372 Back in the fall routine

Well, not quite. Last Monday I forgot to go in and shelve books at the church library, but at least I remembered the mail run on Thursday. Today my husband and I were communion servers. It is the week-end of the Jubilee Celebration (50th anniversary of the founding of the congregation). Nice commemorative stories in the church newsletter by some of the founders who met in the basement of the first pastor's house before we ever had a rented location or building.

I'm still not over my anger at our former senior pastor (see previous entry). I'm still grieving for his wife and family, I think. I'm wondering if the huge debt (building program) he led us into was a result of God's direction, or his own desire to have a legacy. Or maybe guilt. A number of the women I've talked to have commented that they always felt he was smug and arrogant, and talked like he was right up there with God. One said he all but patted her on the head and treated her like a child when she came to him with an idea. Yes, that's how he treated women--well, most women.

371 If it hadn't been in the paper

I wouldn't mention it. A lot more people read the Columbus Dispatch than my blog! The former pastor of our church committed adultery. That's bad. Really bad. Particularly since he was quite a finger wagger from the pulpit, and helped the church establish a position paper on sexuality. He formerly was with Missouri Synod, and I always had the feeling he didn't think our synod (ELCA) was quite "Lutheran" enough. And he was a charismatic. You know, the joyful ones who get a special word from the Lord on how to be a dynamic Christian the rest of us aren't privy to. The affair happened during the early years of his "reign" and he was with us quite a while. In 2001 we probably had kids going off to college whom he baptized as infants. Unlike Jimmy Swaggart, the televangelist who got caught, he didn't go public and tearfully confess so we could have booted him--after we forgave him, of course.

Anyway, my computer spell-check tries to change his name to weasel. And I'm not going to correct it.

Cross posted at my other blog.

370 Does this ever happen to you?

I didn't go to church this morning--still sort of sniffly from my cold. Our flowers were up there for our anniversary and later my husband went and got them. "What was the sermon about?" I asked when he came in the door. He stopped, paused and said, "I don't remember." Now that was about 10 minutes after the service, because we don't live far from the church. Then he remembered: it was about a new program. Figures.

369 The Spiritual Dimension of Excercise

There isn't one. Let's not confuse our bodily functions here. The buzz and mild euphoria when chemical compounds flood the bloodstream and perk up your brain during vigorous exercise is physical, not spiritual. Same with swinging, swaying, clapping, shouting and stomping with the music team backed up by electric guitars and drums waving their arms in front of the congregation. That outpouring of the spirit you feel is probably your own endorphins gushing with each repetitive chorus. It's about as spiritual as the guys who say they can worship on the golf course while getting their exercise.

368 The first shall be last?

I'm still hoping this article about First Class Kids at Abilene Baptist is a joke, because it sounds really awful. For a $15 fee, you can drop your little one off in first class where she'll get special treats and treatment while you attend church.

"Some families complain that separate nurseries create a two-tier church. But many like splurging once or twice a month on the first class service. Others even buy the First Class Kids annual pass.

"Once my grandkids experienced first class, they cried when their mother tried to put them into economy," says a grandmother who bought annual passes for her four grandchildren.

[Pastor Ron] Jacobs says offerings are up considerably since families have gotten hooked on concierge-style Sunday school. The premium service fee counts as offering and is tax deductible."

Story at Lark News.

367 Ka Boom, Bang Thud Crash

When I stepped outside the coffee shop this morning at Lakeside, I heard a very loud "worship" band practicing at the Pavilion. Inwardly I groaned for the folks trying to sleep-in at the hotel, and for those of us planning to attend a peaceful morning worship service with communion at 8:30 by the lake. I walked back to the cottage and told my husband I just refused to go and have my ears assaulted and my heart rate changed by the thud-thud-crash of a loud contemporary worship band. It is always a contemporary service, but usually just with happy Gwen playing simple little songs at the electric synthesizer. No drums. No electric guitars or ampilification.

Part of my distaste was recovering from last night's concert by CeCe Winans. She is a fabulous singer, a terrific preacher, and a great performer, but the lights were blinding and the amplification painful. Just as distracting were her backup singers, all overweight and looking like they were dressed to chop cotton on a cool day--faded boot cut jeans two sizes too small and black jeans jackets over t-shirts. What ever happened to glamor--usually African American women can sweep us out the door with their fashion flare! This is a summer vacation spot and the audience in capri pants and shorts was dressed better than the performers!

When she performed for the President it was much quieter and more glamorous.

CeCe Winans
contemporary worship

Cross posted at Collecting my thoughts.

362 First Christian Church, Columbus, Indiana

Columbus, IN is the fifth most important site in the United States for architecture, and it all started with this congregation hiring Eliel Saarinen to design the first truly modern church building in the U.S.



Those of us on an architectural tour were very disappointed to see banners hanging in the sanctuary, and the altar removed to make room for a drum set and speakers. Stickers were on the windows. Why do worship committees and musicians think interior visual spaces don't matter?

First Christian Church, Columbus, Indiana
Columbus, Indiana
Church architecture

361 United Brethren in Christ

They are not the EUB and they are not the BIC, but it is a small U.S. based denomination (Huntington, IN) and one of my links at Collecting my thoughts is to Steve, at Random Pokes, who writes about his activities in the Anchor Church. (His parents are recently retired pastors.) The story of Anchor Church reminds me a bit of UALC's Hilltop Lutheran congregation. A graying church was closed, and then was restarted with leadership from a larger, thriving UB church, Emmanuel.

"Everything was different--the leaders, the style of worship, the music, the appearance of the facility. There were plenty of kids once again. And the people of the neighborhood soon discovered that the red brick church down on the corner was alive and kicking. Over the next few years, most of those original 50 core-group members returned to Emmanuel or relocated to different towns or states because of work. Only about ten of them remain. But the church has grown significantly, averaging about 130 people now."

Steve's site is worth a visit, and I'd recommend his church if the website would just mention what city it is in! I found a map after about 6 clicks, and I think it is Fort Wayne, but can't be sure. Church websites and libraries often make it very hard to discover what town they are in. Didn't Paul always mention this in his epistles?

But here's the headquarters:
United Brethren Offices
302 Lake St.
Huntington, IN 46750
Phone: (260) 356-2312

Update oops: I just clicked back through and found the address of Anchor:
1529 Third Street
Fort Wayne, Ind.
260-422-2724

During the summer there is just one service--9 a.m., but the rest of the years there are two.

360 Here at Lakeside

Enjoying the breezes and programming at Lakeside--Millie, Norma and Valerie. Before Millie had kids, she was my daughter's confirmation sponsor--now hers are in college. Valerie and her husband teach Sunday school at our church--she's awesome. Some kids are so lucky. Millie and her husband work with the college age kids and have moved in across the creek from us in Columbus. Last year they were living in New Orleans when Katrina hit.

359 Singing in the choir

Teddy Roosevelt enjoyed singing boisterously in church. While he was President, the following joke circulated:

On T.R.'s first day in heaven, he told Saint Peter that the choir was quite weak and should be reorganized immediately. Saint Peter quickly assigned the task to T.R.

"Well," said the former president, "I need ten thousand sopranos, ten thousand altos, and ten thousand tenors."
"But what about the basses?" inquired Saint Peter.
"Oh," said T.R., "I'll sing bass."

"Prayers of our Presidents" Jerry MacGregor & Marie Prys. Baker Books, 2004.

358 Advice from Pastor Petersen

At his blog, he has a link to his advice for pastors. He is at Redeemer's Lutheran in Fort Wayne, IN.

"They come looking for marital advice? Tell them about Jesus dying for them. They come looking for sympathy and a listening ear? Tell them about Jesus dying for them. They have a new baby, lost their jobs, are afraid of retirement? Tell them about Jesus dying for them. No matter what the circumstances, what the situation, you preach Christ crucified. Never compromise the simple Truth that has saved you."

357 The Church Library

We are fortunate at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church to have a fine church library--because our local public library doesn't actively collect much that is specifically evangelical (one magazine, denominational titles that are a half century old, and a few blockbusters like Jabez and Purpose). Twenty some years ago I was the church librarian, but now I just volunteer occasionally to check-in and shelve books. So this morning to took a few photos after I put the books away.

There are also collections at our other two locations, so the church could really use an on-line circulation system, and indeed the librarian has been promised one for many years. About two years ago, the volunteer staff discontinued typing cards thinking a computer system was eminent--so now we don't even have a current card catalog, and still no computer.

Circulation desk and bulletin board, fiction to the left

Reference collection and study desk

reading area, next to large selection of audio tapes and CDs

Children's area with many videos and DVDs

I'm guessing the media to book ratio in this library is much higher than public libraries. It gets heavy use from families. I started the video collection back in the mid-80s when it was still fairly unusual and we weren't even too sure how to catalog and circulate them. There is also a small but growing home-schooling section. It's my personal opinion that the most critical quality for a church librarian is someone who is able to inspire, motivate and work with the volunteers--not necessarily someone who has taken course work in or worked in libraries.

church libraries
Lutheran churches
UALC

356 A good display becomes wallpaper

when it is up too long. I think these missions posters have been hanging for about 2 years. Probably will be permanent. Photos are a bit fuzzy, but I think you get the idea.

355 Are expectations too high for young families

Shelly and her family aren't attending a church right now. She muses:

"One thing that has me church spooked is the whole "expectations" thing about belonging to church. Now I don't have a problem pitching in, but guess what, with two little kids and a dh that works mega hours, our contribution will be minimal in the physical sense. One of the things about our current/old church is the HIGH expectations from the pulpit on involvement. Cell groups. Kids ministries. College ministries. Meals ministries. Classes. Evangelism. Prayer Army. The list goes on and on. Once you say "yes" to one thing, ever darn ministry is beating on your door. It's like recruitment."

Shelly's Journal

354 Alpha

The Nov/Dec 2005 issue of Outreach had an article on Alpha.

7 million participants
32,000 churches
152 countries
7,500 U.S. congregations
54 languages and braille
395 youth courses
69 prison groups
10 military courses
10 workplace courses
172 campus courses

Our church (Lutheran) offers Alpha several times a year, and the small groups use the tapes for refreshers and discussion.

353 Dan Brown's Truthiness

Rodney Clapp in the May 16 Christian Century writes about the errors in Da Code. It's not a journal I regularly read (too liberal most of the time), but I thought he had some good points. Be careful--this may hurt some conservatives' feelings.

1. The book is written like a movie script.
2. The characters have no inner dimension.
3. It's designed for tourists.
4. It is the striptease of truthiness--the seductive solving of obscure and opaque puzzles.
5. Resembles the "Left Behind" series which decodes the Bible through dispensational theology.
6. Plays to a culture that stays close to the surface--a sand castle on the beach that will erode and melt from view.
7. People most drawn to Da Code tend to be ex-Catholics.
8. The anxiety and urgency of the post 9/11 world made it easier to tap into fears of dungeons and theocracy.
9. As a novel, it is a cop out--the hero never locates proof.
10. Brown's claim to doing research--39 books--is nothing in the academic world. [I used that many for just a journal article in library science.]

This is cross posted at Collecting my thoughts.

DaVinci Code
Dan Brown

352 Children's sermons

Last Sunday (Mothers' Day) I attended both the traditional (some liturgy and hymns) and informal (contemporary songs, no liturgy, no robe for the pastor) services, so it was the first I'd noticed we didn't have a children's sermon. I suppose I'd been thinking it was still being offered at a service I wasn't attending (we have 11 services at 3 locations). But then I read this article on 20 reasons to ditch the children's sermon, and the first point was "This practice is a fading fad of the 1970's and 80's, along with avocado-colored appliances." Followed by this: "Children don't miss this practice when it's discontinued. Indeed, some are relieved that they don't have to be nudged into the aisle."

This article is from a defunct Wisconsin Synod journal called the Motley Magpie, and they wouldn't approve of anything we do at our Lutheran church, but still, it is an interesting view point, most likely shared by pastors of many denominations.

There were no children's sermons or children's church when I was growing up. We were expected to draw pictures and fold the bulletin into little boats.

351 A completely biased review

Reviewing the book or the movie The Da Vinci Code would never be assigned to me; I haven’t read it and don’t intend to see the movie. Why? I don’t like the thriller/mystery genre--never have--codes, corpses, and clues aren’t for me. But more importantly, once I know an author has lied to me about the structure on which he hangs his story, I’m not about to spend my time with him. And Dan Brown is a liar, a cheat, and a tool of Satan. Well, so much for being an unbiased reviewer!

Brown asserts that Jesus never claimed to be God; that this was settled 300 years later by Emperor Constantine for evil purposes; that he was married to Mary Magdalene and she was supposed to lead the church; and that the Gospels are a fabrication designed to meet masculine power grabs. There’s other nonsense, but you can see how this would appeal to nominal Christians who have grown up with the "Jesus is my best friend" theology and unbelievers who rarely have any exposure to the Christian faith except on holidays. So IF you go to see the movie that is being released to the glare of an adoring public and press in May, put on a little son screen by watching a new DVD by Lee Strobel first.

Although I’m not going to the movie, I will recommend "Discussing the Da Vinci Code" (Zondervan, 2006, $19.99) which is a package of a DVD with four sessions, a discussion guide and a small book you can use for personal outreach. I think it would work best with a group that meets weekly--just for the pacing and holding people’s interest. However, if you have a group that is willing to stay on task and spend 90 minutes together (skip the snacks and chit-chat that evening), you can go through all four sessions together in one sitting. You'll have time to touch on the guidebook's questions, and you'll still send your folks out into the world semi-prepared. It is beautifully done, well-paced, and really held my interest. Lee Strobel, the narrator and interviewer, talks to his audience against a background of Paris and London and allows his guest scholars to speak to the issues.

Chicago Sun Times story on what churches are doing about the movie.

Da Vinci Code movie
Da Vinci Code study guide

350 Finally, The Dispatch has noticed us!

After seven years of pretty much ignoring the wonderful art shows our Visual Arts Ministry has provided the community, Felix Hoover, who writes for the Faith and Values section, has found us. I'm so excited. Now, I don't think he's ever actually seen any of our shows, but he thought it was really significant that we rejected a painting of an artist of the Upper Arlington Art League. Actually, VAM didn't reject it, but one of our pastors did. And that is very clearly stated in our guidelines--either the ministry or the pastoral staff can decide what is appropriate to hang in our home. That's what a church building is, isn't it? It's not THE "church" because that is God's believing people on earth, but a church building is our members' home where we gather for teaching, fellowship and support. It is the home of our church family--and like it or not, Mr. Hoover, we get the say on what goes on our walls. We're not required to accept art that is in conflict with what we teach our children, and the art gallery is in the Sunday School area.



Our gallery space is also the absolutely best hanging space in central Ohio, and the rejected artist has taken advantage of that--I think he's had at least 12 pieces hanging there in the last two years. He's also been rejected twice. The first time was for a painting that showed adults drinking and smoking. Well, do you want that in your Sunday School space and risk having a parent say, "We can get this on TV; I don't bring my kid here for this." The second was a painting designed to look like the 10 commandments, but was about "tolerance." Painted by a guy who was feeling a bit miffed, but not enough to refuse to show anything at our church--just enough to want to rub it in a bit? I'm just speculating here, since I don't know his motives. Perhaps these 10 principles of tolerance weren't thought up just for this painting; maybe they are truly his own personal beliefs, taken in at his mother's knee. However, the artist isn't tolerant of others beliefs and neither is Mr. Hoover when they make a mountain out of a dollop of paint.

The Visual Arts Ministry spent many hours and multiple drafts developing our guidelines (which include our right to reject inappropriate material), and if anyone would like a copy for their own church ministry, I'd be happy to send as a Word attachment. Truth be told, most of the pieces we've rejected have been because they are unsafe or unhangable with our wonderful Arakawa system--and artists get mad about that, too. Our mistake here was not having a copy of the guidelines available at sign-in for those artists who have joined UAAL recently, since we have accepted this group for many years and most of their artists are extremely cooperative and grateful for the exposure in this high profile space with a lot of traffic.

349 Even the devil knows Scripture

Our church is in the middle of a series discussing from the pulpit and in small groups, "Seven questions Christians hope you never ask." Pastor Paul was preaching at Lytham Road Sunday (we have 11 services at 3 locations) on "How can you trust a book written thousands of years ago." I jotted down a few notes, but the best I can recall on Tuesday something said on Sunday, is that if a believer wants to convince a non-believer of the authority of Scripture, he or she needs to be reading it, because using passages about its truth for someone who doesn't believe in its value is not terribly useful. In other words, the unbeliever needs to see the truth of Scripture in our lives too. Being able to read the Bible in our own language is one of the gifts of the Reformation, but although we have a high view of Scripture, we have low use, he said.

When I look over to my bookshelves, I can see nine (9) Bibles, and there are others throughout the house. Now, not all these are used--some are sentimental, like my mother's, and the first Bible I received from my parents when I was in first grade. And then there are perhaps six (6) lineal feet of books about the Bible and our faith--concordances, dictionaries, handbooks, and histories with titles like "The art of reading Scripture," "Knowing Scripture," "Church history in plain language," "The meaning of the millennium," and "The top 100 questions."

If the printed Word were calories, I'd be obese. But like many Christians, I can starve if I don't open the Word and let God speak to me in that special connection.

"Let me be 'homo unium libri', a man of one book." (from a prayer of John Wesley)