Category: General (page 34 of 121)

Good day today…

Started a new small group – Sunday School, for you SBCers out there – this morning. Yeah, yeah…I know…but you can’t begin to imagine what a step forward a new group is for some in our church.

Then, our attendance was up as well…some guests returned, and even made their way to the front seats (insert Baptist asthma here!) and even took notes, and, and…responded on their cards about some issues they’re facing!

Spent the afternoon with the family again…lunch, some errands, and then off to REI, to invest part of “pastor’s wife appreciation” on a new pair of hiking boots for the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie.” Got a good deal, had great customer service, and enjoyed a wonderful time.

Then, across the street for the first – of many! – Eggnog Latte of the season!

Now home, chillin’ with Windham Hill…

I’m especially partial to Paul McCandless’s oboe on We Gather Together, the Silvermans’ flute on Simple Gifts, Lisa Lynne’s harp on Alleluia, and John Sebastian’s harmonica (yep, that John Sebastian!) on Wagoner’s Lad.

Great reflective music, just perfect for a grateful Sunday night unwind…

Overheard outside the hospital this afternoon…

You know what’s the weirdest thing?

No, what?

Doctors, nurses, and hospital workers out here smoking!

Why is that so weird?

Well, ’cause it’s just not healthy and all. It’s stupid!

Oh…the picture? That’s a picture of the guy who was talking about “the weirdest thing.”

Weird, all right.

Just not healthy and all.

Stupid.

The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.
-Andre Gide

Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.
-Tolstoy

Except we used Super Glue. And it was not pretty.

Man sues after sticking to toilet in Home Depot.

The fall is my favorite time of year. And in the words of the great philosopher, Forrest Gump…

That’s all I have to say about that.

…well, you know…

1 Corinthians 7:29-31, from The Message…

I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple–in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things–your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.

Yesterday I went with the family up to Amicalola Falls and around north Georgia. It was the first Sunday “off” we’ve had in a long time. While I enjoyed the trip, the hikes, the apples, the falls, and the people, I did an awful lot of thinking about a lot of things. Then I came back home, fired up the computer and saw the news about Kyle Lake.

This morning, I woke up and started my day with the passage I quoted above. And since then, I’ve been thinking that time is indeed of the essence. We need to be busy fulfilling the work we’ve been called to do. We never know when that last opportunity is here. We never know, so we need to be fully engaged wherever we are.

I got to the 1 Corinthians passage via a Bible Gateway search for “work” after reading in Titus 1 this morning…

I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there…

And that led me eventually to the New Living Translation of the 1 Corinthians passage…

Happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God’s work. Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away.

My prayer for my life – for your life – today is that we will be found faithful to complete, fulfill, perform, accomplish, and finish our work here.

Just got this in my Inbox a minute ago…

Associated Baptist Press October 30, 2005 NEWS ALERT: Waco pastor Kyle Lake killed, electrocuted in baptism accident By Greg Warner WACO, Texas (ABP) — Kyle Lake, pastor of the innovative University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, was killed by electrocution Oct. 30 while performing a baptism during a worship service. Lake, whose age was not immediately known, had been pastor of the church for more than four years. The congregation, made up mostly of Baylor University students, is best known as the home church of worship leader and songwriter David Crowder. Lake and a baptismal candidate reportedly were in the baptistry when the accident occurred, reportedly caused by a microphone. Lake was taken to a nearby hospital by paramedics. He was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m., according to the church’s website. The baptismal candidate reportedly was not seriously injured. Lake and his wife, Jen, have a daughter and twin sons. Lake is the author of two books, Understanding God’s Will and [Re]Understanding Prayer. University Baptist was founded in 1995 by Crowder and Chris Seay, an author and now pastor in Houston. The Waco congregation, which attracts about 600 worshipers each week, is known not only for Crowder’s music but for its emphasis on the arts and multimedia worship. A special service for prayer and counseling of UBC members was held at nearby First Baptist Church in Waco Sunday night, Oct. 30. Funeral details were not yet available.

I don’t know quite what to say, except prayers for Kyle Lake’s family and the University Baptist fellowship…

Here’s some more from the Draft Post Stack o’ Stuff…

• Jim Millirons says we can’t afford the “yes/no” thing in our churches any more
• Storms have a good purpose. Sometimes…
• Improving your ability to motivate others. (via Open Loops)
• Visiting your church’s website might keep me from actually coming to your church (An OUCH! from Tony Morgan, via Church Marketing Sucks)
• When you dream, Dream Big
• Don’t worry about criticism
• What are you waiting for? Good stuff from Bruce Johnson

I’m having one of those “tie up the loose ends” days today. It’s cool, bright, and I’m just in one of those thinking kind of moods. I cleaned up my office at the church last night, and now I’m cleaning up some other stuff.

I’ve got a bunch of Windham Hill stuff playing in the background. My Moleskine has been open on my desk. I’ve finished reading two books I’ve been stuck in the middle of. I opened up my “edit posts” tab, and discovered close to 100 draft posts that I’d intended to blog about dating back to March.

Some of the links don’t even work anymore. I can’t remember exactly why I noticed some of the others. But at any rate, here’s the first pile o’ links from the loose ends pile…

• “He is risen indeed!” N.T. Wright defends the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
• Don’t worry. Be unhappy. The harsh realities of career survival
• Chris Erdman says preachers are nothing without “it.”
• The advantages of doing ministry without a clear strategy. One of my all-time favorites from Tony Morgan

Stay tuned, if you want. More on the way this evening…

It was the American educator and philosopher John Dewey who said…

There is all the difference in the world between having something to say and having to say something.

The “Just Charlie” corollary is this…

It is a wise man who understands that difference and who knows when it’s time to shut his mouth.

Let’s just say we finished about 20 minutes earlier than we normally do. Let’s just say, as one of my guys used to say…

We beat the Methodists to lunch today!