How We Are Corrupted

President Warren Harding's administration had a credo: More business in government, less government in business. It is viewed by history as one of the most corrupt and least influential presidencies in our history.

Too many churches today have modified this credo: More business in church, less church in our business.

And we wonder why we are so corrupted and have so little influence.

The Commercialization of the World

"...I came to see Islam, or at least one part of Islam, as an important defense mechanism against the commercialization of the world." -Peter Jennings

Shouldn't someone be saying this about the church?

Still True Today

"There are only two ways to make it in big-time politics today: One is to come on like a mean dinosaur, with a high-powered machine that scares the shit out of your entrenched opposition (like Daley or Nixon)...and the other is to tap the massive, frustrated energies of a mainly young, disillusioned electorate that has long since abandoned the idea that we all have a duty to vote."

Hunter Thompson wrote those words in 1972. Sound familiar?

Connectedness: Your Sweater and My Sweater

Check this out and comment here.

The Ministry of Presence

I realized today, once again, how important it is just to "be there." I have a friend going through a rough spot and he reached out for some one on one time. I find myself wanting to be the pastor with all the answers in these encounters and having to pray "help me to shut up, help me to sit still, help me to shut up, help me to sit still." God helped me to do that today. It's amazing the blessing provided by simply being present. No easy answers. No quick fix. Just shut up and sit still.

Tough Talk

Increasingly intimate friendships can lead to increasingly personal conversations. The topics go deeper and get more passionate. So, my question is this; how do you decide when to push through a difficult topic for the sake of a friendship and when to avoid a difficult topic for the sake of a friendship?

How To Build Community

turn off your television

leave your house

know your neighbors

greet a stranger

plant flowers

plant trees

get a library card

play at the park

shop local

help a lost dog

fix things you didn't break

have potlucks

visit the elderly

pick up litter

join a book club

go dancing

get to know your mail carrier

listen...especially to those who go unheard

help someone with their groceries

start a family tradition

ask questions

hire a teenager to do odd jobs

organize a block party

make extra and share

ask for help

open your blinds/pull back the shades

sing with friends

have a hobby

provide a service

turn up your music

turn down your music

mediate

mentor

seek to understand

get outside your comfort zone

open your eyes

do justly

love mercy

walk humbly

add to the list

350

This is worth checking out.

Dependence Day

Here's a little blast from my past that's still applicable today. Enjoy.

The Heart of Inklings

Let's make sure we get a group to see this movie together. At the heart of Inklings I hope for the willingness to have this sort of conversation in this sort of way.

Thomas Merton

Why should I fear anything that cannot rob me of God, and why should I desire anything that cannot give me possession of Him?

Baby Boomer Legacy

I'm reading a book right now called After The Baby Boomers. Fascinating stuff. At one point the author makes the assertion that the legacy of boomers within churches will be that they were "less interested in finding God and more intent on finding themselves."

Agree or disagree?