Scattershooting

Odds and ends as the weekend begins:

1) After trying several things that haven't worked, I'm now using muriatic acid to clean some very old oil stains off the concrete floor in my garage. The results so far are not perfect, but short of sand-blasting, this is probably the best solution.

2) A friend recommended that I read The Connecting Church by Randy Frazee. It's the story of the total transformation of what had been a traditional Bible church in Arlington, Texas into a church that combines the seeker-sensitive model with the home church model. After reading the book, I think Frazee's diagnosis of the pervasive loneliness in American society is on the money. His solution is a radical making of the church so that ministry happens in home groups organized on a strict geographic basis. While the book contains many useful ideas, I doubt that many already-established churches will be able to fully replicate this model.

3) During a recent sermon I commented on the "low-carb" craze and noted in passing that I had even seen "low-carb" ice cream and "low-carb" pizza. Then I said, "That's not right." A friend wrote to say that he had the same opinion until he tried low-carb ice cream. Three gallons later, he loves it. Last night I had my first taste of low-carb vanilla. It was slightly above cold wallpaper paste--not that I've tasted that either. I was told the low-carb chocolate was much better.

4) Today's email from Don Wildmon about the Federal Marriage Amendment noted that we may not even have the votes to bring the amendment to the floor for a vote. That in itself says something about the state of things in America. But this is only the first battle in a long war to preserve traditional marriage in our society. A generetion after Roe v. Wade, we still don't have a constitutional amendment to protect the unborn. But we fight on because the battle belongs to the Lord and because the cause is just.

5) Someone in Canada read the story of  I became the pastor of Calvary Memorial Church 15 years ago. The short version is, I was a reluctant Jonah who wanted to go to Tucson. But here I am, by the grace of God, 15 years later. The man in Canada wrote to say he had been encouraged by my personal journey:

 

I am in between pastorates right now.  I was just turned down from a candidating weekend in Canada, and just as I felt things could not be more discouraging, God has opened some more possibilities.  Your story (some parts of it) is similar to my struggles in ministry, and I just wanted to let you know that your journey in ministry has left me feeling uplifted and empowered.

This was my answer:

I'm sorry to hear you were turned down after your candidating weekend. Just before I came to Calvary in 1989, we were turned down by a church in Tucson that I "knew" was really God's will for us. That's such an empty feeling, and you try not to get down on yourself but sometimes it easy to start questioning things. Lately I've been reflecting on how good theology saves us all in times like that. Not that we don't hurt and doubt--we do. But somewhere along the way, we also conclude that if God had wanted you in that church or me in Tucson, we would have been there and nothing could have kept us away. And if God didn't want us there, we couldn't have finagled it ourselves. So we move on and try not to look back and make the best of things while we wait to see what God has for us. I know you know all of this, I'm partly writing it just to remind myself along the way.

I share that thought here because it may help someone else. We all know that good theology can save your soul. It can also save your life when hard times come. But note well: You can't wait for hard times to come to figure out what you believe. What we learn now will preserve when the fiery trials come--and they will come, to all of us, sooner or later.

6) The Cubs lost tonight and the White Sox won. So half my congregation is sad, the other half happy, and the rest don't care (try to figure that out!).

To sign up for Pastor Ray's free weekly sermon email list, click  here .You can find his daily weblog, online sermons, travel schedule, and other resources at www.keepbelieving.com. You can write Pastor Ray at raypritchard@calvarymemorial.com.