The Carpenters House

A New York Park Fountain

Saw and article on the death of a mega church. The mid 80s and the rise of the Assembly God growth birthed it, and the weirdness of the charismatic excess and pastoral shenanigans gradually killed it. The massive building that seated 10,000 will be raized for a retirement home in Lakeland.

I wonder if the future of Christianity will see many super churches go by the wayside?

I wonder how the church will find the courage to find a genuine way forward.

Burden Bearing

Hanalei Bay has never been so private as it was that trip, we had the beach to ourselves for a while and what a memory.

I occasionally am asked to lead memorial services for people I have never met, this week in three days we put together a service for a man who had been sick since he moved to Sun Lakes and had no chance to find a pastor. The widow and her sister did such a lovely job of bringing family into readings and comments,and everything went just beautifully. It is quite amazing how quicky you can bond to our common humanity and experience of happiness and loss. I am always deeply grateful to step in and help people like this.

Thoughts on the Shepherd's Conference

Hawaiian dance is an ancient language completely misunderstood by the English missionaries who sought to bring Christ to polynesia.

John McArthur has pastored a Church in LA for his whole ministry. It is conservative and has resisted change and modernization with great success and draws Christians from all over the valley for his solid expository preaching and traditional music, suits and dresses and solid family values.

Over the years several issues have brought McArthur controversy. The Lordship discussion, his long standing expose on the error and weakness in the charismatic church, and his embrace of male eldership rule only in the church.

This years theme is innerency, the believe that the Bible is not only inspired but without error in all it asserts in all its words in the original manuscripts and the insistance that this issue will be the final watershed that will be the defense upon which the future of truth will stand or fall.

To affirm that the Bible is inspired and trustworthy will no longer be enough, we must also affirm a perfection in the text or we will be excluded from the evangelical camp.

I have always believed this, but have listened to scholars who have looked into the formation and preservation of the texts of scripture and have benifited from those studies. My real struggle has always been how we interpret scripture and arrive at dogma. The vast number of interpretations floating around the non catholic part of the church are mind boggling, and make group Bible study and even group discussion almost impossible in this climate.

I fear this stance will turn McArthur and followers into a sort of evangelical sanhedrin, (not my phrase, but I like it) who will play harshly with the needed reformation we always face in a living faith. The complete ouster of Rob Bell is the prime example. I know him to be a Christian and I know his controverial questions, but I also know he is dealing with the texts and not ignoring or carelessly throwing them out. He was attacked for stating that a text of scripture is 2000 years old, which is true. Even those with a high view of scripture cannot escape the difficulty of hearing an ancient text and understanding its cultural context, its religious context, its consistency in a world that is long separated by culture, language, and worldviews, not to mention the impact of technology, medicine, philosophy and history. Waving the flag of Biblical innerency is not going to stop the issues we need to face today.

An Ode to Iodex Crystal

Larry is always bringing some pharaceutical from Mexico. When I began to complain about my two joints in my first fingers aching he gave me several ointments to try. Unguente in Spanish. Then came a green jar of Iodex Crystal. Rub it on the joints, smells like Vicks Vapo Rub, and instantly my nagging nightime ache was gone...for hours.

Recently looked it up and found it was almost 100 years old, a staple of households around America. Cost five bucks in Mexico and twenty in America. They have a brown bottle version which Larry likes, and its OK but just not as immediate as the green. Sadly we have not been able to resupply the green jar and I am cast upon the brown one. It works better than my 30 dollar jar of Austrailian Dream.

The active ingredients do not seem like they would ease joint pain, and it also advertises itself as an aid to heal bruises, but I am a big fan of this stuff. People are complaining that they have changes the formula but the Mexican version is just great. Thankful for little helps with issues of aging.

A simple answer for difficult texts

The US Arizona, Pearl Harbor, Oahu.

The answer is very simple, but very hard for evangelicals to think about. It is not a slippery slope to the lose of faith but a pathway to understanding and freedom. It allows our Bible to make it into our century with its core message of grace, love and peace intact. It allows us to see the occasional discord in scripture and not have to tap dance our way to concord through denial. It allows Paul to be a compassionate preacher of grace and occasionally act really rudely to the women on his team. It allows us to eat and drink the wine and meat of the new covenant without worrying about lipstick and head coverings. Here is it, think about it without fear, it does no damage to the inspiration of scripture.

GOD ALLOWS HUMAN BEINGS TO TELL HIS STORY. THEY ARE HUMAN, THEY HAVE EMOTIONS, THEY ARE OCCASSIONALLY NOT CONSISTENT WITH THEIR OWN CORE VALUES. THEY SOMETIMES SLANT A STORY TO MAKE THEMSELVES LOOK GOOD, JUST A TINY BIT. WE ALL DO IT. THEY WERE CHOSEN BY GOD TO CARRY AND MESSAGE THAT WOULD TAKE THE WORLD FROM EXCLUSION TO INCLUSION. IT WAS A TOUGH THING TO DO IN A WORLD OF RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION, AND BELIEVE WHEN RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION CAN GET YOU KILLED. ASK THE MESSIAH, AND THE REST OF THE APOSTLES.

Letting Paul off the hook

Sometimes the best of us have to blow off a little steam.

Why did my young preacher friend have to show me that verse? I spend a great deal of time and study defending the Gospel that Paul preached...telling folks that if all we had was the four gospels we would not have a ghost of a chance in developing a faith for this age. Paul had a unique calling to study, discern and reveal the good news to the gentiles, and he did a spot on job.

In recent decades however, with the rise of feminism and expose of biblicism Paul's practical sections have come under fire as being dated, confusing, and down right obtuse. I have agreed with some of that, but still contend that if you contextualize and place first century ideas in their place he still comes out strong.

Why did my young preacher chose to proof text with I Cor. 16:22. "If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed". NASB Really, Paul, after all that love talk did you have to end so hatefully? And, please help me....is accursed better or worse that cursed? Is it like a double dog dare?

Sheesh!

This is the kind of proof text that will not win friends and influence people....and frankly the attitude is what makes me really hate religion. I really hope Paul can rise above that kind of sniping and let nothing unsavory escape his lips....because I just do not want to curse those who do not love God, I would rather co exist with them, or ignore them or pray for them hopefully, but I just am not up to cursing other people.

Golden Bear Ice Cream

In Hawaii they put a scoop of macadamia nut ice cream in your shave ice, which is a delightful combo.

Schwans Ice Cream is moving off the truck and into the store with the help of Jack Nicklaus. I have never purchased any from the truck so I am definitely going to give it a try when it shows up on the shelf.

Odd that Jack who has struggled with his weight all his life is admitting that ice cream is his weakness....mine too.

Just hear that Phil Mickelson has used the paleo diet to lose some weight. Way to go Phil, now win one.

Played a new golf course on Friday and enjoyed the last warm day of our blustery but dry weekend.

After a busy week and weekend it is delightful to relax with a florida golf day.