Well that is what they call it. Delhi Belly. And I admit, I have it-in spades. In Mexico, it is known as Montezuma's revenge. At any rate, I seem to have brought back a little intestinal souvenir from New Delhi. And in addition, I did not even include it on my customs forms since I got it for free. In addition, the condition of Delhi Belly evidently was accompanied by a severe inflamation of my right ankle from the travel and change of foods causing me temporarily to use a cane. Ah, how painful it is.
To add insult to injury, the attorney who accompanied me to India, loved the food and feels great after his return from India. Not that I want him to feel bad, mind you. It is only that I hope to feel better. Better one sick rather than two sick.
I am now on an antibiotic regimene that hopefully will improve matters. Could the 20+ years in age have anything to do with it? Who knows.
Tourist class travel across the world to developing countries is apparently taking its toll on HarleyDad.
As one Indian attorney told me, if you get dysentery, you will loose weight and be better looking for your girl friends. I keep looking around but don't see any increased attraction. Perhaps you have to get dysentery twice for it do any good. So much for Indian legal advice!
I will blog when I feel better.
HarleyDad
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Back from Delhi
Well, I am back from India. It will take some time to process the trip.
India is a land of extremes. While there, I saw extreme wealth and extreme poverty. I met an assortment of good and interesting people. I had a dinner where several Hindus, and a Sikh and two Christians discussed God and life.
There was an enjoyment in meeting hardworking people from different cultures.
In India there is a confluence of cultures, religious beliefs, foods, climates and people. After visiting in India, the truths of the Christian life, are more important than ever.
Hopefully some of the pictures I will post in the future may express my heart about India and its wonderful people. My words are inadequate and ineloquent.
My heart is in the beautiful Ozarks as it has been for a number of years. Although invigorated by the many wonderful differences and the exotic local, the heart is happy when it returns to its home.
I have come home.
Harley Dad came to one conclusion--I thought at one point that I knew what it was like to be poor. I did not. I was rich even when I thought of myself as poor. Now that is at least some improvement upon perspective.
H.D.
India is a land of extremes. While there, I saw extreme wealth and extreme poverty. I met an assortment of good and interesting people. I had a dinner where several Hindus, and a Sikh and two Christians discussed God and life.
There was an enjoyment in meeting hardworking people from different cultures.
In India there is a confluence of cultures, religious beliefs, foods, climates and people. After visiting in India, the truths of the Christian life, are more important than ever.
Hopefully some of the pictures I will post in the future may express my heart about India and its wonderful people. My words are inadequate and ineloquent.
My heart is in the beautiful Ozarks as it has been for a number of years. Although invigorated by the many wonderful differences and the exotic local, the heart is happy when it returns to its home.
I have come home.
Harley Dad came to one conclusion--I thought at one point that I knew what it was like to be poor. I did not. I was rich even when I thought of myself as poor. Now that is at least some improvement upon perspective.
H.D.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Friday, August 19, 2005
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Harley and India
Behold, I have found a compadre in India . He is obviously my Indian counterpart. He is a Methodist Bishop who loves Bach and Harleys. See the write up on him in the Hindu Times.
Now what can be better than that.
Now what can be better than that.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
India Notice
NOTICE
The sign on the Blog says out for lunch. Well, not really. Out for about 10 Plus Days. Gone to India-yes, it is for business. However it is also a pilgrimmage to hear what God says. I have packed my ears so that I can listen. My eyes are also going so that I can see what God has for me to see. I am not going in judgment but with an open heart to see and hear God. I will endeavor to leave my preconceptions at home. I do not have the room in my luggage to pack them.
Psm. 84:5 says: "Happy are those in whose heart there are the highways to Zion." Zion is where God is.
My prayer is: O God, help me to have a teachable and open heart that I might know You better, live the life that You have for me in a better way, and to help be a vehicle with the privilege of conveying the loveliness of Your Life to those around me.
God willing, I will blog while I am there and/or upon my return.
H.D.
The sign on the Blog says out for lunch. Well, not really. Out for about 10 Plus Days. Gone to India-yes, it is for business. However it is also a pilgrimmage to hear what God says. I have packed my ears so that I can listen. My eyes are also going so that I can see what God has for me to see. I am not going in judgment but with an open heart to see and hear God. I will endeavor to leave my preconceptions at home. I do not have the room in my luggage to pack them.
Psm. 84:5 says: "Happy are those in whose heart there are the highways to Zion." Zion is where God is.
My prayer is: O God, help me to have a teachable and open heart that I might know You better, live the life that You have for me in a better way, and to help be a vehicle with the privilege of conveying the loveliness of Your Life to those around me.
God willing, I will blog while I am there and/or upon my return.
H.D.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
A Generation Passes
Will the next generation play harmonicas?
I don't know but it seems that a generation and its songs are passing on.
Last night, I watched and listened as friends from our church played songs of long ago. Two harmonicas, a guitar and a banjo. It was music of a generation passing into history to join generations before them. It was like a dove's song sweetly sung before just before the sun set and the moon began to rise.
I thought back to my time as a boy. TV was in its infancy. You slept with the windows open because you did not have air-conditioning and considered yourself lucky if you had an attic fan. You would hear the night sounds as you lay in your bed. Sometimes you heard the people next doo. And some mornings you woke up and your bed was damp with the dew. Our lives were more interconnected back then with the people around us.
At night, people sat out on their front porch and talked. Many men were back from the war, but they did not talk much about it. They were happy to be home and their families were happy that they were home. They were the silent heroes, trying to put it all past them and move on into the lives that they had left behind. They talked of the future. It was a good time, a time to be thankful.
There were street lights, lightening bugs and you could hear your neigbors radio and TV. Neighbors might drop over and you would sit out in the yard and watch the stars come out. Sometimes there was iced tea, sometimes watermelon, but always good fellowship and friendship.
In Brokerbelle's home, they brought out the musical instruments and began to play until long after her brother, sister and herself went to bed. They could hear them signing with her father playing the mandolin, and other men playing the guitar and the banjo. Music was a part of your life. Not music of the streets, but music of the country. There was folk music and gospel music. And people sang along with the instruments. Later the singing would stop and people would hum or be silent.
Last night as we listened to the guitar, harmonicas and banjo, we heard the music and refrains of long ago, passing into the night like a lonely freight train passing from Missouri into Kansas long ago.
H.D.
I don't know but it seems that a generation and its songs are passing on.
Last night, I watched and listened as friends from our church played songs of long ago. Two harmonicas, a guitar and a banjo. It was music of a generation passing into history to join generations before them. It was like a dove's song sweetly sung before just before the sun set and the moon began to rise.
I thought back to my time as a boy. TV was in its infancy. You slept with the windows open because you did not have air-conditioning and considered yourself lucky if you had an attic fan. You would hear the night sounds as you lay in your bed. Sometimes you heard the people next doo. And some mornings you woke up and your bed was damp with the dew. Our lives were more interconnected back then with the people around us.
At night, people sat out on their front porch and talked. Many men were back from the war, but they did not talk much about it. They were happy to be home and their families were happy that they were home. They were the silent heroes, trying to put it all past them and move on into the lives that they had left behind. They talked of the future. It was a good time, a time to be thankful.
There were street lights, lightening bugs and you could hear your neigbors radio and TV. Neighbors might drop over and you would sit out in the yard and watch the stars come out. Sometimes there was iced tea, sometimes watermelon, but always good fellowship and friendship.
In Brokerbelle's home, they brought out the musical instruments and began to play until long after her brother, sister and herself went to bed. They could hear them signing with her father playing the mandolin, and other men playing the guitar and the banjo. Music was a part of your life. Not music of the streets, but music of the country. There was folk music and gospel music. And people sang along with the instruments. Later the singing would stop and people would hum or be silent.
Last night as we listened to the guitar, harmonicas and banjo, we heard the music and refrains of long ago, passing into the night like a lonely freight train passing from Missouri into Kansas long ago.
H.D.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Advice to Wormwood
My dear Wormwood,
It is reported to me that the pastor of the church under your scrutiny is encouraging his people to be ministers. Be warned, this is dangerous stuff.
Do everything in your power to keep the distinctions between the ministry and the people. Two classes of Christians, Wormwood. Two classes. The first group should be the priests, ministers, pastors, elders—call them what you will. They are the ones who should have the secret language, they are the ones who should do the praying, preaching, witnessing, etc. etc. etc. They are the religious class.
By exalting the first class and not confusing the two classes, you enable the second and much larger class to do nothing at all. Instead of praying for others, they should go to the first religious class to be prayed for. The second class of common people should not need to witness or share the gospel, they should leave it to the ministers (that way the ministers of the first class are overburdened and burned out, which is an added benefit to our cause .) The people of the second class should not be encouraged to read their Bibles, but they should be encouraged to leave it to those who have been trained for Bible study. They should not be encouraged to sing in church but to allow a choir to do that for them. After all, they are not professional musicians, and are not trained to sing.
More deliciously, we have infiltrated many of the places of Bible training and have planted ultra liberal views so as to infect the ministry class of people. Further the study of God can be cloaked in mysterious terminology and religious language that common people can not understand. Even so, quite frankly, we have not even begun to approach the “Golden Age” back in what they call the Middle Ages where we could keep the Bible in a different language from the people. In those days, Bibles were not available and so rare that they were locked up and the common man did not have access to them. Now, that was the good old days and may we return to them.
By the way, encourage your pastor and ministers to always use the King James Version or the oldest and most archaic version of the Bible possible. The use of a version far from the language of the common people is always preferred. Otherwise, they might actually understand what the Bible is saying.
The use of religious sounding language is also good. Only the church members will understand it and the unsaved will have no idea of what the religious terminology means. I was always disappointed that we could never persuade the “Prostestants” in the Reformation to retain the use of Latin in their churches. But can’t win them all.
Wormwood, discourage any concept of the priesthood of the believer and concepts that the believer actually has direct access to God and to the Bible. This should be avoided at all costs. We don’t want the average church member to think that he or she has any actual communication with You know Who, or believe that He can actually speak to their lives.
The so called Christian Life should be for the priests and ministers only. Keep the common man and woman away from these concepts. We find that sometimes that they begin to take what the Bible says seriously and actually try to place the precepts into their own lives. This could result in disaster to our infernal kingdom.
So Wormwood, encourage a sharp distinction between ministers and the people. Encourage them to avoid concepts like believing that they themselves are “priests.” Cloud their minds from remembering that “You know Who” actually stepped down to walk the earth as a mere man and did not even choose to come as a member of the priesthood or even as a member of the priestly tribe of Levi.
Encourage the concept that they need to leave religion to the priests and to exalt modern day Pharisees as those who have the requisite knowledge of the things of God. Disenfranchise them of the rights that “You Know Who” has granted to them.
They shall not be “priests and kings.” Not now and not ever.
Your Uncle,
SCREWTAPE
It is reported to me that the pastor of the church under your scrutiny is encouraging his people to be ministers. Be warned, this is dangerous stuff.
Do everything in your power to keep the distinctions between the ministry and the people. Two classes of Christians, Wormwood. Two classes. The first group should be the priests, ministers, pastors, elders—call them what you will. They are the ones who should have the secret language, they are the ones who should do the praying, preaching, witnessing, etc. etc. etc. They are the religious class.
By exalting the first class and not confusing the two classes, you enable the second and much larger class to do nothing at all. Instead of praying for others, they should go to the first religious class to be prayed for. The second class of common people should not need to witness or share the gospel, they should leave it to the ministers (that way the ministers of the first class are overburdened and burned out, which is an added benefit to our cause .) The people of the second class should not be encouraged to read their Bibles, but they should be encouraged to leave it to those who have been trained for Bible study. They should not be encouraged to sing in church but to allow a choir to do that for them. After all, they are not professional musicians, and are not trained to sing.
More deliciously, we have infiltrated many of the places of Bible training and have planted ultra liberal views so as to infect the ministry class of people. Further the study of God can be cloaked in mysterious terminology and religious language that common people can not understand. Even so, quite frankly, we have not even begun to approach the “Golden Age” back in what they call the Middle Ages where we could keep the Bible in a different language from the people. In those days, Bibles were not available and so rare that they were locked up and the common man did not have access to them. Now, that was the good old days and may we return to them.
By the way, encourage your pastor and ministers to always use the King James Version or the oldest and most archaic version of the Bible possible. The use of a version far from the language of the common people is always preferred. Otherwise, they might actually understand what the Bible is saying.
The use of religious sounding language is also good. Only the church members will understand it and the unsaved will have no idea of what the religious terminology means. I was always disappointed that we could never persuade the “Prostestants” in the Reformation to retain the use of Latin in their churches. But can’t win them all.
Wormwood, discourage any concept of the priesthood of the believer and concepts that the believer actually has direct access to God and to the Bible. This should be avoided at all costs. We don’t want the average church member to think that he or she has any actual communication with You know Who, or believe that He can actually speak to their lives.
The so called Christian Life should be for the priests and ministers only. Keep the common man and woman away from these concepts. We find that sometimes that they begin to take what the Bible says seriously and actually try to place the precepts into their own lives. This could result in disaster to our infernal kingdom.
So Wormwood, encourage a sharp distinction between ministers and the people. Encourage them to avoid concepts like believing that they themselves are “priests.” Cloud their minds from remembering that “You know Who” actually stepped down to walk the earth as a mere man and did not even choose to come as a member of the priesthood or even as a member of the priestly tribe of Levi.
Encourage the concept that they need to leave religion to the priests and to exalt modern day Pharisees as those who have the requisite knowledge of the things of God. Disenfranchise them of the rights that “You Know Who” has granted to them.
They shall not be “priests and kings.” Not now and not ever.
Your Uncle,
SCREWTAPE
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Screwtape is Back
Dear Wormwood,
It goes without saying that part of our job is control. If we fail to pay attention to the individual believer, they can suddenly fall out of our control and catch fire. Next they begin to spread their faith to others and you and I have to answer to higher powers.
One of the best ways to keep control is to use the “ principle of crowding”. Fill the believer’s life up with things to do. Make sure that your believer has no time for personal Bible study and prayer. You can use the “cares of the world” to crowd the believer’s time and to change his or her focus. More creatively you can use religious tasks and church obligations to crowd personal times of devotion. Ah, and this is where our work becomes art. To use the things of the church to crowd out relationship between the believer and “You know Who.”
Just as you must show care with the believer; you must also show the same care with the church. Believers are much like coals (something we are both familiar with.) You keep them apart. Individually the coals will die; collectively they are likely to spring into flame, an event we do not want to happen. Once they spring into flame as a group you might encounter what they refer to as a “revival” which is to be avoided at all costs. Like all fires, then the revival begins to spread and who knows what that will lead to, except that there will be penalties to be paid.
A spirit of separation is useful in keeping the coals separate. Keep the people in the church separated by using anything possible. Pride, selfish ambition, distrust-use any method that comes to mind. But back to the principle of “crowding out.” This is somewhat like smothering the fire (some of the church radicals call this “quenching the spirit.”)
Well, quench the spirit quickly, less a fire be started in the heart of the church. The “principle of crowding out” can be used in the church services. Most services run one hour or slightly longer. (They have very short attention spans.) Begin the service with announcements. Make sure that there are many of them. Encourage the people to make announcements from the floor. Talk about good things the church is doing. Perhaps show a video on the youth or missions or Bible school or anything else-just don’t let there be praise, prayer or a word of “You know Who" be given. Crowd, crowd, crowd, at all costs.
Encourage a long time of welcome and shaking hands. Let that be the substitute for real relationship or koinonea. They will believe that they are a friendly church and see no need for real relationship.
You can also use long offerings, perhaps you can add to them a little guilt. Anything to keep the time passing. Then you can add a special, and two are even better. Keep the people in the position of being spectators as opposed to being worshippers.
Discourage any prayer other than standard rote prayers, which you can encourage to drone on interminably. (Always keep the congregation as a spectator).
By taking these steps, my dear nephew, you can take an hour service, and reduce it down to 15 minutes of real content. The pastor will be frustrated and the people unfed and you will be safe until the next service.
Wormwood, it is the little things that are important. Show diligence. Remember, it is the little foxes that spoil the vines.
Keep up the good work. Use the “principle of crowding.” And let the little foxes do the work.
Your affectionate Uncle
SCREWTAPE
It goes without saying that part of our job is control. If we fail to pay attention to the individual believer, they can suddenly fall out of our control and catch fire. Next they begin to spread their faith to others and you and I have to answer to higher powers.
One of the best ways to keep control is to use the “ principle of crowding”. Fill the believer’s life up with things to do. Make sure that your believer has no time for personal Bible study and prayer. You can use the “cares of the world” to crowd the believer’s time and to change his or her focus. More creatively you can use religious tasks and church obligations to crowd personal times of devotion. Ah, and this is where our work becomes art. To use the things of the church to crowd out relationship between the believer and “You know Who.”
Just as you must show care with the believer; you must also show the same care with the church. Believers are much like coals (something we are both familiar with.) You keep them apart. Individually the coals will die; collectively they are likely to spring into flame, an event we do not want to happen. Once they spring into flame as a group you might encounter what they refer to as a “revival” which is to be avoided at all costs. Like all fires, then the revival begins to spread and who knows what that will lead to, except that there will be penalties to be paid.
A spirit of separation is useful in keeping the coals separate. Keep the people in the church separated by using anything possible. Pride, selfish ambition, distrust-use any method that comes to mind. But back to the principle of “crowding out.” This is somewhat like smothering the fire (some of the church radicals call this “quenching the spirit.”)
Well, quench the spirit quickly, less a fire be started in the heart of the church. The “principle of crowding out” can be used in the church services. Most services run one hour or slightly longer. (They have very short attention spans.) Begin the service with announcements. Make sure that there are many of them. Encourage the people to make announcements from the floor. Talk about good things the church is doing. Perhaps show a video on the youth or missions or Bible school or anything else-just don’t let there be praise, prayer or a word of “You know Who" be given. Crowd, crowd, crowd, at all costs.
Encourage a long time of welcome and shaking hands. Let that be the substitute for real relationship or koinonea. They will believe that they are a friendly church and see no need for real relationship.
You can also use long offerings, perhaps you can add to them a little guilt. Anything to keep the time passing. Then you can add a special, and two are even better. Keep the people in the position of being spectators as opposed to being worshippers.
Discourage any prayer other than standard rote prayers, which you can encourage to drone on interminably. (Always keep the congregation as a spectator).
By taking these steps, my dear nephew, you can take an hour service, and reduce it down to 15 minutes of real content. The pastor will be frustrated and the people unfed and you will be safe until the next service.
Wormwood, it is the little things that are important. Show diligence. Remember, it is the little foxes that spoil the vines.
Keep up the good work. Use the “principle of crowding.” And let the little foxes do the work.
Your affectionate Uncle
SCREWTAPE
Monday, August 08, 2005
With Apologies to C.S. Lewis
My Dear Wormwood:
I am very excited about your newest ploy of eradicating praise and worship from the church of “You Know Who.”
At first I had some doubt about your idea to secretly encourage local pastors to use the highly musical and talented in praise groups in the area. However, you were a genius. By mixing in a small dosage of pride and selfish ambition, you have concocted a brew that brings joy to the Nether Regions.
Your plan has in essence allowed “show stopping” specials that go one after another. One member of the praise team competes with the other. The praise and worship that appeared to be blooming among the congregation has been snuffed out as they watch repeated musical performances . It is wonderful, Wormwood.
I love the performance mentality that you have inculcated and the fact that the people standing there during the period of music have no idea what to do. Continue to do anything you can to keep them from actually participating in praise and worship. Let them watch it time after time . It is like setting out a delicious meal and letting just a few eat it while the others watch. It is a feast worthy of Hell itself.
And how did you ever find that expert electric guitar player that loves doing those specials. The use of loud music means that the people can not hear each other singing.
Your genius in having the praise group write its own songs and playing them was great too. No one had a chance of singing with them whatsoever.
I particularly liked the part where at the end of the praise, the band all did high fives and congratulated themselves on the great job that they did showing off their musical skills. Even the members of the congregation looked discomfitted, and the sermon following fell flat on its face due to the lack of prayer and praise preceding it.
Wormwood, you have outdone yourself this time. It was pure evil genius to use great musical talent mixed with pride and a performance mentality to wipe out praise and worship arising from the people.
I can see a promotion in this for you. Keep up the good work.
Your affectionate Uncle,
SCREWTAPE
I am very excited about your newest ploy of eradicating praise and worship from the church of “You Know Who.”
At first I had some doubt about your idea to secretly encourage local pastors to use the highly musical and talented in praise groups in the area. However, you were a genius. By mixing in a small dosage of pride and selfish ambition, you have concocted a brew that brings joy to the Nether Regions.
Your plan has in essence allowed “show stopping” specials that go one after another. One member of the praise team competes with the other. The praise and worship that appeared to be blooming among the congregation has been snuffed out as they watch repeated musical performances . It is wonderful, Wormwood.
I love the performance mentality that you have inculcated and the fact that the people standing there during the period of music have no idea what to do. Continue to do anything you can to keep them from actually participating in praise and worship. Let them watch it time after time . It is like setting out a delicious meal and letting just a few eat it while the others watch. It is a feast worthy of Hell itself.
And how did you ever find that expert electric guitar player that loves doing those specials. The use of loud music means that the people can not hear each other singing.
Your genius in having the praise group write its own songs and playing them was great too. No one had a chance of singing with them whatsoever.
I particularly liked the part where at the end of the praise, the band all did high fives and congratulated themselves on the great job that they did showing off their musical skills. Even the members of the congregation looked discomfitted, and the sermon following fell flat on its face due to the lack of prayer and praise preceding it.
Wormwood, you have outdone yourself this time. It was pure evil genius to use great musical talent mixed with pride and a performance mentality to wipe out praise and worship arising from the people.
I can see a promotion in this for you. Keep up the good work.
Your affectionate Uncle,
SCREWTAPE
The Gold Ring
The Gold Ring
James 2:1-4 says the following:
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives.”
For many years I have thought that the story of the man with the gold ring dealt with wealth. I now know differently.
HarleyDad visits different churches from time to time. Perhaps it is because I believe in Jesus Christ or perhaps it is to assuage guilt from a very imperfect life. None the less I visit. Recently I have noticed some interesting distinctions. Sometimes churches are geared to certain classes. After all, church growth gurus say that churches that are aimed at the same class of people grow faster.
I guess I can understand. Many years ago as a young deacon I remember visiting a family where the father played on a professional football team. I remember thinking to myself about how fortunate we would be if this family came to our church. Wouldn’t it be great! In effect, I had dressed this football player in the uniform of a man with “a gold ring and fine clothes.”
As I recently visited a church aimed at the young and athletic I found that I had joined the “out group.” I was not young, beautiful or athletic and this particular church was designed to attract those types of people. I did not have the “gold ring and fine clothes” decreed by that church. As I met the young pastor, I could sense that somehow I did not meet the standard of the member that his church was seeking.
And so I left knowing that although the church was about relationship; I was not one of the people targeted for relationship. And I took my place with the black person who visits a white church or the handicapped person who visits a church that sees them as a liability.
The reward of course of being one of the unchosen, is that you would never have felt comfortable there in the first place. And so even though I do have an ostentatious, gold ring with diamonds in it, I still will not wear it next time I go church visiting.
James 2:1-4 says the following:
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives.”
For many years I have thought that the story of the man with the gold ring dealt with wealth. I now know differently.
HarleyDad visits different churches from time to time. Perhaps it is because I believe in Jesus Christ or perhaps it is to assuage guilt from a very imperfect life. None the less I visit. Recently I have noticed some interesting distinctions. Sometimes churches are geared to certain classes. After all, church growth gurus say that churches that are aimed at the same class of people grow faster.
I guess I can understand. Many years ago as a young deacon I remember visiting a family where the father played on a professional football team. I remember thinking to myself about how fortunate we would be if this family came to our church. Wouldn’t it be great! In effect, I had dressed this football player in the uniform of a man with “a gold ring and fine clothes.”
As I recently visited a church aimed at the young and athletic I found that I had joined the “out group.” I was not young, beautiful or athletic and this particular church was designed to attract those types of people. I did not have the “gold ring and fine clothes” decreed by that church. As I met the young pastor, I could sense that somehow I did not meet the standard of the member that his church was seeking.
And so I left knowing that although the church was about relationship; I was not one of the people targeted for relationship. And I took my place with the black person who visits a white church or the handicapped person who visits a church that sees them as a liability.
The reward of course of being one of the unchosen, is that you would never have felt comfortable there in the first place. And so even though I do have an ostentatious, gold ring with diamonds in it, I still will not wear it next time I go church visiting.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
A Wild Ride
And so I was going to ride to Branson. I had checked the internet and it had indicated no rain.
Well, the internet lied! The ride began mid afternoon on Thursday. It was a hot, muggy 97 degrees outside. I was somewhat concerned about the heat. And so I set out.
Somewhere outside of Wentworth, Missouri, the storm hit me. Rain and small hail began to pelt me. There was a ratatattat as it hit against my helmet and a stinging as it hit my face and body. Well, the heat problem was solved. However, I quickly noted the differences between traveling by bike and travelling by car.
Finally, I pulled over under the drive through of a small Church of Christ. I noted ironically that I never had expected to find shelter or a covering by the Church of Christ; however so be it. I found modest shelter from the storms in my life. A welcome shelter it was too. I sat there watching it rain, hail, lightening and thunder like there was no tomorrow. Then there were the high winds also. Wow, had I picked a day to ride.
Finally, it began to slowly drizzle but there seemed to be no cessation of rain so I decided to ride through the rain which I did in about 5 to 8 miles. I had been prescient enough to bring a water tight bag with me and had my wallet, phone, and camera in it.
So the soaked hog began to ride again. The sun came out and soon thanks to the wind and the sun, I was dry again. And so I proceeded to Branson.
Sometimes the storms of life come. You have to wait them out and endure them. Fortunately, sometimes we can find shelter in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Well, the internet lied! The ride began mid afternoon on Thursday. It was a hot, muggy 97 degrees outside. I was somewhat concerned about the heat. And so I set out.
Somewhere outside of Wentworth, Missouri, the storm hit me. Rain and small hail began to pelt me. There was a ratatattat as it hit against my helmet and a stinging as it hit my face and body. Well, the heat problem was solved. However, I quickly noted the differences between traveling by bike and travelling by car.
Finally, I pulled over under the drive through of a small Church of Christ. I noted ironically that I never had expected to find shelter or a covering by the Church of Christ; however so be it. I found modest shelter from the storms in my life. A welcome shelter it was too. I sat there watching it rain, hail, lightening and thunder like there was no tomorrow. Then there were the high winds also. Wow, had I picked a day to ride.
Finally, it began to slowly drizzle but there seemed to be no cessation of rain so I decided to ride through the rain which I did in about 5 to 8 miles. I had been prescient enough to bring a water tight bag with me and had my wallet, phone, and camera in it.
So the soaked hog began to ride again. The sun came out and soon thanks to the wind and the sun, I was dry again. And so I proceeded to Branson.
Sometimes the storms of life come. You have to wait them out and endure them. Fortunately, sometimes we can find shelter in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Marian Days
Carthage, Missouri, to the casual eye, looks like a quaint city adorned with beautiful houses from the late 19th Century. One might use words like picturesque in order to describe it.
However, in the midst of this community, is another community, that coexists with Carthage but brings its own values, insight and culture. It is a surprising but pleasing contrast.
It is called the Congregation of the Mother Redemtrix and is in essence a Catholic Vietnamese Monastery. Once a year the Congregation of the Mother Redemptrix hosts a religious holy convocation in which Vietnamese families from across the nation congregate to give thanks for their safe delivery from Vietnam and for care of God. This gathering of Vietnamese for the week of celebration have grown from several thousand to as high as sixty thousand which is quite a group of people for a town with a population slightly in excess of ten thousand.
The hotels in Carthage and Joplin are full. The stores here locally plan for this convocation. Wal-Mart is stocked with cots, folding chairs and ice. It is like having a second Christmas for the local merchants.
The visitors are generally well behaved and use this as an opportunity to thank God and to see their friends and relatives. It is like having a gigantic nation wide family reunion once a year.
HarleyDad took some pictures of the preparations for this once a year visitation and they are posted above.
They call it Marian Days and thanks is given to the Virgin Mary. (And rest assured, HarleyDad is not getting into a theological discussion here.)
The point is with 60,000 visitors it behooves us all to be good neighbors.
HarleyDad
However, in the midst of this community, is another community, that coexists with Carthage but brings its own values, insight and culture. It is a surprising but pleasing contrast.
It is called the Congregation of the Mother Redemtrix and is in essence a Catholic Vietnamese Monastery. Once a year the Congregation of the Mother Redemptrix hosts a religious holy convocation in which Vietnamese families from across the nation congregate to give thanks for their safe delivery from Vietnam and for care of God. This gathering of Vietnamese for the week of celebration have grown from several thousand to as high as sixty thousand which is quite a group of people for a town with a population slightly in excess of ten thousand.
The hotels in Carthage and Joplin are full. The stores here locally plan for this convocation. Wal-Mart is stocked with cots, folding chairs and ice. It is like having a second Christmas for the local merchants.
The visitors are generally well behaved and use this as an opportunity to thank God and to see their friends and relatives. It is like having a gigantic nation wide family reunion once a year.
HarleyDad took some pictures of the preparations for this once a year visitation and they are posted above.
They call it Marian Days and thanks is given to the Virgin Mary. (And rest assured, HarleyDad is not getting into a theological discussion here.)
The point is with 60,000 visitors it behooves us all to be good neighbors.
HarleyDad
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Church Choirs
It is always great to hear wonderful choirs singing beautiful choral music. I love to hear the Vienna Boys Choir sing Ave Maria, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir belting out "A Mighty Fortress is our God" or the Robert Shaw Choral Group singing a black spiritual such as "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." Church choirs can add a dimension of worship to any service. I particular love to be led in worship by rockin' gospel or praise choirs that "get with the music." I even love Gregorian Chant and monastic choirs singing their praises and chants to God at the Midnight Hour.
But.....It is not the responsibility of the choir to praise and worship God. To the extent we allow the choirs in our churches to do this and we sit silently and watch them, we are engaged in a spectator sport. We become spiritual voyeurs. God does not want watchers. He wants doers. He does not need more hearers of the word but doers of the word.
Praise and Worship is not a spectator sport. We are called to get into the game. To leap from our benches and run down to the field and to join the game as a full player.
Just as our Pastors lead us in the Word of God so do our Music Ministers lead us in the sung Word of God. Spoken Word of God; Sung Word of God. Both are important.
As Christians we have a history, even a birthrite, of praise and worship. We are Spiritually descended from fathers that leaned upon their staff and worshipped God. We are of the royal spiritual blood line of David who danced before God and who established 24 hour praise in the Temple of God. We are of the lineage of Jesus who taught the woman at the well that someday worship would not be either on the mountain or in the Temple but instead would be in the hearts of men and women.
Worship and Praise is our heritage. It is about what we are all about. If people do not praise Jesus, then the stones shall praise Him. Well this stone in the Temple of God desires to praise His Lord and Master, and I know that other "stones" want to do so as well. So I guess we are not the "Rolling Stones" but the "Praisin' Stones". And I can tell you that some day the House is gonna Rock. Nature will join in. Angels will join in. And the stones will sing and vibrate like you ain't gonna believe.
This is Harley Dad speakin' out on Praise and Worship.
But.....It is not the responsibility of the choir to praise and worship God. To the extent we allow the choirs in our churches to do this and we sit silently and watch them, we are engaged in a spectator sport. We become spiritual voyeurs. God does not want watchers. He wants doers. He does not need more hearers of the word but doers of the word.
Praise and Worship is not a spectator sport. We are called to get into the game. To leap from our benches and run down to the field and to join the game as a full player.
Just as our Pastors lead us in the Word of God so do our Music Ministers lead us in the sung Word of God. Spoken Word of God; Sung Word of God. Both are important.
As Christians we have a history, even a birthrite, of praise and worship. We are Spiritually descended from fathers that leaned upon their staff and worshipped God. We are of the royal spiritual blood line of David who danced before God and who established 24 hour praise in the Temple of God. We are of the lineage of Jesus who taught the woman at the well that someday worship would not be either on the mountain or in the Temple but instead would be in the hearts of men and women.
Worship and Praise is our heritage. It is about what we are all about. If people do not praise Jesus, then the stones shall praise Him. Well this stone in the Temple of God desires to praise His Lord and Master, and I know that other "stones" want to do so as well. So I guess we are not the "Rolling Stones" but the "Praisin' Stones". And I can tell you that some day the House is gonna Rock. Nature will join in. Angels will join in. And the stones will sing and vibrate like you ain't gonna believe.
This is Harley Dad speakin' out on Praise and Worship.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Our Churches are Tin
Daniel the Prophet many years ago had a vision of a giant statue. Its head was gold but its feet were a mixture of tin and clay. It was a vision of civilization and societies. However, to the modern mind the colossus was inverted. We like to think that modern man is better than ancient man. Our society is more advanced, we are more cultured.
The vision of Daniel was illustrated to me a number of years ago in England when I went to an archeological site. What I saw was that as one went deeper, the archeological finds were better and more substantive. The finds at the Roman level were more substantial and more elegant. As one worked their way through level after level of history, the finds became less substantial, more transitory and moved to the level of what we would call trash and junk at the modern level.
Today we construct our church buildings of tin. The people of the middle ages did not do so. Their churches were beautifully constructed of stone. The churches of Notre Dame, Chartes, and Canterbury put our churches to shame. The medieval stained glass windows were stories of the Bible expressed in colored glass and sunshine, revealing the gospel even to the illiterate. The stained glass of the Middle Ages can not be duplicated today.
We think of ourselves as being advanced. We aren't. We worship today the gods of science, youth and pleasure. Medieval man worshipped God as God.
It is true that worship is of the heart. True worship from the heart is as elegant in a tin building as in a stone cathedral. However, we should not be condescending to the people, artists and artisans, who rather than fritter their lives away in front of a TV set, gave their lives to build monuments to God.
Interesting, the Bible says that it is God who builds and Christ who is the cornerstone. God too is building a grand monument in the midst of society. It is a holy church to contain the glory of God and we are stones of that church.
What we build passes away. What He builds remains forever. Do you have eyes to see it? Can you catch the vision?
The vision of Daniel was illustrated to me a number of years ago in England when I went to an archeological site. What I saw was that as one went deeper, the archeological finds were better and more substantive. The finds at the Roman level were more substantial and more elegant. As one worked their way through level after level of history, the finds became less substantial, more transitory and moved to the level of what we would call trash and junk at the modern level.
Today we construct our church buildings of tin. The people of the middle ages did not do so. Their churches were beautifully constructed of stone. The churches of Notre Dame, Chartes, and Canterbury put our churches to shame. The medieval stained glass windows were stories of the Bible expressed in colored glass and sunshine, revealing the gospel even to the illiterate. The stained glass of the Middle Ages can not be duplicated today.
We think of ourselves as being advanced. We aren't. We worship today the gods of science, youth and pleasure. Medieval man worshipped God as God.
It is true that worship is of the heart. True worship from the heart is as elegant in a tin building as in a stone cathedral. However, we should not be condescending to the people, artists and artisans, who rather than fritter their lives away in front of a TV set, gave their lives to build monuments to God.
Interesting, the Bible says that it is God who builds and Christ who is the cornerstone. God too is building a grand monument in the midst of society. It is a holy church to contain the glory of God and we are stones of that church.
What we build passes away. What He builds remains forever. Do you have eyes to see it? Can you catch the vision?
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