I know, I know…You are way too busy. Way too important. Too busy to spend 9 1/2 minutes watching some video, right? Too busy to care about things outside your (little) world?
My wife & I are looking into the idea of adoption and I just happened to find this video while working on something else. This video affected me greatly and I encourage you to watch it and get wrecked too.
A new survey released today from Trinity College shows that more and more Americans are shunning denominationally-affiliated religion & church and either calling themselves non-denominational or having no Christian affiliation at all. Mainline denominations took a brutal hit, as expected & surprisingly, those calling themselves Catholics increased.
This data ties well with the last post on Americans identifying less and less as Christians. More steps to come towards anti-Christian American society?
Quick take on the report here.
Full report here.
InternetMonk.com expounds for 1,500 words on a possibly very bleak future for Christians. The piece in the Christian Science Monitor describes how America will look when it goes from post-christian to anti-christian. Interestingly, he does not point fingers at the secular world for this change, but instead points the finger of blame squarely back at Christians.
He makes a great point that some/most Christians have worked harder at moral/social/political causes than they have at growing their faiths and understanding the basic tenets of their gospel faith that they follow. This leads to a type of spiritual bankruptcy that turns people away from Christianity as well as makes the faithful look hypocritical.
“The evangelical investment in moral, social and political issues has depleted our resources and exposed our weakness. Being against gay marriage and being rhetorically pro-life will not make up for the fact that massive majorities of Evangelicals can’t articulate the Gospel with any coherence. We fell for the trap of believing in a cause more than a faith.”
Always On. Connected. 24×7x365. It’s practically a badge of honor people wear nowadays to say how busy they are. I myself am guilty of this as much as the next person, if not moreso.
I struggle with the ability to disconnect. To truly unplug not just from the virutal world of gmail, facebook, drudgereport, cnn.com and twitter – but from the endless din of ’stuff’ in our minds. What this stuff looks like will be different for everyone, but we all have it. Unplugging from world and getting time alone to think, process, disconnect, and maybe even some one-on-one time alone with God.
I came across a great quote from Ruth Haley Barton’s book ‘Sacred Rhythms‘ from a blog I follow (Bob Hyatt & PastorHacks) and I’m compelled to find the time to dive in & read this book.
“One of the new challenges for our generation is the impact of technology on our spirituality. This warrants serious consideration. If we are not careful, technology has a way of compromising our ability to be present to ourselves, to God and to each other- all of which are fundamental elements of the spiritual life. I don’t know about you, but I am sad when I have set aside time to be with friends and, because a cell phone is left on, we are at the mercy of all manner of intrusion. We think nothing of taking phone calls in the middle of meetings, restaurants and family gatherings. I am disturbed by my own compulsion to check email late at night and first thing in the morning. When left unchecked, this lack of discipline imperceptibly robs me of rest in the evening and silent presence to God in the morning. I can become exhausted by the intrusion of the media and technology into every corner of my life, resulting in constant overstimulation of body, mind and emotions. All of this convenience wears me out!
Exhaustion sets in when we are accessible too much of the time. A soul-numbing sadness comes when we realize that a certain quality of life and quality of presence is slipping away as a result of too much “convenience.” Breaks in the day that used to be small windows of replenishment for body and soul- like driving in a car, going for a walk, having lunch with a friend- are now filled with noise, interruption and multi-tasking. What feels like being available and accessible is really a boundaryless existence that offers no protection for those things that are most precious to us.…No wonder we feel disconnected from God: we are rarely able to give Him our full attention in solitude and silence. Thoughtful reflection is constantly sabotaged by the intrusion of cell phones, pagers and e-mail messages. No wonder our human relationships are so unsatisfying as they get reduced to snippets of interrupted, disembodied phone conversation. What feels like convenience is actually robbing us of those things we value most. We are left with bits and pieces of everything rather than experiencing the full substance of anything.”
The Acts 29 Network is hosting a bootcamp in Seattle on March 9th-10th. The line-up & topics are (as always with Acts 29) sure to challenge, inspire & grow potential young leaders. Steve Timmis, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Scott Thomas will all be speaking.
I encourage you to attend…the Acts 29 network is blowing up and this movement is doing great things for God. Check it out.
This woman is going 30 days without makeup and is blogging about the experience. So many women struggle with identity issues, and so much of it runs just under the surface, a real internal battle that they do not share. She is doing this to help raise awareness for herself and others about true beauty. An excellent read.
The True Campaign exists to end the crisis of distorted self image by challenging cultural ideals about identity and beauty, so we can be free to impact our world as God intended. How much money is spent in your household on beauty & cosmetics? How much is really necessary versus how much is spent/bought to feel better about themselves? Is there a way to reduce the amount spent on this and redirect that money to a cause outside of your own home? Maybe to help support a child who has no family & struggles to find enough food to eat each day? $32 a month is enough to support a child through Compassion International and Children’s HopeChest.
“Those who fail to remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
“Those who fail to remember the past are condemned not to repeat it.” – Calhoun
Well, not really. Catholics are just attempting to bring back a long-dormant practice of indulgences. Martin Luther is spinning in his grave.
Go read the whole thing here then pull out your bible and see if any of this is tracking.
Okay this is funny…I’m certainly not an Ellen DeGeneres fan, but someone sent this out over Twitter and I gave it a listen. Take the 6 minutes to watch this and you will be laughing…good stuff!
All the basics…getting equipped. Since I work full-time and have a wife & kids I’m going part-time:
- Church History Since the Reformation
- Old Testament Survey (virtual class via SemLink)
- Research Writing (Integrated Seminar)
Should be a fun Spring considering all else that is going on with work, travel, the economy, kids, life, etc etc!
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