May 31, 05 by ed
Check out the the lyrics to this great hymn by Charles Wesley:
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Come, thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free; From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in thee. Born your people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King, Born to reigh in us forever, Now your gracious kingdom bring. By your own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone; By your all-sufficient merit Raise us to your glorious throne.
Charles Wesley (aka Charlie)
May 31, 05 by ed
<%image(20050531-salute.jpg|100|150|salute)%> Watching the veterans walk down the streets of Doylestown lined with spectators for veteran’s day I was overcome with emotion. After the marching band made its journey down the street with there glitz and catchy tunes, a small group of ordinary looking men walked up as if strolling in the park. They all had some form of identification. Any applause that had been given to previous groups was now eclipsed by the cheers and clapping that welcomed these men. The moment snuck up on me and overcame me like a wave that smacks you when surfacing for air.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 30, 05 by ed
<%image(20050530-amazon box.jpg|113|86|box)%> The inevitable part of every move is packaging everything you own into boxes. We currently have boxes piled up in several corners and along most of the available wall space. Most of our book cases have been disassembled and the literary contents thereof tucked away in liquor boxes (boy did we have to drink A LOT to empty those boxes!!!). In putting so much of our stuff away while continuing to live without a deep sense of deprivation, it sure makes me wonder if I need all that I call “my stuff”.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 28, 05 by ed
There is a new discussion board on worship at theooze.com. Though there are only a few discussions, there a some great thoughts on worship and how to worship. Check it out here>.
May 27, 05 by ed
<%image(20050527-images.jpg|99|130|trophy)%> As recent converts to the Mozilla Firefox Internet Browser, Julie and I have found that we can easily waste large quantities of time doing inane searches with the various search engines that you can add to the top of your browser screen. The bait to draw Julie in was the google search for a disc golf course in the Bennington Vermont area that landed us at the professional disc golf association site. We happily found one right in Bennington and several others within an hour or two. yet the real time waster was a funky little site called rhymezone.com.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 27, 05 by ed
Andrew Jones provides the skinny on a relatively new term, “Deep Ecclesiology,” that he’s been using since early on this millenium. It has been passed around in emerging and missional church circles, especially in the latest work by Brian McLaren The Last Word and The Word After That. In reading McLaren’s book I should have suspected that he was behind some of the thinking. “Dr. Jones I presume?”
May 26, 05 by ed
If I had to pick an ideal place to live, the utmost of utopia’s, it would have to be a moderately sized town with a decent town center (with several coffee shops, one book store with a coffee shop, and a used book store with low prices and optional coffee shop) and homes that are within walking distance of most parts of town so as to afford the residents the ability to walk to most of the places they need to go. Sadly I think about 1% of America has this lay out.
<%image(20050526-harvard design.gif|139|177|harvard design mag)%> A book that critiques the disconnected nature of many American cities and suburbs is Harvard Design Magazine. There actually are people out there who think that our towns and cities have been designed poorly and there are viable options for new forms of urban planning. In addition, those design ideas have some pretty far-reaching implications for building community and being salt and light.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 25, 05 by ed
I tend to think of obedience as something that I will myself to do. I decide to obey God, to follow him, to turn away from sin and move toward him. Somehow God is working to change me and make it easier for me to obey, but ultimately it is an act of the will, a stout and resolute stand against sin. Of course there are times when you run like a frightened rabbit from sin, but still, there is a conscious choice, the bending of my will to be obey God and live in righteousness. I’m not so sure about that right now.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 24, 05 by ed
<%image(20050524-deconstruction.jpg|118|123|deconstruct)%> Lately I have been really taken by how easy it is to misread someone. And perhaps even more than that: how easy it is to say something other than what you intend. It kind of comfirms to me the importance of reading and rereading as advocated by deconstruction.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 23, 05 by ed
Praying the Divine Hours this morning I came accross a great Psalm. The last few sentences in particular are worth reading before a ministry meeting. God is not impressed with us. He’s looking for people who are waiting for him. Ministry so often is about “doing” and not about “waiting.”
Read the rest of this entry »
May 23, 05 by Josh
I read an interesting article from Christianity Today regarding the postmodern “reformation”. I found myself agreeing with it. I was wondering what the younger evangelicals who read this blog think. Here it is: www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/004/23.62.html
May 22, 05 by ed
In my fascination, interaction, and conversation with the Emerging Church Network, I came accross a great little article at opensourcetheology entitled Obstacles to an effective emerging church? The author brings up some very thoughtful and challenging issues that any group of Christians seeking to live in community among the emerging culture will have to face.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 21, 05 by ed
<%image(20050521-Velvet small pic.jpg|164|123|Velvet)%> The immediate future holds a number of changes for Julie and me. One is a move up to the Green Mountains of Vermont. The other is the inclusion of pets into our family. Being that I’m allergic to cats and not a huge fan of dogs, bunnies have moved to the top of our list. The little fellah pictured here has been one of our top candidates, but even if we don’t adopt him, he kind of has the look we’re after in a bunny. I should add that this post is under duress. Julie has been dictating certain parts of the post to me. But I’m pretty excited about the hop, hop of little paws around the house. And yes, we’re not ready for kids yet!!!
May 21, 05 by ed
<%image(20050521-images.jpg|141|106|waves)%> Just some thoughts I jotted down this afternoon on James 1:1-8 and in particular the process of asking God in faith and how he replies. My title is a bit more provocative than necessary, but if it sucked you in, I hope to deliver the goods below.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 20, 05 by ed
<%image(20050520-homeless.jpg|105|121|homeless)%> I’m not the nicest person. Really. I have heard the same song and dance many a time: “I need money and a place to stay,” “I’m trying to get section 8 housing,” “My doctor ordered that I can’t work anymore, but I can’t get disability,” yadda yadda yadda, knowing that the person on the other end of the phone just wants money. I usually want to help, but just don’t know how.
Read the rest of this entry »
