Lee University (WL), the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), H.Q. for Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), Southern Virginia University (SVU), a short distance away, and the place where Stonewall Jackson is buried (Civil War), and the home of the ABIGAIL INN.
Good friends Landey and Becky Patton (L&B) are the proprietors of the Abigail with the able assistance of Megan Stephens of SVU. Megan is a graduate student in English and creative writing, also an expert in the digital world of Facebook, Twitter and websites etc.
Landey and Becky's dream is to turn the Abigail into a great B&B but also into a type of "community center' - they have the largest table in town; a place for parents of graduating seniors from the various schools; a place for VMI cadets to relax on Sunday afternoon & evening - snacks, soft drinks, TV, overstuffed chairs and couch etc. all under the leadership Chaplain Jim Park of VMI,
The week, while L&B were at the PB in DC and then off to Chicago for a wedding, became a great time with different friends who came for a day or so. Drazen Glavas from Croatia, Todd and Paula Endo from Amisville, Va., Milt Richards from California, and others from Lexington. Megan ran the B&B and also became my mentor. When we met I had told her that I was writing a "novel" the first sentence of which had these 7 words, "Fleas and flies and a thousand eyes...". She said that she liked those word but also wondered what was in the rest of the sentence, to which I replied, "That is all that has been written, I only started it in 1957!" So my journey has only begun, I also found out that I had started a memoir and not a novel.
With the able assistance of Megan and Wilma I might even find a way to write that memoir from my year in Pakistan ---- Marian and Kathy my classmates, whom I was taking across north India to Nepal, to be with Marian's dad the head medical advisor to the government of Nepal. Only a memoir - long dormant in my brain, t all these years, this will probably take even longer -- a very long journey is still ahead!
Bill
Lexington was as close to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington that Wilma and I were able to get this year. A great small town in the mountains just a short 3 hour drive from DC. The home of Washington and Lee University (WL), the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), H.Q. for Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), Southern Virginia University (SVU), a short distance away, and the place where Stonewall Jackson is buried (Civil War), and the home of the ABIGAIL INN.
Good friends Landey and Becky Patton (L&B) are the proprietors of the Abigail with the able assistance of Megan Stephens of SVU. Megan is a graduate student in English and creative writing, also an expert in the digital world of Facebook, Twitter and websites etc.
Landey and Becky's dream is to turn the Abigail into a great B&B but also into a type of "community center' - they have the largest table in town; a place for parents of graduating seniors from the various schools; a place for VMI cadets to relax on Sunday afternoon & evening - snacks, soft drinks, TV, overstuffed chairs and couch etc. all under the leadership Chaplain Jim Park of VMI,
The week, while L&B were at the PB in DC and then off to Chicago for a wedding, became a great time with different friends who came for a day or so. Drazen Glavas from Croatia, Todd and Paula Endo from Amisville, Va., Milt Richards from California, and others from Lexington. Megan ran the B&B and also became my mentor. When we met I had told her that I was writing a "novel" the first sentence of which had these 7 words, "Fleas and flies and a thousand eyes...". She said that she liked those word but also wondered what was in the rest of the sentence, to which I replied, "That is all that has been written, I only started it in 1957!" So my journey has only begun, I also found out that I had started a memoir and not a novel.
With the able assistance of Megan and Wilma I might even find a way to write that memoir from my year in Pakistan ---- Marian and Kathy my classmates, whom I was taking across north India to Nepal, to be with Marian's dad the head medical advisor to the government of Nepal. Only a memoir - long dormant in my brain, t all these years, this will probably take even longer -- a very long journey is still ahead!
Bill
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Abigail Inn - Lexington,
Abigail Inn - Lexington, VA. ... at 72 degrees in the "sunroom" as we used to call that space in the house. But spring is coming and we can hardly wait for "global warming" to kick in. That is what getting that close to Washington D.C. can do to person's brain!!!
Bill
the above does not make sense except for the loss of everything that had been written when I had forgotten to use the computer "save" button!!!
So now to try and reconstruct the real blog---maybe I should stop and think about becoming - again - a blogger. Wilma has patiently guided the steps into the modern world of "climate change" instead
of "global warming", of "progressive" rather than "liberal", of "the principles of Jesus" rather than the "person of Jesus", of "fetish" rather than of a "baby", of the constitution being a "living" document rather than a "static" document etc. Will we ever come to a point when a word means something or a handshake will be enough without 40 pages of lawyer talk before persons can agree and move ahead?
The next attempt at a blog will hopefully come out of some great and recent study/dialogue under the book HOW HE WORLD BEGAN "Man in the first chapters of the Bible" by Helmut Thielicke. Though I had the book 25-30 year ago it came to "life" when Wilma and I started to read it out loud. No skipping words or sentences - addressing what the word "it" means, who are "they", what does "this" mean etc.
Please accept this "beginning again" attempt....I hope it will not be the last
Bill
the above does not make sense except for the loss of everything that had been written when I had forgotten to use the computer "save" button!!!
So now to try and reconstruct the real blog---maybe I should stop and think about becoming - again - a blogger. Wilma has patiently guided the steps into the modern world of "climate change" instead
of "global warming", of "progressive" rather than "liberal", of "the principles of Jesus" rather than the "person of Jesus", of "fetish" rather than of a "baby", of the constitution being a "living" document rather than a "static" document etc. Will we ever come to a point when a word means something or a handshake will be enough without 40 pages of lawyer talk before persons can agree and move ahead?
The next attempt at a blog will hopefully come out of some great and recent study/dialogue under the book HOW HE WORLD BEGAN "Man in the first chapters of the Bible" by Helmut Thielicke. Though I had the book 25-30 year ago it came to "life" when Wilma and I started to read it out loud. No skipping words or sentences - addressing what the word "it" means, who are "they", what does "this" mean etc.
Please accept this "beginning again" attempt....I hope it will not be the last
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Two Good Friday services - so different ..
This afternoon Wilma and I attended two very different Good Friday services. Both were held at two very well known churches in this area, two very different services, exact opposites in tone, attendees, music, sermon, and in emphasis.
The first service was formal, in the exact expression of that word. Magnificent structure, hundreds of stained glass windows, quiet - do we breath or not? The service started with a great bell counting down the number of years of Jesus's life. This was followed by a silent procession of a black draped cross, a young lady carrying an open bible, the fulled robed choir, three blacked dressed pastors etc. All of with almost stoic faces, each to their prescribed place. Solemn music by what must have been a professional choir, Scripture readings with precise entonations of the words, sombers faces - not a smile, not a sneeze, not a step out of place.
The sermon by the stately head pastor was skillfully crafted, word for word.
I found myself wondering if he rally believed what he was saying. Towards the end of his sermon he used the word "perhaps" what seemed like 10 or 12 times as he spoke of the variety of peoples who were part of the death of Jesus. Perhaps they believed this about Jesus, perhaps they saw something that they had never seen before, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
One friend after the service made the comment, "The greatest part of the service was the solo titled WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?
The service ended with a silent recession by thoses who came back down the center isle, in silence with not a smile, in perfect order song folders at a perfect angle. The congregation was intructed to leave the sanctuary in silence.
The contrast was at a church which is described as the "Christian Entertainment Church in Southeast Michigan" Their building is huge with seats for 3 to 4 thousand people, several large TV screens, lights of all kinds, a stage large enough for a giant cross, a row of 7 drummers, guitars, singers, a pit orchastra, not astained class window in the whole building, and, ultimately, the lone head pastor sitting on a stool with a small table holding his electonic device with his sermon.
He is dressed in a plaid type shirt, not tucked in, a mic next to his mouth so that he can move around the stage as he talks - perfectly casual, wonderfully prepared, his image is displayed on the large TV screens etc.
Both services were a great experience, I even sat in this later service with a smoothie purchased in the churches "cafe". Both pastors had done a great deal of thinking regarding their sermons for this Good Friday. The first was scholarly, entoned in the right words, creating the right atmosphere. He talked about lots of different people who had responded to the crucifixion. I walked away wondering, if I had to attend this church on a regular bases where would faith in Jesus end up?
As we walked into the second church the music was so loud that it must have ruined one of the battries im my hearing aids. (Our grandson was one of the drummers ). As we drove home the aid kept beeping "put in another battery".
The sermon was focused on Jesus and "radical hope" that is offered to everyone whether you are dressed to the hilt or were in cutoff jeans. Whether you wore your baseball cap backwards, wore a motorcycle helmet which you placed in the seat next to you. You could take in your coffee and listen, clap long and loudly, sing until you throat was sore, or just sit there and watch the big screens. The message was about "your name being written on the cross" in the end they showed this huge cross with thousands of names written on it - the question was whether your name is on the cross!
Two very different services, two very different pastors with two very different staffs, choirs, and styles, but both with a message about the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth .... on Good Friday.
Two very different church buildings, the first a marvel telling the whole world that we are a church. The second is like a big box store which holds and draws thousands of people.
As my good friend in China told me one day, "Don't worry Bill, Jesus knows what he is doing!"
The first service was formal, in the exact expression of that word. Magnificent structure, hundreds of stained glass windows, quiet - do we breath or not? The service started with a great bell counting down the number of years of Jesus's life. This was followed by a silent procession of a black draped cross, a young lady carrying an open bible, the fulled robed choir, three blacked dressed pastors etc. All of with almost stoic faces, each to their prescribed place. Solemn music by what must have been a professional choir, Scripture readings with precise entonations of the words, sombers faces - not a smile, not a sneeze, not a step out of place.
The sermon by the stately head pastor was skillfully crafted, word for word.
I found myself wondering if he rally believed what he was saying. Towards the end of his sermon he used the word "perhaps" what seemed like 10 or 12 times as he spoke of the variety of peoples who were part of the death of Jesus. Perhaps they believed this about Jesus, perhaps they saw something that they had never seen before, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
One friend after the service made the comment, "The greatest part of the service was the solo titled WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?
The service ended with a silent recession by thoses who came back down the center isle, in silence with not a smile, in perfect order song folders at a perfect angle. The congregation was intructed to leave the sanctuary in silence.
The contrast was at a church which is described as the "Christian Entertainment Church in Southeast Michigan" Their building is huge with seats for 3 to 4 thousand people, several large TV screens, lights of all kinds, a stage large enough for a giant cross, a row of 7 drummers, guitars, singers, a pit orchastra, not astained class window in the whole building, and, ultimately, the lone head pastor sitting on a stool with a small table holding his electonic device with his sermon.
He is dressed in a plaid type shirt, not tucked in, a mic next to his mouth so that he can move around the stage as he talks - perfectly casual, wonderfully prepared, his image is displayed on the large TV screens etc.
Both services were a great experience, I even sat in this later service with a smoothie purchased in the churches "cafe". Both pastors had done a great deal of thinking regarding their sermons for this Good Friday. The first was scholarly, entoned in the right words, creating the right atmosphere. He talked about lots of different people who had responded to the crucifixion. I walked away wondering, if I had to attend this church on a regular bases where would faith in Jesus end up?
As we walked into the second church the music was so loud that it must have ruined one of the battries im my hearing aids. (Our grandson was one of the drummers ). As we drove home the aid kept beeping "put in another battery".
The sermon was focused on Jesus and "radical hope" that is offered to everyone whether you are dressed to the hilt or were in cutoff jeans. Whether you wore your baseball cap backwards, wore a motorcycle helmet which you placed in the seat next to you. You could take in your coffee and listen, clap long and loudly, sing until you throat was sore, or just sit there and watch the big screens. The message was about "your name being written on the cross" in the end they showed this huge cross with thousands of names written on it - the question was whether your name is on the cross!
Two very different services, two very different pastors with two very different staffs, choirs, and styles, but both with a message about the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth .... on Good Friday.
Two very different church buildings, the first a marvel telling the whole world that we are a church. The second is like a big box store which holds and draws thousands of people.
As my good friend in China told me one day, "Don't worry Bill, Jesus knows what he is doing!"
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