Regurgical Dance

The staff of Lifepath Church worked very hard on this Holiday Dance which was featured on a recent Sunday morning. We've had many requests to see the video, so here it is.

Christmas Pageants Rock

Lifepath's first Christmas pageant was a lot of fun. The church members did a great job creating all the costumes and the sets. This first picture is from the opening number which involved lots of dancing and pink hats.

There were also spies in this version of the Christmas story. That's Jane Blonde in the middle.

Here is the Angel Jazz Band. That's Gabe on the horn.

Here are my three fifth graders. It's a little sad to think this may be their last Christmas pageant.

Judith was in the angel chorus.

And here is Jake. Is this a mild form of child abuse?

What Is the Pastor Reading?

I tend to pick at half a dozen things at once. Here are the main things I'm currently working through.

It was time to read some R. C. Sproul.

I've read plenty of Calvin and studied quite a few theologians that come from the Reformed tradition. I've also spent a fair share of time reading the classic Reformed creeds. But I've never read someone modern who holds so closely to a 17th century scholastic version of the Reformed faith in its famous TULIP form.

Sproul is an engaging writer and a good teacher. If I can get some uninterrupted time, I should finish it in the next week or so.




This is a fine look at how to share one's faith. There are no gimmicks or fads. It's all about loving people and listening to God's guidance. I'm really enjoying it.

This book by Joseph Canfield is an unflattering biography of the editor of the Scofield Bible, which popularized Dispensational theology in the United States.








With so many faiths represented in the city of Houston, a pastor is well served to have a decent understanding of the major world religions. Huston Smith's book is considered a classic.





And finally, just for fun I'm reading a fictional account of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Normally I prefer history to historical fiction but this is pretty good.

The Ultimate Anti-Zombie Weapon

You know you want one.

My Buddy, the Pirate

Michael Wurl is my buddy. He and his parents, Gary and Jennifer Wurl, are member of Lifepath and very involved in the life of the church. He's now about 23 or 24 and I guess I've known him about 11 years.

Michael has always been a bit of a character. He recently graduated from chef school and he must be pretty good at it. He has just gotten a job to be an executive chef in Nigeria at a five star hotel. He'll be leaving in January and gone for the next year. I'll miss getting together with him and playing video games.

But if you ask Michael what he really wants to do, he'll tell you he wants to be a pirate. He just called me from Ireland where he has been doing a cooking internship. He announced that he had made the national television news and the national paper.

You can read the story on the Irish Times website found here. But I'll go ahead an post the text:

Student's sea paddle prompts rescue operation

An American student sparked a full-scale rescue today after paddling a mile-and-half out to sea in a tiny boat to photograph a lighthouse.

The man in his 20s, who is taking classes at the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in Co Cork, set off in rough conditions from nearby Ballyandreen, using a stick as an oar.
The RNLI lifeboat crew at Ballycotton said the Texan would have lost his life in the choppy waters if he hadn’t been spotted by a local fisherman.

“A major tragedy was definitely on the cards,” said eagle-eyed Redmond Lane Walsh who saw the 10-foot punt, a half mile off Ballycotton Island, in the Atlantic.
“If he hadn’t been rescued when he was, there would definitely have been a bad outcome. No-one knew where this guy was and they wouldn’t have known if he was missing.”

Lane Walsh, a fisherman and RNLI volunteer, noticed the boat as he walked along the Ballycotton pier and quickly alerted his RNLI crewmates.
They launched the Austin Lidbury lifeboat, which took just 15 minutes to reach the frightened sailor, who was being pulled further out to the ocean.

“When we got to him he had no oars, no flares, no mobile phone, lifejacket or safety equipment and nothing to bale out the water,” said Mr Lane Walsh.
“The wind was picking up and the waves were building so the boat would have floundered. There was no way in which he could alert anyone to let them know he was in trouble.”
Apart from some seasickness and shock, the hapless visitor was uninjured and made his way back to his hotel.

“People need to use their heads and not treat the sea lightly,” warned Blathnaid Lane Walsh, RNLI spokeswoman, who is also Redmond’s wife.

She said the rescue highlights the invaluable work done by the Ballycotton RNLI as it celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
PA © 2008 irishtimes.com

Michael, I love you but you need to stick to cooking. No more adventures on the high seas!

Happy Seventh Birthday!

Today was a big day. Jake and Judith celebrated their seventh b-day at Monkey Business with 15 of their closest friends.

You can see the combination of cheetos and cupcakes as Jake reveals how old he is.

We were dressed in our most festive tie-dyes.

Best of all were the party favors. Pez is truly nature's gift.

Happy Turkey Day!

We're all headed down to Clear Lake to celebrate with my parents. Blessings on your day as well.

Encouraging You to Share Your Faith

Equipping and encouraging people to share their faith with non-believers is an important and difficult task for every church. At Lifepath we are thinking of hiring a consultant to give us the needed encouragement.

Here is his promotional video. Let me know what you think.

Back from Cleveland

Allie and I spent most of last week out of town. My parents watched the kids (thanks, Gran and Pop!) and we got to spend a couple days away. What exciting romantic spot did we pick?

Well, we were at the New Wineskins Presbytery meeting in sunny Cleveland, Ohio. And what could be better than attending a presbytery meeting.....in Cleveland.....in November?

Actually, it was fun. We got to meet some new people and forge some new friendships. Presbyterian pastors tend to let their hair down when they're away from home and there were some late night sessions involving the smoking of cigars. I did my best to not look like too big a geek around all the cool kids.

Plus, we got to spend some time with our former worship director Melissa Curtis and her husband Jason who actually seem to like the weather up there. Melissa has written about our day with them on her blog found here.

We miss you too, Jason and Melissa!

Dogs, Heaven, and You

So last week I posted a debate between two church signs - a Catholic church sign which lightheartedly maintained that all dogs go to heaven and a Presbyterian sign which argued (not so lightheartedly) that because dogs have no souls, they can't go to heaven.

Which sign was right?

Actually they both miss the point - in a big way. The underlying assumption of both signs is that the ultimate destiny of human beings is that “our souls go to heaven.” People who have gone to church all their lives have this idea that God's ultimate goal is to get us out of the world to float around as disembodied “souls” in a non-physical heaven. But that's not a Biblical idea. It actually springs more from the (pagan!) Greek philosophy of Plato than it does to the Bible.

The hope given to us in the Bible is that God's ultimate goal is to renew all of nature. The end of Revelation puts it this way: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. . . .” (Revelation 21: 1) The end of the Bible doesn't have us going up to the “sky” to live in the New Jerusalem. It has the New Jerusalem coming down to earth. (Revelation 21: 2)

What's the point?

God intends to restore, renew and perfect this physical universe he has made.
That's why the bible doesn't talk to much about “the immortality of the soul.” Instead it promises the resurrection of the dead. When Jesus was raised to life on Easter morning, he wasn't a disembodied ghost or spirit. He was a transformed human being, fully physical and capable of eating, drinking, being touched and touching. Yes, he was renewed and had transcended death but he was still physical. That's why the tomb was empty. His old body was transformed - but it was still his body.

What God did on Easter morning resurrection of Jesus, he intends to do for the universe itself – Renew, Restore, Make it the way he originally intended! Look at Romans 8, paying special attention to verse 11 and 19. You can see the process:

1. Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. This same Spirit is currently at work in us renewing us our character and transforming us into God's people.

3. Just as the Holy Spirit is renewing our character, one day he will renew our bodies.

4. When that happens all of Nature will be set free from death and renewed.

This isn't just in the New Testament. Isaiah 11: 6- 9 says,

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

There you have it. God's big project is not to get us out of the world but to get himself into it.

If I have just shocked you and you are wondering what kind of weird cult I belong to, you might look at two books by authors from two very different streams in the Christian faith - Heaven, by Randy Alcorn and Surprised by Hope, by N.T. Wright. They both do a great job of explaining our ultimate destiny as the Bible describes it.

So what about dogs? Well, if God is going to renew all of creation, I imagine dogs will get included.

On the other hand, I'm not so sure about cats.

So Who Is Right?

At the risk of spoiling a perfectly hilarious post by bringing theology into it, who was right, the Presbyterian or the Catholic? Do dogs go to heaven?

There really is a pretty good answer found in the Bible. What do you think?

Working in San Leon, Texas

Earlier this month 40 members of Lifepath Church went to San Leon, which is on the coast, to volunteer at a church serving as a Point of Distribution (POD) for the area. You can see that it's going to take a long time to rebuild after Hurricane Ike. We returned last Saturday with a similar number of folks. A third trip is scheduled soon.

This video of the first trip is also posted on the church website, but I wanted to post it here because I'm so proud to be a part of this church. This is who we want to be.

If you want to be a part of the next trip, keep checking the church website and we should have some info up soon.

This Year's Award For Best Line in a Movie Goes to.....

Viggo Mortensen - "That was over quick."

Ed Harris -"Well, everybody could shoot."

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Lifepath Church was six months old on October 13. Woohoo! Here's a video from our family worship service.

The Life with God Conference

Last Friday some of the staff of Lifepath and I went to the Life with God conference here in Houston to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

Celebration of Discipline helps Protestants to rediscover classic spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, solitude, and other practices which are often neglected in our tradtions. Christianity Today has named it as one of the 20 most influential books of the 20th century.

At the conference we heard speakers such as Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, and Lauren Winner, which is a pretty potent line-up.

As a bonus I reconnected with Dr Robert Sloan who is currently serving as the president of HBU. About a hundred years ago he served as my academic adviser at Baylor and was instrumental in my becoming a pastor. Sitting in his Introduction to the New Testament class was where I first realized that I was called to preach. It was fun talking to him after all these years and I was reminded of why I enjoyed his classes so much.

It was a great day.

Windwood Presbyterian Church

Please keep our friends over at Windwood Presbyterian Church in your prayers. The trustees at Windwood have filed a suit against the PCUSA and the presbytery to get clear claim on their property.

Pray for peace and protection over Windwood and for the situation to be resolved in such a way that the gospel of Jesus Christ is advanced.

A New Edition to the Family

For her eleventh birthday Maryallie got a Guinea pig. He's black and white with cowlicks all over his little rodent body. He lives in a cage beneath the aquarium containing Shelly, the ornate box turtle that the kids found in the back yard a year ago.

She had a hard time deciding what to name him and we were all asked for our opinions. Since I'm almost certain that Guinea pigs were originally bred to be eaten, I suggested "Snack." This idea was rejected, as was the suggestion that we put the turtle and the pig in the same cage and watch them fight. What could be better than Reptile vs Rodent cage fighting?

Instead she named him Pippin, after her favorite hobbit in the Lord of the Rings.

Happy Eleventh to the Triplets

I'm a couple of days late but I've been catching up on work after Ike. The triplets turned 11 on the 25th. No big parties this year, just a couple of sleepovers and some cake and icecream. Here's a recent pic of the Big Three, plus various siblings and neighbors on the first day of school.

And now we're off to three soccer games, two volleyball games, and a makeup lesson for piano - a typical Saturday.

Update on the Aftermath

All the members of the church are being contacted and needs are being met. Only a few families had major damage done to their houses and no one was injured during the storm. Special kudos to Sally and Bob Mitchell's small group who showed up to clean after their home took on water. If we have missed a need, please let us know!

Due to the school being closed, we are worshipping this Sunday in room 300 of Copperfield Church at 9:30am. We will be having our own service led by both choir and band. Special thanks to Pastor Larry Womack and the members of Copperfield Church, who continue to bless our young church.

Our Men's Ministry has also been postponed another week because our hosts, Calvary Community Church, took on water after their steeple blew off and put a hole in their roof! They are hopeful that things will get cleaned up quickly as soon as they have power.

If you are interested in making a financial contribution to aid the hurricane relief, my suggestion is Somebody Cares America. http://www.somebodycares.org/ They are amazing.

Paging Michael Compton.....

Michael,

You left me a message on our office voicemail......with no call back number. I don't have your number or a current email and you seem to be unlisted. So, since you mentioned that you are reading the blog on a regular basis, I'll use it to say: send me an email escott@lifepathHouston.com

Elliott

After Ike

There is still no power at our house but the office is already up and running, which allows me to make this post.

Our home suffered no damage save the loss of two fences and some downed limbs. But if you know my wife Allie, then you know that by now the fence debris has been removed, our yard is cleaned up and actually looks better than before the storm hit.

Worship with the Copperfield Church was good. Larry preached a great sermon on forgiveness and asked me to give a prayer during the service. I was pleased to see so many of the Lifepath people were in attendance but I worry, of course, about everyone who wasn't there. The lack of phones and email access really gives one a helpless feeling.

Greg has begun calling people, trying to find out if anyone needs help. So far everyone has been OK. We will be setting up a system to get people the help they need. I believe there is already something up on the website. I look forward to us helping people in the community as well as the people of Lifepath Church. It is a great opportunity to begin living the "Inside-Out" vision.

God has been good and we continue to pray for the rapid recovery for all affected by Hurricane Ike.

Getting Ready

Like many of you, we spent this morning getting ready for the storm.

My parents, grandmother, and their dog and four cats have arrived from Clear Lake to escape Ike's storm surge.

The kids helped get ready too.

Sam is either pointing to the source of danger or about to turn into Super Boy.

Well, we've done what we can. The windows are boarded, the supplies are ready, the family is gathered and the prayers have been said. I'm not looking forward to tonight.

Blessings on all of you.

Worship at Copperfield Church

The school called us and told us that they are shutting down and we won't be able to worship there this Sunday. So instead we'll be worshiping with Copperfield Church at their 11:00 service. If you need a map, their website is http://www.copperfieldchurch.org/

They have a nice huge atrium with lots of light so it will be possible to hold a service even if there is no power.

Blessings to all of you in your preparations for the storm.

An Unwelcome Guest

Here are the current computer models for Ike. They are predicting it to be a cat 4 and to make landfall at 8:00 am Saturday morning.

Now is the time to make sure you are ready:

1. gas in your car.
2. food
3. water - fill up the bathtubs before the storm hits.
4. medical needs
5. things picked up outside
6. materials for boarding up the house
7. batteries/generators for flashlights, radios etc.
8. pet needs
9. rain gear

That's not a comprehensive list but just what comes to my mind from a lifetime of living on the Gulf coast. For more and better resources, check out the following websites:

Weather Underground at http://www.wunderground.com/ provides resources for tracking.

The National Hurricane Center at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ provides all kinds of information including some steps to being prepared at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/action.shtml

At the moment we are definitely planning on church for Sunday, but if that changes we will be sending folks an email and posting on the church's website.

The Shack

The Shack, by William P. Young is a bit of a phenomenon.

Until recently its only publicity was an enthusiastic word-of-mouth campaign as devoted readers said the magic words to their friends: "You have to read this book." I first heard about it last spring from a pastor friend who couldn't stop talking about how great it was.

I don't know how many copies it has sold but it was recently reviewed in both Time Magazine and Christianity Today. I'm bumping into people right and left who are reading it.

It's being compared with Pilgrim's Progress which was an enormously influential book in its time and shaped several generations of readers. I figured I'd better give it a look so I read it while I was on vacation.

My reaction was a bit more qualified than some of my friends.

I thought it was extraordinarily creative in its approach and very courageous in many ways. The writer takes all of his pain and tries to work through it in print. He largely succeeds in what he tries to do. He addresses the issues of human evil and the providence of God and answers some big questions in a tender, open-eyed, and biblical fashion.

I love the things The Shack says about forgiveness - what forgiveness is and what it is not and why it is vital if you want to overcome the evil that has been done to you. For that reason alone it is probably worth reading.

But there are several things I see as weaknesses.

The major plot device in the book is that the main character is summoned to meet with God in the shack where his daughter was murdered. God appears in three human forms representing the three Persons of the Trinity. While this enables the writer to break some typical Western stereotypes (God is a Grumpy Old White Man With a Beard), it guarantees he's going to replace them with brand new stereotypes (God is an Old Black Woman Who Likes to Hug).

I suppose if you have to choose between the stereotypes, Young's is better than what we're used to, but there is probably a good reason why the Bible forbids us to portray God visually. If nothing else God loses some of his transcendence. In the Scriptures no one, not even Moses, gets to look God straight in the face. Even the angels in God's presence cover their faces with their wings. Young's main character sits down at the table with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit while they swap jokes. While I understand that the writer was trying to make God seem more approachable, I can't help but think he sacrifices too much of God's majesty and holiness.

Still, I realize why he did it. He is writing out of his pain and wanting to reconnect with a God who has seemed distant, cold and uncaring. The fact that he goes a bit too far in the other direction is understandable.

A bit more distasteful is the writer putting words in God's mouth which dismiss religion, politics, economics, and the church. He says these are all "institutions" and God doesn't like them and didn't invent them. Instead we are supposed to focus on relationships - with God and each other.

Of course the problem is that when people get together and have relationships they look like.....politics, economics, and religion. Politics is simply people getting together to get things done. Ecomics is people cooperating to make a living. Religion is people of faith cooperating to serve God. These things aren't bad. They are a part of the way God set up the world. But each of these things gets twisted by human selfishness and used to abuse others.

Instead of avoiding them (and how can one avoid them really unless one hides in a cave?) or cynically dismissing them, a true Christian calling is to participate in God's redemption of them. There are honest politicians who put the good of the public first. There are compassionate businessmen who use their wealth to bless others. And, as for the church, yes people in positions of authority within it often abuse their power to hurt others, but it is still God's means for extending redemption to a fallen world.

In sum, the book's strengths are its weaknesses. The writer's pain enables him to address some of the mysteries of faith with great authority and depth and humaness. In other places his pain seems to short circuit his capacity for hope, causing him to dismiss aspects of human life which God intends to redeem.

I don't know if The Shack is the Second Coming of Pilgrim's Progress, but many people have already found it helpful as they wrestle with the sadness and pain of life in a broken world.

Why Eating Organic Food Is Vital to Your Family

Student Ministry

This past Sunday at their regular evening meeting the Student Ministry had over 50 kids attend. That's more than we've ever had before and something to celebrate. Many of these kids are new. Their parents don't (yet) attend Lifepath. They've been brought by word of mouth and the enthusiasm of other kids.


Of course, numbers don't necessarily mean that God is present and at work but anytime kids are excited enough to bring their friends it means that something good is going on.


On Thursday I had lunch with our Director of Student Ministries, Nicholas Jones, and we talked about how it was going and I was really impressed with the direction he wants to take the ministry. They have a weekly Bible study on Tuesday nights that is successful enough that he's thinking of adding another one. He has plans for two and possibly three mission trips for next summer, including one for the Junior High kids. That's important to me, not only as pastor, but also because my older three will be rising 6th-graders and eligible to go.


I may even go with them.

End of the Vacation

At the end of the week we drove over Trail Ridge Road which is the highest paved road in the Continental U.S. It rises above the treeline into the alpine tundra. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of that because it's beautiful, but it's a narrow road with abrupt drop offs and I was driving a minivan full of kids. In the rain. Towing a camper. Allie only screamed once or twice.

My parents rented a cabin at the YMCA camp in Estes Park. It's a good thing the cabin has a big table.

Honestly we didn't do much while we were there but laze about the cabin. Allie and I did take one long hike. Here is a view from the trail.

I didn't shave for the entire vacation. I was starting to look like a cross between Grizzly Adams and Gandalf.

Finally we started back home. We camped for the last time in Clayton Lake State Park in northeast New Mexico. Bleak but beautiful.

Clayton Lake has a large number of dinosaur footprint so we took a hike to find them. The dinosaur prints didn't look like much to our untrained eyes but on the hike we saw these prints on the trail.

I'm no tracker but even I can see there are no claw prints, which makes these feline. And they were between an inch and a half and two inches in diameter which is waaaay too big for a domestic cat. I guess it's a bobcat print.

While driving on I45 north of Centerville, Texas I looked up and saw something I've wanted to see my entire life - a Swallow-tailed kite. No, I didn't take this picture. It's one I found on the internet.

It was a wonderful vacation and the person who made it possible was Allie. She is cook, nurse, quartermaster, planner, navigator, artist, adventurer, drier of tears and wiper of noses, can find any lost object by closing her eyes and concentrating, and yes, she tie-dyed this shirt. Without her Clan Scott falls apart very quickly. Plus she laughs at my jokes.

I love you, Allie!

Mountain Man Rendezvous

A day or two after we arrived at Snow Mountain we noticed tipis being erected just down the hill from our campsite. When we went down to see what was going on, it turned out to be a Mountain Man Rendezvous.

The famous mountain man Jim Bridger (played by Rich) and Captain Eduard Berthoud (played by Joe), who explored and surveyed the area in the 1860's, welcomed us with open arms. They acted out many scenes from the early West to the great delight of the children.

We were invited into Mr. Bridger's tipi where he told us Native American legends. Maryallie is not smoking a peace pipe. She's fanning the fire.

There were skins and pelts hanging about the tipi and Mr. Bridger let the girls of all ages try them on. Allie is one glamorous Indian.

He even let us wear his hat.....

We spent lots of time over the next couple of days in their camp. One of the things we liked most was throwing the "hawks."

Joe was a very patient man. Thanks, Joe!

Even the target looked authentic. Judith is throwing something called a "mouse hawk."

By far the best hawk thrower in the family was Allie. On one hand I feel safe. On the other, I'm kind of afraid to go to sleep at night.

Later in the week more people began to show up, including some who made jewelry and clothing.

The highlight of our time with the mountain men was a ceremony in which Joe received his Indian name.

Rich and Joe both made us feel a part of their family. The Mountain Man Rendezvous was definitely one of the best things about our vacation.