I can't believe anyone is still checking here, but if you are, I am thinking and thinking about blogging again. I'll be attempting to do so at a new blog where I can add a little more bling.

Look for me over here: http://russhoward.wordpress.com

SOME RECENT THOUGTHS ON CHURCH

There are three types of people who associate with the church:

1. The General Public – they are simply observing, they are not actively involved or committed
2. The Participants – they are actively involved in ministries and meetings, they have made to official commitment to the church
3. The Partners – they are actively involved and committed, they partner in the mission of the church by investing their time, money, and energy

The following are my thoughts on what the church is to be: what the general public sees, what the participants are engaging with, and what the partners have devoted their lives to.

The church exists to make its town great – not to make itself great. The church’s desire to love God and to love its neighbors will drive all that it does. It will not waste time arguing about music styles, or the color of carpet, or nuances of the second coming.

The church will invest itself into giving mercy, compassion, and justice for their city and for their world. The church will participate in trying to eliminate injustices like homelessness, human trafficking, hunger, abuse, and in caring for those who suffer under them.

The church will be its people and the lives they lead together, not a building or a service.

When the church gets together…

• it will be for more than just a one hour service, getting what we need for my our personal growth, having our kids needs met, and then not showing up again until the next Sunday.

• it will be marked by simplicity and authenticity. When the church gathers, slick production style will not be the chief value.

• they will celebrate together, but they will also lament, confess, spend time in self-examination, and sometimes just sit in silence.

• they will meet all over town, all throughout the week. People will gather in homes, coffee shops, libraries, homeless shelters. The church will be where God is – everywhere.

To become fully involved in the church, people will have to examine and shift their priorities.

• The church will challenge the average American lifestyle. It will name and seek to counteract the need to have more, to do more, and to do it all on our own.

• The church will teach on how to follow the resurrected Christ. Sermons will not give easy formulas for better living, dole out easy answers to complex problems, or pander to the desire to get more in this life.

People will be known in the church: loved and supported. No one will be able to remain anonymous, just another face in the crowd.

The church will take the spiritual formation of their children seriously, seeking to develop in them a hunger for an authentic relationship with God. It will not depend on entertaining the kids in order to keep them happy, interested, and out of their parent’s hair.

The church will measure its growth in changed lives. Numbers will be viewed as indicators, not as finish lines.

I don’t know what you hear these days,

(if you hear something but can’t remember it, did you really hear it?)

but if you can hear this even if for just a moment, then hear this…

though things have been distant over this the second half of my life,

I called you my best friend once and that means something.

And whenever I see a kid and his eyes catch mine, I smile with my right side and I twinkle my eyes,

And that is you in me, and I like it.

"They don't think I know a butt-load of crap about the gospel, but I doooo."
Nacho

Hey old man
are you sleeping?
I don't want to wake you
can I get you anything?
a blanket to keep you warm?
I want you to be content
I'll keep quiet
and I'll let you sleep while I do want I want
but I thought I'd let you know about something I would like
could you float me a little before you nod off?

Hey old man
do you feel that?
the ground is shaking
is that thunder I hear?
did you see that lightning flash?
calm down old man
this is no state for you to be in
it's not safe
somebody might get hurt
I wanted something from you
but now I just want out alive

Hey old man
Hey earthquake
Hey holy fire

I passed an autumn tree with bright yellow leaves on Stewart Street today.
It dazzled my eyes like sunlight bursting through gray clouds.
And the tree seemed to take great pleasure in its beauty.

I thought of turning my car around
and plucking a yellow leaf
taking it home
and looking it up in a reference book on trees
to find out the kind of tree it is
and to plant one in front of my house along my street.

I wrote a poem about the tree and it's bright yellow leaves.
A poem never written down and soon forgotten.

I passed that tree twice today.
I was on my way to the hospital to visit a glinty eyed old lady
who sit three pews from the back on the left hand side.
She has a heart that only half works
and I thought today might be the day it would stop working altogether.

But it still works and she still lives
and there is a tree on Stewart Street with bright yellow leaves.

HOW MUCH DOES THIS SOUND LIKE MESSAGE OF JESUS AND THE STATE OF OUR WORLD TODAY?

"I start from the supposition that the world is topsy-turvy, that things are all wrong, that the wrong people are in jail and the wrong people are out of jail, that the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power... I start from the supposition that we don't have to say too much about this because all we have to do is think about the state of the world today and realize that things are all upside down."

A Quote from Howard Zinn - historian, civil rights activist, leftist thinker

HE'S THERE IN THE MIDDLE PUSHING AGAINST TWO BLOCKERS