cup a joe

BTW - I have some Gmail invites. E-mail my Gmail account if you want one.

I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by the entire Pope thing over the past month. I wonder if it is my Catholic upbringing or if it is something more. There is something about the mystery of it all that seems to be missing in the modern church. Don't get me wrong, I love the Vineyard and all, but our history only goes back 20 years or so. From what I understand, when Bert was elected as head of the AVC, they had a tele-conference, not a conclave. Not that I think we need to become more denominational, but there is something to say about the mystery of it all. About the history of it all. To think that some of this stuff that occurred today goes back over several centuries, if not longer. That just intrigues me.

I wonder if we lost something when the Protestant reformation threw out much of our past. Most of the sacrament are gone. Communion, no longer mysteriously transforms into the body and blood of Christ, now it just represents the body and blood. The liturgy has now become a service. And renewal meetings, signs, wonders, and charismatic gifts have all become the norm. We can even plan of vacations based on who is speaking at what conference and what they are going to do! (Has it all become a show?) Where is the mystery of it all?

I don't think we need to raise the clergy up to the level that they have in the Catholic Church (remember, everyone gets to play), but I do think we need to take time and remember that we do not know it all, that God is still God and that he can do what ever he wants, when ever he wants, where ever he wants, to whom ever he wants and because of that, we need to approach him with a sense of awe and mystery.

I'm just not sure how that looks today...

I've really been feeling like something has been missing lately. I think we have finally gotten to a point where we have the church turned around (although I wish the finances were better...pray for more $$ to pay rent and bills!). It seems like we have slipped into the same model that we were doing in Cartersville. Although the church seems to be happy with it and we seem to be growing, I just keep on feeling like there must be more. We have become a really nice (and different) church, but I'm not sure we have become a community as of yet.

I had a weird dream the other night where I was sitting on the top of a building with Cindy, my late Uncle Ted, and our youth leaders, Theresa and Jeff. Ted looked at me and said "For as long as I have been here, nothing has changed, don't you have a plan or something?" There was more to that dream, but those words keep resonating in my mind. I thought we had a plan. It just seem to have gotten side tracked in the re-planting process. Perhaps this is the time to relook at the "plan".

We were supposed to be missional...we were supposed to have small groups that were geographically focused...missional churches outside of the main church. The ministry was supposed to happen in the groups, not in the church. In the streets, not in the building. The building was supposed to be more of a community center and less of a Sunday only thing. It was supposed to be a sanctuary, more in the sense of a place of safety and protection, and less in the sense of holy place. That's where we are supposed to be. So now the question, how do we get there?

Pastor Bashing 101...Man, can I relate to some of this. Sorry Rocky for putting you through some of this...

"What was once horrible has now become acceptable, familiar the way a landscape becomes familiar. No matter how gruesome or spectacular, over time you become used to it. Eventually, you can walk through it without feeling any need to comment." Interesting article in today's Chicago Tribune on Terry Schiavo. Have I ever mentioned how much I like John Kass?