Cannibals and Vampires

“If you don’t repeat what you want to say over and over, they will pick out the dumbest thing you say and repeat that.” This was my lesson in dealing with the media. I failed.

One of the dumber things I said from the pulpit was played enough on TV and radio that I purposely quit listening to AM talk for a time. The setting was the Sunday after 9-11. We were living in Winnipeg Canada, and the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) had asked to broadcast our service (Elim Chapel) across the nation that day. They set up in the balcony. I forgot.

It was, of course, an extremely emotional week for this American living in Canada (I’m making excuses now). As I was singing some song early in the service, I said to myself, “Self,” I said, “Somehow you need to be more honest at the beginning of this message. You are diving into the text too quickly. Let them know how you feel.” Evidently this was not the voice of God.

I began the service by saying, “I’ve been asked this week how I feel as an American about the twin tower tragedy. As an American, in the flesh, that answer is simple. I’d like to see us find out who did this, and nuke ‘em.” Weeks later I had to place a call to British Columbia (half way across the country). “Oh, I know where I’ve heard of you - are you the nuke ‘em pastor?” they asked. Sigh.

In our passage this week (John 6:25-56), Jesus is asked six questions. He gives the same basic answer six times. In spite of handling the media correctly, they still didn’t get it. Jesus didn’t talk about nukes, but He did make comments that had - and still have people accusing Him of starting a cult of cannibals and vampires.

This week we dive into this last Bizarre Bible Story of the series, given by Jesus Himself. I hope you can join us!

Dan

Next week we start a NEW SERIES: The Scandal of Grace, beginning with Galatians 2 – Getting out of the Doghouse.

Friends

When is the last time you did something really stupid? It could be short-term but still life-changing stupid. The new debt, the sleep-over, the addiction revisited, the… whatever. Were you alone? Did you avoid certain friends? Did you seek out new ones?

I’m increasingly convinced that our friends determine our future. No matter how independent you think you are, hang around people and you become like them. When I spent time in Mexico I picked up a bit of Spanglish, when living in Louisiana I picked up a liking for crawfish etuffee. Now I prefer green chile and picking up Creole from Ira. Hang around people and you….

What’s great about this principle is we can consciously choose to change the future of who we become by who we hang around. It’s the benefit of church and the detriment of our prison system, but I digress. Spend time in God’s word and with people in whom He is obviously living and you become like Christ. Spend time with idiots and you….

Our story this week is from 2 Samuel 10 – the invention of the first hospital gown – as bad an idea then as now. Read through and see if you can see the connection of how people’s friends determined their future. Who do you want to be like? Are they your friends?

Dan

Service Worship

I’ve heard the teenage growth years called “that awkward time.” Growth is like that. In fact, it’s likely we will take our next step with Christ in a more awkward, difficult time.

Most Protestant churches have what is called a “worship service” on Sunday mornings. This Sunday we won’t. The interweb defines a worship service as “the act of public worship following prescribed rules.” By that definition maybe we’ve never had one.

This week we’d like to have a Service Worship - serve first, worship second. Come to Stapleton anytime after 8am and we will be serving God by serving Stapleton Elementary School. You may have noticed the thank-you already up on their marquee. We’d like to clean the playground, parking lot and the grounds for the incoming students and staff. It’s how we apply the “foot washing” principle for 600 students and staff without having to take off 1200 shoes.

After the service time, worship should be around 10 in the cafeteria so that we don’t have to set up our portable church equipment. This means it will be unplugged and a bit more interactive. No screens or big speakers - instead songs from memory, a devotional and testimonies.

We understand that this can be a bit awkward. It’s extra work as well. We’ll need to bring breakfast foods (potluck, bring plenty! Btw, Oreos are great for breakfast) and yard tools (rakes, shovels, gloves, etc), explain our weirdness to guests, and sit on hard benches. We may not all smell as good after working, and our older kids will be in the shorter worship time with us. But, we are most likely to take our next step with Christ in the more awkward, difficult times. Take that step with us this Sunday.

Dan

Temporary Insanity

I love Linus in the Peanuts cartoon. He can explain the meaning of Christmas while believing in the Great Pumpkin. He has the wisdom of sages while paranoid about losing his security blanket. While I’ve never had the wisdom of sages, I did have a blue security blanket. It went everywhere with me. My older sisters made fun of it. When my aunt and uncle came to visit, they were merciless. One day it went in the wash and never came back. That was my worst day of High School.

As a pastor I see people lose their security on a regular basis. There is nothing quite so painful as loss. Our girlfriend dumps us, our employer is downsizing, our husband is messing around, dad dies. We’ve all been there, and when life hits us with a one-two punch it is so much worse. When all our security blankets seem to be pulled from us at the same time, we tend to go postal. We want to drink, to move, to buy the MG convertible, to kill something. It’s crazy, but there it is.

This week we take a snapshot of life of David from 1 Samuel 21. Through no fault of his own, he is estranged from his parents, brother, wife, and best friend. He loses his job, reputation, and popularity. His mentor and pastor dies, and David goes postal. Temporary insanity. Jesus said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." (Mt 6:33) David, after he recovered from his temporary insanity, said, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! ...Those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing." (Ps 34:8-10)

This week we will take the “taste test” in order to avoid temporary insanity.