Church in a Box

The stuff arrived today and between 30 and 40 people got in some practice in setting up at Labay. Here is one of the three trailers with the logo on the side.

Ydalith is happy! Dailene was happy too. I just think she doesn't like my photography very much....

Listening to the Portable Church Industries consultants......

The musicians showed up and demanded a backstage buffet.

You can see the back of the trailer folded down to become a ramp for the cases to roll on.

There goes Jim with something valuable.

And Peyton....

One more!

Going into the hallway at Labay we received a word from the Lord....

All the cases, lined up and ready to be opened!

Chris and Mike, looking confused.

The Swearingen boys were there.

What you learn from this pic is that I'm a really terrible photographer. But if you look closely you can see the empty cafetorium before we started setting up. It has a nice deep stage.

Putting up signs in the hallway.

One of the signs.....

Putting together the screens for the stage.

Happy, happy sound guy. Chris says the stuff we have is going to sound great.

More bad photography. You see one of the two screens which will frame the stage.

One of the Sunday School rooms.

Another Sunday School room. The girls did a great job of setting up.

Actually everyone did! I can't wait for tomorrow!

My Theory on the Island in "Lost"

The Island (one feels the need to capitalize) in "Lost" is a place where the lines of time, space, life and death become blurred. People move forward and backward in time. Dead people appear to the living. The entire Island can apparently move.

Increasingly it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the Island is only a metaphor for something much deeper.

I have a theory which I think helps a lot of the details fall into place. Please don't click unless you are ready to have the mystery resolved:

http://www.georgehernandez.com/h/aaBlog/2005/media/09-06_Gilligan.jpg

Lost

The "Lost" season finale is tonight. It's the one show Allie and I watch together each week. I'm not one of those people who could win a Lost Trivia Contest but we've been watching since early in the second season.

What I think is fascinating about the show is that the characters are "lost" in so many ways. They've all made huge mistakes in their past and they are each trying to atone or run away from their problems. Some of them atone for their mistakes. Others are still running. Some die as a consequence.

It's a great show. And, no, I'm not going to wait for Allie to get home from band practice to watch it tonight!

A Sign of the Time

My Bowl is Better Than Yours

Human traditions are to the Gospel of Jesus Christ what bowls are to soup. Why?

There are some great responses from folks which are right on target. Here is my own answer:

The Gospel message of Jesus is an eternal gift from God to us. It doesn't change from year to year or setting to setting. But each culture and congregation has a different way of presenting the gospel. Human traditions allow the eternal message message of Jesus to be presented in a relevant way to a new generation. The Gospel is the nourishing soup. The human traditions allow the soup to be passed from one person to another and enjoyed.

But don't think bowls are unimportant. In fact, bowls are unavoidable. (Ever try to eat soup without a bowl or cup?)

Think about all the different human traditions we have: one hour worship services; church buildings that look a particular way; types of music used in worship; kinds of church governments; 20 minute sermons (ok 25 minutes); Sunday school; vacation Bible school; church camps. They're all human traditions. But how could we share the Gospel without some of these very human traditions?

Every now and then someone comes along and says, "bowls are bad." In other words, we need to get rid of all human traditions and just do what the first century church did. But whenever we think we can get rid of all human traditions, we simply end up creating new traditions of our own.

Why is that? Because the New Testament gives us a message. It doesn't give us many methods for delivering the message. No where does the Bible say that a church service should be a particular length, have a particular order, or particular style.

I believe God did this intentionally. He wants us to be united in what is important - the message of Jesus Christ. But he wants us to be creatively diverse in how we express the Gospel.

The perennial mistake that we Christians make is that we confuse the bowl for the soup. We get attached to our human traditions and think they are eternal and must never be changed. Some people are even walking around carrying beautiful bowls that have long since become empty.

And eventually they starve to death.

Riddle of the Day

Human traditions are to the Gospel of Jesus what bowls are to soup.

Why?

Best Movies Showing Christian Themes or Story Lines

One of my favorites is "The Mission", starring Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro. Click here to see the trailer. http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi502333721/ (edit* - Gah! Sorry about the advertisment that sometimes precedes the playing of the trailer.)

De Niro plays a Portugese adventurer who enslaves the native Brazilian Indians and finally, in a moment of rage, murders his brother. Crushed by the enormity of his past, he cuts himself off from all human relationships.

As penance he starts dragging around this huge bundle of armor and weapons. He is literally dragging the weight of his guilt behind him.

One of the most powerful moments in the movie happens when one of the Indians cuts the ropes and pushes the heavy bundle over a cliff. De Niro realizes he has been forgiven by the people he was formerly persecuting and he just sits there, crying and laughing at the same time. The Indians are so overwhelmed that they start touching his face, welcoming him back into the human family. Great flick. (Plus it has one of the great musical scores of all time.)

What about the rest of you? Ever seen a movie that illustrated the themes of the Gospel?

The Idle Eisegete and the Art of Blogging

Why bother with a blog? The act of dumping the random contents of my brain onto the internet seems futile and vaguely narcissistic. (Can you tell I'm a Calvinist? Total Depravity ftw.) But the post-post-modern staff I work for tells me that people want to interact with the guy they listen to on Sunday mornings, so ok, whatever, I'll give it a try.

A few things: Firstly, I will probably come across like a cross between an over-caffeinated Dennis Miller and that saber-toothed squirrel in Ice Age (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flwnaJXi9y0.) I don't talk like this but I do think like this. Welcome to my brain. This is why it takes about twenty hours a week to write a coherent sermon; a lot of editing is involved.

Which reminds me, I love suggestions for sermon topics as long as you don't expect me to actually use them. Keep your expectations very low.

Secondly, I can guarantee you that this blog will often fuction as an internet version of a slide show for family vacations. My family is utterly fascinating. I can talk about piano recitals and baby poop all day long. I am the guy you avoid at the office.

Thirdly, I'm not going to blog about denominational politics in the PCUSA. Ever. Yes, it's true we were forced off a million dollar property by our presbytery. No, I'm not going to talk about it. Why not? Because it's boring and a colossal waste of energy. We've moved on to start a new church (which has no real website except for http://www.copperfieldpc.org/). I'd be happy to talk about the principles which led to our break with the PCUSA and any other "God stuff" you want to discuss. But if you want a theological analysis of denominational train wrecks, move along. There are plenty of other bloggers happy to do that sort of thing.

Lastly, I'm not going to explain the title of the blog. Google is a great tool.