The MethoBlog aggregator

The World According to Carl (Carl McCaskey): Jimmy Buffett — New Orleans Saints Mega-fan

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:11:49 -0600

The New Orleans Times-Picayune has an article online via NOLA.com about Jimmy Buffett being a big Saints fan. I’ve been a Jimmy Buffett fan about as long as I’ve been a Saints fan. It’s nice when two things I enjoy meld together like this.

Lake Neuron (John Carney): No story tonight

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:26:07 -0600

I was really counting on a long and funny story from Dave Letterman tonight about the taping of the Super Bowl ad with Jay and Oprah. But there wasn’t one; he made a very brief monologue joke, and then later at the desk he dryly thanked “the actors who played Oprah and Jay Leno.”

Part of the problem may have been that tonight’s Late Show was chock full anyway, with little time for desk chat — Super Bowl QB Drew Brees, Sandra Bullock, the unveiling of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover, and some unexpected crisis in the form of stage manager and frequent cast member Biff Henderson injuring himself. Dave, in Brees’ honor, was tossing the pigskin to various members of the crew and the CBS orchestra, and Biff fell down trying to make a catch. Dave said he was fine, but they apparently took him out on a gurney with his leg in a splint.

I actually watched the first few minutes of “The Jay Leno Show” tonight — the first time I’ve done so since Jay started whining at the peak of the late night crisis — and I have to admit that Jay did a nice job talking about the spot, and about how he had to sneak into the Ed Sullivan Theater in a hoodie, shades and fake moustache for the taping last Tuesday.

Top NBC officials had to approve Jay’s appearance on the CBS promo, but it was kept so hush-hush that a lower-level NBC functionary actually came to Jay a day or two after the taping to tell Jay about a rumor that Letterman had taped a Super Bowl promo with a super-secret guest, which the executive figured might be … Barack Obama. Jay listened with great interest and instructed the NBC executive to keep him informed.

Bet that guy felt stupid when he saw the promo.

The World According to Carl (Carl McCaskey): A Fantastic Photo From The Saints’ Post-Game Celebration

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:24:39 -0600

Renovate Your Life (Dale Tedder): Kingdom Come: Part 2

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:05:55 -0600

Our text this morning finds us at the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Verse 12 tells us that Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison. We don’t know how long it was after Jesus heard this news, but we learn that Jesus returned to Galilee. This is key because Jesus was [...]

Step By Step (Joseph Yoo): Oh Silly Thomas

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:04:10 -0600

When I was a junior in high school, our friends got together to celebrate bringing in the New Year at a friend’s house (as was tradition). That year, I had to babysit my brother, so, I brought him along. He could just sit in the corner and be invisible. As long as he didn’t die, I’d be okay.
We started to play a game called “Screw Your Neighbor.” And the stakes were set. Whoever lost had to put on this green spaghetti strap. (I forget what happened if a girl lost.) Anyway, as fate would have it, I lost. Rules were rules and bets had to be honored. So I strolled into the bathroom and put on this real small neon green spaghetti strap shirt and strutted out of the bathroom. People laughed. Others took pictures. My brother? Well, Lord knows what went through his mind, but he balled up in the corner and started bawling like the little girl he was (I don’t think my brother cries as often nowadays. At least I hope not). It was rather funny.

Years later, I was graduating college and was going to move to DC to attend seminary. So my friends put on a good-bye party. One of the presents I received was a collage of pictures of memories and goodbye notes from friends. In the top right corner of the collage, there’s a picture that I thought no longer existed. It’s a picture of me a skinny green spaghetti strap shirt. I could not believe that one of my friends still had that picture. I probably can imagine why my brother wanted to cry seeing me in that, because I wanted to cry seeing that picture. But there it was, forever to remind me that I lost in a stupid card game and faced the consequences by dressing up as a girl. The collage of pictures sits on my desk, and though it’s tempting to remove that picture once and for all, it serves as a good memory and a reminder that I do not look good in green.

Speaking of not looking good in green, Thomas often gets a bad rap as a disciple. (My English teachers always said I needed to work on my segues.) I remember one of my youth pastors preaching to our kids that Thomas is not a good name to name your kids because he will always be associated with being a doubter (the pastor should’ve known better. There was a good boy named Thomas that went to that church…). But I often think that Thomas being labeled as a doubter rather unfair. I mean, he didn’t know someone there was taking notes and would bring it up every time the story was told. “So, get this man. There was this guy named Thomas… and even as Jesus was, like, standing right there, Thomas wouldn’t believe it!” It’s like, someone caught him wearing a neon green spaghetti strap shirt, took a picture of it, and flaunted to everyone saying, “See? He does like dressing up as a girl!!!” It’s like having a bad picture of you plastered all over facebook and people will always remember that night when you (fill in the blank). Not fair. Because that picture just captures a fleeting moment in time.

It was just a fleeting moment in time, and a rather fair statement to make: Unless I actually see the dude, I ain’t gonna believe you guys. I mean, the dude (Jesus) died. They all saw it. Then this same dude stands in front of the door and says, I’m alive. I’m sure Thomas wasn’t the only one in the room that thought, “whoa… what was in that piece of fish I ate?” I mean after all, Tommy wasn’t even there when everyone saw Jesus. What if he thought that the disciples were going through some kind of withdrawals?

And besides, it’s not like we never doubt, right? We’ve all wrestled with doubt, in one form or another.

But, to limit Thomas as a doubter, I think that’s unfair. That’s like labeling me as a cross dresser. (And for the record, I am not. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…)
When we discuss this story of Thomas doubting, I think it’s also important and fair to Thomas, that we bring up John 11 as well.

Jesus just heard that his friend Lazarus had passed and Jesus wants to go back to Jerusalem. His disciples were all worried and asked Jesus, “You really wanna go back to Jerusalem? Dude, they just tried to stone you a little while back. Let’s just hang out here.” (I paraphrased.)
And then, it was Thomas, who spoke up and said, “Let us also go, that we may die with [Jesus].” Thomas was willing to follow Jesus to Jerusalem, even if it meant that they would get stoned with Jesus as well. We don’t know what the other disciples were thinking. But we know what Thomas was thinking. And he spoke up, rather courageously. He was going to go back to Jerusalem with his Rabbi whatever the cost may be.

So, sure, Thomas was a doubter. But it’s a shame that’s how many people remember him as. Thomas was more than a doubter. In fact, we could argue while many of the disciples doubted Jesus’ plan to see Lazarus in Jerusalem, Thomas was not. It wouldn’t be fair for us to be remembered by one mistake we made in our lives or have that one mistake define who we are as a person. He was a good, loyal and faithful disciple, just like the others. (Well, Judas Iscariot… I don’t know how I’d defend him).

And just to be safe, I hope that picture of me wearing that spaghetti strap never gets out. I’d have a lot of explaining to do…

A Peculiar Prophet (Bishop Will Willimon): Growing the Church, One Small Group at a Time

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:22:00 -0600

One of the most impressive areas of growth for us is in the area of involvement in small groups in the church. Small group involvement is important for two main reasons: 1. The Wesleyan movement was, in great part, a small group movement. John Wesley creatively utilized small, face-to-face groups to ignite his revival. In the groups, evangelical passion was wedded to Wesleyan accountability. Small groups are a very “Methodist thing.” 2. Studies show that churches grow through the increase of the number of small groups in the church and an increase in lay membership in these groups. In fact, part of the remarkable transformation at Helena UMC, is explosion of small groups being led by Paula Jones there. Mike Edmondson and Paula tell me that there is no vital, dynamically growing church that does not have at least 65% of all its adults involved, sometime during the course of a year, in small groups.

Elizabeth Nall, is our Conference leader and coach in educational small group work, particularly among parents and children. Elizabeth, in reporting our documented gains in the number of United Methodists in small groups in North Alabama says, “Small group formation is where faith development is deepened through study and relationships. There is potentially as much or more opportunity to reach people through small group participation in our churches as through our worship experiences.”

John Tanner, the pastor from Cove UMC (I call Cove the “Research & Development department for the North Alabama Conference”), credits small groups as the major factor in his congregation’s dramatic growth. At Cove (1030 Total professing members - 1050 was their average weekly worship attendance) a total of 950 people participate in small group ministries every week. John estimates that about 70% of Cove’s members participate in weekly small groups.

I have participated in teaching in a number of small group settings at ourCanterbury UMC. Oliver Clark leads a fine adult educational ministry at Canterbury that is small group based. Of Canterbury’s 4804 members, 1,428 attend regular small group meetings. An estimated 328 people are involved in Canterbury small groups who are not otherwise related to the church. Small groups, for many people, are the door through which people enter the church.

At Helena UMC, they have set a goal to give birth to at least a dozen new small groups every year in order to keep their forward motion. Elizabeth Nall says, “As a Christian educator, I believe that ii is essential to be intentional about faith development in small groups as we remain passionate about worship. There is ripe opportunity to make disciples for Jesus Christ through these small group encounters.”

This past Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, Elizabeth and our Conference Adult Ministries Team arranged for Debi Nixon, Adult Discipleship Coordinator, from the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, to lead our conference in a discussion on small group ministry at Canterbury UMC.

Nixon discussed the Wesleyan and Biblical concept of small groups, how to start them, maintain their health, and the purpose and the goal of small group ministry through sharing the story of Church of the Resurrection - another church which chose to grow by "growing smaller" and focusing on small group ministries. Top leadership in our conference guided nineteen breakout sessions during the event encompassing more specific discussion in small group areas that our North Alabama local churches are using with success.

I am so glad so many of our churches gained important insight from Saturday’s Growing Successful Small Groups event. If your church needs guidance in strengthening your small group ministry contact Rev. Elizabeth Nall atenall@northalabamumc.org or (205) 226-7993.

Will Willimon

Ray Crump, who leads our relief warehouse in Decatur, has just reported to me that United Methodists of North Alabama ”are responding to the crisis in Haiti in a way that I have never seen in all my 50 years of ministry and relief work.” Ray and his volunteers are shipping tons of supplies to Haiti nearly every week. Thanks for this wonderful outpouring of Christian concern.

Sandpiper's Thoughts (Kim Matthews): Trust and Obey

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:14:00 -0600

Sometimes on Sundays there is an unintentional connection between what we talk about in Sunday school and the sermon scripture. This past Sunday, we considered prayer in Sunday school and Luke 5:1-11 as a lectionary reading in worship.

In prayer, we offer our worries and concerns to God, prayerfully trusting him to lead us to solutions, to lead others to help, to change our attitudes, to bring healing, to grant grace -- the list is endless. The key, I think, is the trust and obedience. Are we willing to give our trust to God? Do we give him our plan for how he should work and then say, "Sometimes God says 'no'" to our prayers?

The following are verses 4 and 5 from the Luke passage:

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets."

Simon knew fishing. I imagine he thought his own plan and way was best. And yet -- he trusted God and obeyed.

He pulled up the nets and the catch was huge. The fruit of his obedience was obvious.

Is the fruit of our obedience obvious? Could it be we fail to trust and obey?

PostMark: Morganton (Mark Conforti): A Big Birthday

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:08:00 -0600

At the 11:00 worship service yesterday, during the announcement time, a kind older gentleman sitting in the back of the sanctuary raised his hand. I can tell he wanted to speak. I called on his name, "Bob?"

Bob is the Scout Master Czar. Over many decades, Bob led a countless number of scout meetings, camping trips, and educational endeavors about the benefits of scouting. And, of course, he led several young men to become Eagle Scouts. For a time, Bob even served as our Annual Conference's Scout Coordinator. Bob always has a scouting story to share... So you could imagine his disappointment when the scout troop at Salem UMC was transferred to another church a few years ago.

So Bob made his announcement: "Tomorrow, February 8th, is the 100th birthday of the Boy Scouts, and I think everyone here ought to know that."

This struck me... First, my heart leaped over the pews to Bob. Second, 100 years is a long time for any organization, let alone a volunteer group. Much could be said or written about scouting, how children have changed over 100 years, the vast options now available to young boys and girls, and so forth. Nonetheless, it's evident to me that an uncountable number of men are thankful for their scouting as boys.

Seeing all the cool things scouts do, I'm not surprised one bit that our oldest son wants to be a scout. By the way, today -- February 8th, 2010 -- is also his birthday. He turns 5!

JediPastor (Ken Hagler): Trading Spouses - Husbands Take Note

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:42:00 -0600

Would any of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for bread? Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! "Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets. (Matthew 7:9-12 GNB)

I know it would be wrong to make assumptions so let me say it this way - “Traditionally, a man asks a woman to marry him.” Each man in doing so makes a recognition of a woman's sovereignty to choose. Of course, there are those who also make the assumption she is going to say yes too. I watched some marriage proposal failures on youtube and just cringed knowing what was coming. But then that is the nature of being sovereign beings – we have the freedom to choose.

As I said last week, Trading Spouses isn't about trading in your spouse. No, Trading Spouses is about the freedom you have to become the spouse your spouse needs. And that is why I want to look at this rather tounge-in-cheek humor that Jesus displays for his hearers.

Jesus, in one of his great moments of divine sarcasm points out the absurdity of a parent's response to needs of their children. This leads to his pointing out how much God, the heavenly Father also is interested in giving good gifts. And this leads to what is known as the Golden Rule - “Do for others what you want them to do for you.”

Let me ask ya this - “Do you want to be treated as a free, sovereign human being?” I'm pretty sure I can assume we all do.

So then let me ask you this - “If you had a burden, a responsibility, a project, would you also appreciate a little help along the way? An extra hand or another perspective? My guess is that you'd answer a thumbs up to that as well.

Would you join me in looking at this very important, passage of scripture as today, we help the men in the room today...
Eph 5:22-24 GNB Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord. (23) For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body. (24) And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ.

Now, you may wonder why I said we're going to help the men in the room today, right? This didn't have anything to do with men did it....Ah! And that is where you'd be wrong. Look guys, I've missed this far too many times myself but I'm convinced we've missed the boat here...I mean, it left the dock LOOOONG ago. That is, if we look at it in the light of what Jesus said.

You see, the role of women is fairly clear, if not very much misunderstood. But if we are looking at one another through the eyes of Jesus then something else ought to become clear. The first is most obvious, Paul writes to clearly identify the expectations of women in a marriage (and to help us see more of the mystery of the relationship with Christ and the church). To submit in marriage IS an act of sovereign will to one WORTHY of respect. It is not to the role of a servant but as a partner.

The second thing, which is not as clear is this. If you know you would like help in fulfilling a task and you know the task put before the person, then it only makes sense that you would do then what you would want done...and fufill the law of love – the way of Jesus Christ. Husbands, by knowing what it is that your spouse is being asked to do – a choice she gets to make. You have the freedom to choose to make that burden for her AS EASY and AS LIGHT as POSSIBLE – Become worthy of her respect!!!

I'll admit, I make it far more difficult. The Bible tells us that this is the result of our choosing our own way rather than God's way – our sovereignty – defaults to selfishness. These verses, became, even in the church, a burden to women when in fact, in light of Jesus' teaching and his sacrifice, are an opportunity for us to be more like Jesus – to trade in the spouse we've become for the one our spouse needs.

Before we got married, Heather and I went through premarital counseling. There I was introduced one of the two books that I recommend to couples that I counsel. It is called, His Needs. Her Needs. By Dr. Willard Harley. In his work and research, Dr. Harley identifies those things needed most by spouses. You'll need to get his book to get all of them but two I want to identify and share because of their application to all of our lives.

One, you might say, is a no brainer – women want to engage in conversation. Guys, wives are no different – they are women! Yet, it is one of the top 5 things wives need from their husbands and significant others. Dr. Harley puts it this way - “Caring partners converse in a caring way (pg 75).” Caring conversation recognizes the needs, the hopes and the dreams of the most important person in our lives.

The second, points reflects the community and that is – women are looking for a commitment to family. I will say on this instance, Dr. Harley is a bit narrow in his definition. There is a bigger family involved in a marriage than the immediate family. A concern for parents and siblings is also a valid need. Talking about in-laws in a negative light is likely not going to win many points along the way. It does mean, as guys, our desire to go off and do our thing is put to the side.

Two things, that would make it so much easier for your spouse to follow after God. Two things that Jesus Christ did and continues to do for the church. Two things that the church can provide for everyone in need of having a community to call their family.

The mystery is, or maybe better said – the reality – is that no man, even a husband, will ever fulfill the greatest desire of the human heart. For human hearts long for relationships – God has made us this way and it is in these relationships. We were meant for something more, something more than what we see and experience here – we are meant for a relationship with God and because of Jesus Christ – the one who knows our deepest needs – we can truly do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

Locusts and Honey (John the Methodist): Batman Valentines

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:20:00 -0600

Josh Wigler archived a bunch of these and has them posted at Comics Alliance. Pretty cool. But this year, I'm going with a Spawn theme. Because nothing says love like coming back from Hell to enter into the service of demons in order to see one's true love again.

Or something like that.

Hmm. Maybe I should just stick with an Aquaman theme.

Link

Locusts and Honey (John the Methodist): Become Your Fear, Bruce Wayne

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:17:00 -0600

I dunno -- it still would have been pretty cool, I suppose.

Related note: I suggested to my wife that if we ever had a son, we should name him Bruce Wayne. She utterly refused.

Huh. Chicks. Who can understand them?

Link via reddit

John Meunier: Talking with myself: Good news

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:30:24 -0600

I sometimes do this question-and-answer thingy to help myself think through things. My answers to these kinds of questions change all the time, so don’t look on this as final thinking. Just thinking.

What is your calling?

To proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

And what is the good news of Jesus Christ?

That in Christ God has reconciled the world to himself, so we might live as children of God.

What do you mean by ‘reconciled’?

God has broken down every wall or barrier that separates us from him. He has brought light to the darkness, food to the desert, and a dry passage across the Red Sea.

What do you mean when you say this is done ‘in Christ’?

Jesus of Nazareth was the agent who destroyed the grip of fear and death. If we trust in the power of Jesus to work in and for us, we will know this reconciliation, too.

So, what are we to do?

Believe the good news, and live as children of God.

United Methodeviations (Dan Dick): A Return to the Dark Ages?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:26:15 -0600

Super Bowl 44 — over. I am a huge Colts fan, but even I can’t be unhappy with the Saints victory. Who could begrudge New Orleans anything? I am delighted for every Saints fan everywhere. I wish I could feel as good about the Super Bowl ads, but I don’t. Oh, there were some funny bits and some classic moments, but as they unfolded I found myself appalled. An inordinate number of ads were incredibly sexist and even hostile to women (except for those by women who objectify and denigrate…). I found myself offended more often than entertained. The “men are pigs, women are ignorant” message wore thin fast. I felt a time warp — cast back fifty years to a time when men could be insensitive jerks and think it was cool. Have we decided that women are somehow okay targets again?

I know. I am idealistic. I want to believe that we are an evolved and kind people, but the evidence is sketchy at best. I still encounter Christians (United Methodists, in fact…) who question if “women” (as if this is some sub-species) should be pastors. The question leaves me speechless. Are we complete idiots? Have we never functioned in the real world? Have we no mothers, wives, sisters, or brains? Have we never had any relationships of any worth or value in our lives with females? Are we irrational, primitive, pre-modern, ignorants who live in total bigotry and prejudice? No. We’re intelligent human beings who respect and revere both males and females as created in the image of God. We are not stupid.

But, then what explains the insensitive, violent, aggressive, antagonistic, misogynistic, hateful and ugly messages about women that pass for humor in marketing and media? How have we devolved so far, so fast? I am a guy, after all, and I found a large number of Super Bowl ads offensive and indefensible. I can’t be too far off, since my wife found them offensive as well, and she is a woman!

I hate when the dominant culture is unenlightened and offensive — I hate it all the more when my church follows suit. I lament with the wonderful, spiritual, competent, and gifted women clergy in my denomination who are still finding it hard to be accepted as leaders in our church. I listen to denominational leaders crow about how far we have come, then talk to women in the system who are suffering under the burden of 19th century sexism and oppression. Are we kidding ourselves? We still mistreat women in leadership almost daily.

Look at our largest churches. How many are led by women? I actually had a well-known large-church pastor tell me it was because “women don’t want the responsibility.” Yikes. Our system doesn’t recognize or reward women the same way it does men. We come up with a hundred and one (lame) excuses, but the one reason is that we simply haven’t gotten to the point where justice and fairness guide our life together. We pay lip-service to what we know we should be (articulated values) but are light-years away from that goal (lived values). We revere and honor woman while treating them as second-class — the great American way.

I can’t quite fathom the irreverent, disrespectful, and offensive messages about women in this year’s batch of Super Bowl ads, but I fear it reflects a deeper disregard that we refuse to admit and acknowledge. In the church, this may call for some major repentance — unless we’re really not sorry. I just can’t imagine that we would be so stupid as to rob ouselves of the amazing leadership of women in a system that needs the whole people of God to be successful.

Only Wonder Understands (Jay Voorhees): Congrats to Jim (and David too!)

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:21:36 -0600

There have been lots of comments on the Superbowl ads from last night, but the one that seems to have slipped through the cracks is the Cars.com ad. Part of the reason is that it was cute, but not side splitting. However, I liked it because my college roommate Jim’s son David played the part of the kids birthing the Bengal tiger. So, for Jim and David, here’s another chance for you to check it out.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Bengal Tiger, Cars.com, David Ruby, friends, Jim Ruby

Methodist Preacher (David Hallum): Who says we are a tolerant society?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:01:00 -0600

Sometime this morning a bus will take me across London and along Great Portland Street. I have fond memories of the area having worked for a PR consultancy in the office block to the extreme right of this picture - in fact my actual office can be seen above the doorway.

Just a fortnight or so ago I was reading an item in a newspaper just as I passed reporting a survey which claimed to have found British people to be more tolerant .

I couldn't help noticing as I passed the synagogue next to my old office that its windows had been heavily reinforced, an entry phone installed and a surveillance camera installed. Enlarge the picture and you will see what I mean. A tolerant society?

Just like I suspected the possibility of a "tolerant Britain" was quickly put to bed. A few days later The Community and Security Trust, which does excellent work in protecting our Jewish citizens, published a report pointing out that last year there was a steep rise in the number of antisemitic incidents:

CST recorded 924 antisemitic
incidents in 2009. This is the
highest annual total since
it began recording antisemitic
incidents in 1984, and is 55
per cent higher than the previous
record of 598 incidents in 2006.

The CST website provides chilling evidence that antisemitism is now a casual part of many children's attitudes. Ilford has a large Jewish population, I know the area fairly well and was working there on a couple of assignments in the last three years. One would have thought that it was one of those places that Jewish people could feel safe. Not so.

Youths at a local secondary school set up a Facebook page promoting hatred against Jews. It quickly attracted 500 members. They boasted about confronting Jews in shops and on the streets and shouting obscenities at them. The page has now been taken down.

Jews are part and parcel of our community. Many of their parents died fighting alongside our parents in our wars.

In a tolerant country they should not live in fear. Nor should they have to turn their places of worship into fortresses.