In my novel, Summer of Champions, 11-year-old Joe Don, who is tall for his age, gets hassled by a movie theater manager. The manager thinks that anyone his size must be at least 12 years old, which was the age when kids had to start paying adult movie admission. The manager had to check. He lost money when 12 and 13-year-olds passed for 11 and paid children’s admission.
Several years ago I witnessed a similar sort of thing. Teenage ticket-takers at local movie theaters were assuming that people in their mid-50s were old enough, say 62, to pay senior citizen admission. Many did not seem to mind that some kid thought they were older than they really were. The reduced price was worth it. Movie theater managers caught on pretty quickly, though. Nowadays people claiming senior citizen prices often have to produce an ID.
Isn’t it amazing how people sneak around? In addition to the lure of a cheaper ticket, older teens try to pass for 21 so they can drink in bars. Or people take home clothes from stores under the pretext of trying them on; but then “sneak out” to a party wearing the new item, only to return it the next day “unused.” Or spouses sneak around on each other. There’s a lot of sneaking around.
The truth is, though, it’s almost always wrong. You want a test as to whether or not what you’re doing is wrong? If you have to sneak around to do it, most likely it is.
John says about Jesus that “the true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” Jesus’ example and teachings and accomplishments are the light by which we can tell what’s right from what’s wrong. As followers of Jesus we are to live in the light. Sneaking around is an activity done in the dark. It’s rarely appropriate. - DJ
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Pastor’s Column June 21, 2010
Whatever happened to the TV show Providence. Remember Providence on TV? This was the series that revolved around Dr. Sydney Hanson who left her glamorous job in Beverly Hills as a plastic surgeon to move back to her hometown of Providence, RI, the people of which couldn’t afford plastic surgery. NBC aired five seasons of Providence, fully intending to bring it back for a sixth, but Dr. Hanson, by God’s providence, got a job gathering evidence on CSI: New York. She’s still there to my knowledge. Gave up plastic surgery to be a crime scene investigator.
Providence, RI was founded by theologian Roger Williams. He named the township Providence in honor of our God who watched over him through some tough, dangerous times, and who provided him a place in the wilderness to live out his beliefs after Massachusetts gave him the boot. Providence comes from the Latin word “providere,” which means to foresee. God’s providence refers to God foreseeing the consequences of human action and therefore being able to provide what it takes to move events toward the intended end of creation, the kingdom of God in its fullness.
Providence does not mean that God operates by a predetermined script that makes human freedom beside the point. No. We’re free to help or hinder God. Providence is simply the way in which God brings about his purpose both in spite of and through the actions of flawed human beings.
One of my favorite movies is Cinderella Man - Russel Crowe and Renee Zellweger starring in the real-life story of boxer James Braddock. In Cinderella Man we have a family going through some tough times, the Great Depression. One of the Braddock’s sons, who is 9 or10, sees neighborhood families having to send their children away to relatives who can better provide for them. Food is hard to come by. In the hopes that his family won’t give him away, the little boy steals a salami so they will have something to eat. His dad gets upset and makes the son take it back to the butcher; but then when he learns why the boy stole it, assures him that he will never give him up, never send him away. Likewise, God will never give us up to the errors of our way. God foresees the consequences of our actions and makes plans to get us through. We may have to go through some tough times; but these too will pass. - DJ
Providence, RI was founded by theologian Roger Williams. He named the township Providence in honor of our God who watched over him through some tough, dangerous times, and who provided him a place in the wilderness to live out his beliefs after Massachusetts gave him the boot. Providence comes from the Latin word “providere,” which means to foresee. God’s providence refers to God foreseeing the consequences of human action and therefore being able to provide what it takes to move events toward the intended end of creation, the kingdom of God in its fullness.
Providence does not mean that God operates by a predetermined script that makes human freedom beside the point. No. We’re free to help or hinder God. Providence is simply the way in which God brings about his purpose both in spite of and through the actions of flawed human beings.
One of my favorite movies is Cinderella Man - Russel Crowe and Renee Zellweger starring in the real-life story of boxer James Braddock. In Cinderella Man we have a family going through some tough times, the Great Depression. One of the Braddock’s sons, who is 9 or10, sees neighborhood families having to send their children away to relatives who can better provide for them. Food is hard to come by. In the hopes that his family won’t give him away, the little boy steals a salami so they will have something to eat. His dad gets upset and makes the son take it back to the butcher; but then when he learns why the boy stole it, assures him that he will never give him up, never send him away. Likewise, God will never give us up to the errors of our way. God foresees the consequences of our actions and makes plans to get us through. We may have to go through some tough times; but these too will pass. - DJ
Monday, June 14, 2010
PASTOR’S COLUMN.
Have you ever noticed how Jesus embodies “abundant life” in the gospels? He feeds 5,000 and then 4,000. He goes around to people suffering from scarcity – scarcity of health, scarcity of acceptance, scarcity of power, scarcity of understanding – and replaced it with abundance.
Same thing with God. God not only initiates abundance in the first chapter of Genesis by calling forth plants and fish and birds and animals, but God promises continued abundance by commanding them to “increase and multiply.” Then God rests on the Sabbath because there is enough.
Without a doubt there are man-made distribution problems in this life – economies and politics leave out many people who are in need, or those in power take so much that there’s not enough left for others – still there’s an abundance rather than a scarcity. Distribution problems need to be solved and opposed rather than accepted as just the way things are.
Tim Sanders, a business consultant who was once the head of human resources for Yahoo, urges us to not think of ourselves in terms of what we don’t have. If we do so, our life and/or business will begin a downward spiral. Ours is to stop focusing on scarcity and start concentrating on whatever abundance we do have. Build on our strengths rather than bemoan our shortages.
In church we call this focus on abundance “finding one’s niche.” No congregation can do it all, but given a church’s particular gifts and strengths, it can find its niche in its community. Given Grace’s abundance, what do you think our niche is? -DJ
Same thing with God. God not only initiates abundance in the first chapter of Genesis by calling forth plants and fish and birds and animals, but God promises continued abundance by commanding them to “increase and multiply.” Then God rests on the Sabbath because there is enough.
Without a doubt there are man-made distribution problems in this life – economies and politics leave out many people who are in need, or those in power take so much that there’s not enough left for others – still there’s an abundance rather than a scarcity. Distribution problems need to be solved and opposed rather than accepted as just the way things are.
Tim Sanders, a business consultant who was once the head of human resources for Yahoo, urges us to not think of ourselves in terms of what we don’t have. If we do so, our life and/or business will begin a downward spiral. Ours is to stop focusing on scarcity and start concentrating on whatever abundance we do have. Build on our strengths rather than bemoan our shortages.
In church we call this focus on abundance “finding one’s niche.” No congregation can do it all, but given a church’s particular gifts and strengths, it can find its niche in its community. Given Grace’s abundance, what do you think our niche is? -DJ
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Pastor's Column June 6
This year the Presbyterian Women will be studying Revelation, which is not at all what the “gloom and doom” crowd make of it. Revelation is a wonderful book that gives us hope for God’s good future for humankind.
There is a variety of materials in Revelation, one being the Four-Fold Worship Pattern that we derive from Revelation 4: 1-11. I have inserted it into this week’s Order of Worship, and will continue doing so as space permits, as an aid to worship.
The first portion of worship is called The Gathering. This is the initial step in our response to God’s invitation to enter into His presence, “Come up here!” To be examined immediately are our motives. Why are we here? We gather to affirm God’s worth and to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ. The word “worship” is the contraction of worth-ship, the act of declaring God’s worth. God is the most important relationship in our lives. We’re here to affirm this reality and to grow in this relationship. Furthermore, this portion of the service does not consist of just preliminaries to the sermon. Worship involves singing God’s praise, participating in the prayers, and confessing our sins so that we can be put right with God.
The second portion of the worship service is called the Word, God speaking to us through scripture, giving us hope, guidance, and support, sometimes comforting us in our affliction, sometimes afflicting us in our comfort. A sermon can be defined as an address based on scripture that presents the good news of Jesus Christ is such a way that we are called upon to live by faith in the days ahead.
The third portion of the worship service is Thanks. We respond thankfully to God’s Word and presence in our lives and world with prayer, by the giving of our offerings, by affirming our beliefs via the creed, and on occasion by participating in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
And then there is the Dismissal – we are sent back into the world to serve Jesus. Worship is not escape from our problems, but a time so immersed in God’s presence and grace, that when we return to our lives Jesus makes a wonderful difference no matter what our situation. What happens here influences what happens out there. - DJ
There is a variety of materials in Revelation, one being the Four-Fold Worship Pattern that we derive from Revelation 4: 1-11. I have inserted it into this week’s Order of Worship, and will continue doing so as space permits, as an aid to worship.
The first portion of worship is called The Gathering. This is the initial step in our response to God’s invitation to enter into His presence, “Come up here!” To be examined immediately are our motives. Why are we here? We gather to affirm God’s worth and to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ. The word “worship” is the contraction of worth-ship, the act of declaring God’s worth. God is the most important relationship in our lives. We’re here to affirm this reality and to grow in this relationship. Furthermore, this portion of the service does not consist of just preliminaries to the sermon. Worship involves singing God’s praise, participating in the prayers, and confessing our sins so that we can be put right with God.
The second portion of the worship service is called the Word, God speaking to us through scripture, giving us hope, guidance, and support, sometimes comforting us in our affliction, sometimes afflicting us in our comfort. A sermon can be defined as an address based on scripture that presents the good news of Jesus Christ is such a way that we are called upon to live by faith in the days ahead.
The third portion of the worship service is Thanks. We respond thankfully to God’s Word and presence in our lives and world with prayer, by the giving of our offerings, by affirming our beliefs via the creed, and on occasion by participating in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
And then there is the Dismissal – we are sent back into the world to serve Jesus. Worship is not escape from our problems, but a time so immersed in God’s presence and grace, that when we return to our lives Jesus makes a wonderful difference no matter what our situation. What happens here influences what happens out there. - DJ
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
PASTOR’S COLUMN May 30, 2010
How do you handle daily e-mail? Some have over 1,000/day to answer, but even for those with far less, answering e-mail is a problem. Here are some ideas in a New York Times article from people who have faced high volumes of correspondence:
- Declare e-mail bankruptcy, i.e., delete them all and start afresh tomorrow. And if there are too many tomorrow, do the same thing again.
- In pre-electronic times, Thomas Edison dealt with hundreds of thousands of letters. Not all of them got a reply, but most did thanks to Edison’s solution – a secretary, actually several secretaries who became skilled in creating the impression that Edison himself was interested in the person’s concern.
- H.L. Mencken, journalist and essayist, answered every letter himself, whether the daily mail brought 10 or 80 letters. He answered them on the day received. He said, “My mail is so large that if I let it accumulate for even a few days, it would swamp me.”
- Time management specialists advise us to check e-mails only twice a day and to respond at times of our own choosing. Not all questions can be answered quickly.
I’m not sure what Jesus has to teach us about answering e-mails, but maybe e-mail and cell phones fall under his teachings about establishing boundaries. Jesus was often incommunicado—he couldn’t be reached—and when people asked him a question, he didn’t always answer. He taught us, “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” Is one’s sanity holy? Is one’s time valuable? Is communication something you don’t want others to trample under foot? Is e-mail mauling your life? God grant you guidance.
- Declare e-mail bankruptcy, i.e., delete them all and start afresh tomorrow. And if there are too many tomorrow, do the same thing again.
- In pre-electronic times, Thomas Edison dealt with hundreds of thousands of letters. Not all of them got a reply, but most did thanks to Edison’s solution – a secretary, actually several secretaries who became skilled in creating the impression that Edison himself was interested in the person’s concern.
- H.L. Mencken, journalist and essayist, answered every letter himself, whether the daily mail brought 10 or 80 letters. He answered them on the day received. He said, “My mail is so large that if I let it accumulate for even a few days, it would swamp me.”
- Time management specialists advise us to check e-mails only twice a day and to respond at times of our own choosing. Not all questions can be answered quickly.
I’m not sure what Jesus has to teach us about answering e-mails, but maybe e-mail and cell phones fall under his teachings about establishing boundaries. Jesus was often incommunicado—he couldn’t be reached—and when people asked him a question, he didn’t always answer. He taught us, “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” Is one’s sanity holy? Is one’s time valuable? Is communication something you don’t want others to trample under foot? Is e-mail mauling your life? God grant you guidance.
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