Only Wonder Asides

The Personalized Faith

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 06:45:44 -0500

I have generally responded negatively to much contemporary worship music for its individualistic tone. Much of it is “me” centered, and I have bemoaned the lack of worship resources that worship God in a communal context.

In researching a sermon on Psalm 23 today, I was struck by how often the Psalms use individualistic language in their worship. I haven’t done a comparison yet, but certainly the early Hebrew songwriters believed that personal expressions of praise to God were appropriate. Maybe I have been missing something along the way in my critique.

This is something I definitely need! » Pic of the Day Dept....

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:13:22 -0500

This is something I definitely need!

» Pic of the Day Dept. Dvorak Uncensored: General interest observations and true web-log.

"So the fact that 4,000 men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces have been killed in Iraq is..."

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:49:50 -0500

“So the fact that 4,000 men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces have been killed in Iraq is somehow less compelling than the zillionth playing of snippets from a sermon that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright preached more than six years ago.”

- Eugene Robinson - 4,000 Dead for What? - washingtonpost.com

"But there is something essentially countercultural about Christianity that should make evangelicals..."

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:40:00 -0600

“But there is something essentially countercultural about Christianity that should make evangelicals restless in any political coalition. Christianity indicts oppressive government — but also the soul-destroying excesses that sometimes come in free markets and consumerism. It teaches enduring moral rules — and an emphasis on justice for the least and the lost. It is often hard where liberalism is soft, and soft where conservatism is hard.”

- Michael Gerson - Faith Without a Home - washingtonpost.com

30 Day Sex Challenge

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:38:43 -0600

YBOR CITY, Fla. - A southwest Florida church issued a challenge for its married members this past Sunday: Hanky panky every day. Relevant Church head pastor Paul Wirth says the 50 percent divorce rate was the catalyst for The 30-Day Sex Challenge. ADVERTISEMENT “And that’s no different for people who attend church,” Wirth said. “Sometimes life gets in the way. Our jobs get in the way.”

Message from Lafayette UMC

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:54:51 -0600

I have been in contact with some of the persons responsible for the disaster response here in Lafayette. Today the community is in the process of discerning what is needed, and in what order. It is not possible to rush this process, even though there are so many persons who want to help. Please be patient and work through established channels or offers of help can become distractions for those who are trying to coordinate relief efforts.

To cite just one example of the need to be responsible: Lafayette Mayor Bill Wells, a member of Lafayette UMC, told me this morning that private parties using heavy equipment, and in a rush to help, are in danger of destroying infrastructure, such as gas and electrical connnections, that will have to be replaced at the eity’s expense. This, at a time when the city is facing a fiscal challenge with things as they are.

We are grateful for any and all help. We just need persons to make sure that they are helping in the most effective and constructive ways possible, and at the best time.

Blessings,
Michael Welch

Speaking Gigs This Weekend...

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:54:43 -0600

Saturday
Workshop leader for Warmth in Winter at the Nashville Convention Center

Sunday
Preaching at the Antioch United Methodist Church

Workshop leader at the Murfreesboro District Training Event in Tulluhoma

"We’ve elected two boomers in a row, and it would be surprising if America now jumped a..."

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:32:26 -0600

“We’ve elected two boomers in a row, and it would be surprising if America now jumped a generation, backward or forward. But Hillary inherits the nation’s ambivalence about boomers (at least the elitist, blue-state version) and their self-indulgence and self-absorption.”

- David Ignatius - Choosing Among Generations - washingtonpost.com

"[Obama] talks about erasing old categories like red and blue (and implicitly, black and white) and..."

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:50:58 -0600

“[Obama] talks about erasing old categories like red and blue (and implicitly, black and white) and replacing them with new categories, of which the most important are new and old. He seems at first more preoccupied with changing thinking than changing legislation.”

- The Two Earthquakes - New York Times

An update from the folks at Invisible Children

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:03:13 -0600

An update from the folks at Invisible Children

"In all of this, we may be tempted to cynicism, because “there’s no one to check/ It’s..."

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:52:16 -0600

“In all of this, we may be tempted to cynicism, because “there’s no one to check/ It’s all a stacked deck,” but surrendering to cynicism ends up empowering politics as usual. A friend of mine in college used to say that religion may be the opiate of the masses, but cynicism is surely the opiate of the intellectuals. Bona fide and enduring hope, we must remember, comes from a source both higher than politics and deeper than the best understanding of intellectuals.”

- Brian McLaren

"On his most recent visit, he said, a waitress gave him and his wife’s cousin, 44-year-old..."

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:43:52 -0600

“

On his most recent visit, he said, a waitress gave him and his wife’s cousin, 44-year-old Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double the buffet price for two adults.

“She says, ‘Y’all fat, and y’all eat too much,’” Labit said.

”

- ‘Hearty eater’ claims buffet banned him - Yahoo! News

Christvertising

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:41:00 -0600

Christvertising: This has got to be a sendup … surely no one really is doing this for real.

My pownce page

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:51:50 -0500

My pownce page

Now that the IPhone is the hot product released, do you think it might be possible actually get some...

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:06:22 -0500

Now that the IPhone is the hot product released, do you think it might be possible actually get some Wii’s on the shelf?

Prayers for Dixon

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:22:58 -0500

Our friend, Dixon Kinser, just learned of the death of his brother, Edward. Please keep Dixon and family in your prayers.

Well this works when nothing else will...

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:27:35 -0500

My hosting company has pretty well crashed, so it’s nice to be able to come here and bitch about it. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m ready for them to get their act together.

"(PARIS) — Formula One team McLaren is being investigated for a possible rule breach at the Monaco..."

Mon, 28 May 2007 20:02:26 -0500

“(PARIS) — Formula One team McLaren is being investigated for a possible rule breach at the Monaco Grand Prix.”

- I had no idea that Brian McLaren would EVER break the rules… :)

Formula One Win Being Investigated | TIME

Festival of Homiletics Info

Fri, 25 May 2007 05:53:14 -0500

Many folks at the Festival of Homiletics gathering yesterday wanted more information on the songs shared and other elements of the worship service. Please give us a day or two to pull this together, but we will be posting more information soon.

It's a travesty, but we can still buy her records!

Fri, 18 May 2007 06:18:48 -0500

[Melinda] Doolittle will participate in the Idol tour that will run July 6 through Sept. 22. (Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. for the tour’s July 11 stop in Nashville.) Doolittle described the album she will make as “just soul music, anything from the heart.” She said, “I love a groove. I love anything where I can tell a story.”

Upbeat Doolittle ready to just sing - Nashville, Tennessee - Friday, 05/18/07 - Tennessean.com