Drew MacGregor offered these thoughts on one of the lines our story.
Be....In Community
One of the phrases that came out of the branding/messaging work we did last year was "Be.....in community."
At the time I heard that I really liked the message it conveys. Come to FirstChurch, be yourself, be part of a community.
Over the last few months, and in thinking about the covenant we signed, I have developed a new appreciation for what the phrase means.
We are called to Be in our Community. We are called to serve outside our walls. We are called to be beacons of light in a hurting world. We are called to go out into the Community and Be ourselves. I am beginning to better understand that Be...in Community isn't about the unchurched coming to us, but it's about us going to them in how we carry ourselves daily.
How are you called to Be....in our Community?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Big Fat Losers
A recent Today show interview featured the Dean family - who together lost 500 pounds in a year.
500 pounds. My family doesn't weight that much total. So this family really lost alot of fat. In the interview, the dad of the family admitted to going 30 years without exercising and never passing up a snack along the way. I was frankly really impressed by what they did. It took alot of hard work.
Here's the thing: it's really pretty easy to gain weight. You don't even have to think about it. Do nothing and it happens.
When we in the church think about gluttony, we tend to think about intentionally taking more than we really need. But I don't think that's the heart of the problem. I think gluttony is really about not doing something. Do nothing and it just sort of happens.
Because naturally, we just take more than we need. We focus on ourselves. We hoard. We're selfish. We just want more. All the time. A member of the Rockefeller family was once asked how much money was enough. His answer: "Just a little more."
It takes a commitment; It takes a decision; It takes effort to not be a glutton. You have to intentionally say no to some things and yes to other things (which usually means saying yes to others instead of saying yes to things).
On Sunday, we'll be talking about what it means to be a glutton. Until then, I'd love to know what are some of the things you have a hard time saying no to. Or conversely, what are the things (or people) you have a hard time saying yes to.
500 pounds. My family doesn't weight that much total. So this family really lost alot of fat. In the interview, the dad of the family admitted to going 30 years without exercising and never passing up a snack along the way. I was frankly really impressed by what they did. It took alot of hard work.
Here's the thing: it's really pretty easy to gain weight. You don't even have to think about it. Do nothing and it happens.
When we in the church think about gluttony, we tend to think about intentionally taking more than we really need. But I don't think that's the heart of the problem. I think gluttony is really about not doing something. Do nothing and it just sort of happens.
Because naturally, we just take more than we need. We focus on ourselves. We hoard. We're selfish. We just want more. All the time. A member of the Rockefeller family was once asked how much money was enough. His answer: "Just a little more."
It takes a commitment; It takes a decision; It takes effort to not be a glutton. You have to intentionally say no to some things and yes to other things (which usually means saying yes to others instead of saying yes to things).
On Sunday, we'll be talking about what it means to be a glutton. Until then, I'd love to know what are some of the things you have a hard time saying no to. Or conversely, what are the things (or people) you have a hard time saying yes to.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
I'm too sexy for my shirt...
WARNING: The sermon this Sunday will use words like "sex", "lust", and "passion." There will be frequent quotations from the Song of Solomon. Such as:
"The curves of your hips are like jewels, the work of the hands of an artist. Your navel is like a round goblet which never lacks mixed wine."
And just wait till we get to the part about climbing palm trees and the twin fawns...
In all seriousness, this is guaranteed to not be rated any worse than PG. We're looking at the difference between love and lust. We won't actually talk about the "twin fawns". But if you aren't quite ready for your children to be asking you about things like sex, sexuality, lust, etc, you may want to just take your kids into the artroom during the sermon. (The artroom is right across the hall from the classroom we use as a nursery and each week there are activities for you and your kids to do in there during the worship service.)
see you Sunday.
"The curves of your hips are like jewels, the work of the hands of an artist. Your navel is like a round goblet which never lacks mixed wine."
And just wait till we get to the part about climbing palm trees and the twin fawns...
In all seriousness, this is guaranteed to not be rated any worse than PG. We're looking at the difference between love and lust. We won't actually talk about the "twin fawns". But if you aren't quite ready for your children to be asking you about things like sex, sexuality, lust, etc, you may want to just take your kids into the artroom during the sermon. (The artroom is right across the hall from the classroom we use as a nursery and each week there are activities for you and your kids to do in there during the worship service.)
see you Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)