I would invite you to take a look at my friend Jeff Jones' blog today. The link is to the side of my blog. He brings up some interesting thoughts about the Lord's Supper. I wonder if we are aware at all how much what we do in our worship services today has been shaped by the transition in the early years from meeting in homes to meeting in cathedrals. Within our current model, it's hard to know how to translate the intent of the early church's worship.
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Interesting tidbits from the news:
1. Last night, Charlie Gibson reported that "experts" are saying gas will be $4 a gallon by late spring. Yee-haa! I bet Exxon-Mobil is giddy. Their record quarterly profits should go even higher as they drive our country into recession. If gas goes up another dollar, that will affect the price of everything. The oil companies have helped to establish a society that is so dependent upon gasoline that they can now do whatever they want. Here again, my cynicism comes out. But I am VERY cynical about the major oil companies. I think they control the politics and wars of much of the world.
2. It seems like only a couple of years ago, I was hearing that African elephants were close to extinction. I read an article this morning that said the elephants have recovered so quickly that several African governments are thinking about killing some of them. They are putting a huge strain on the food and water supply.
3. People will be making a huge fuss over Barack Obama donning the traditional clothing of his native homeland when he went for a visit. I'm sure this will fuel those who perpetuate the slanderous rumor that he is an Islamic terrorist. Yet it has been the custom for a long time for American visitors to wear the clothing of the native people so as not to offend them.
4. In America, people are bailing out on their traditional religious upbringings. They are either giving up the Christian faith all together, or opting for a "more individual" faith (meaning "I can be a Christian and not be a part of a church." This ought to challenge us as a church to ask, "What can we do to better communicate our message?" Where have we failed in our representation of community and fellowship? I find it especially sad because as more and more people are working in cubicles or from their homes, isolation is going to be a tremendous problem. People will need community more than ever. But our culture is making it harder and harder.
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2 comments:
I'm surprised how little the gas prices have seemed to affect our economy so far but I think the dark days are coming. I'll text you about it later so we can maintain our autonomy. :)
I missed the story about Obama wearing his homeland clothes. I can't remember where he was born but thought he grew up in Hawaii. I guess it's something like me wearing jeans and boots in Chicago - quite the oddity.
Having worked in the oil tool industry for many years, I don't view big oil with the same degree of cynicism. To your second point could you talk to Linda? I don't own the right rifle for elephant and would have to have permission to get a new one. Personally, I plan to evaluate the candidates' voting records and pick the lessor of many evils. For me the key word in your 4th point is isolation. I'm not sure our message or the way we communicate our message is at fault. I've personally never felt so isolated was when I was with a large group of people with whom I had no communication. Perhaps what we need to change is the way we relate to those with whom we're not so comfortable.
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