Purgatory

Methodists make up for our lack of purgatory with an abundance of committees and extended meetings.

— THE Fake UMC Bishop (@fakeUMCbishop) September 16, 2016

End Times

Fact.

@ChrchCurmudgeon @john_starke I firmly believe that were are closer to the end times now than we have ever been before in history.

— Vasili1097 (@vasili1097) September 13, 2016

Sprinkling

Ha!

There was a small fire at the Methodist Church Sunday. The sprinklers went off.

Everyone was saved.

— Church Curmudgeon (@ChrchCurmudgeon) August 31, 2016

Facebook South

A post in my Facebook feed that almost certainly had to be from the South.

"Please say a prayer for my Daddy today. He is having spinal cord surgery this morning at 10ish to fuse C5 & C6 in his neck. He should get the feeling back in his right arm after this surgery. After all, he needs to feel his shooting finger!"

Daddy - check. Prayers - check. Guns - check.

Hacking the Papal Election

Bruce evaluates the security of the Papal election process. So not very hackable, but I think they should add some drama to the vote counting.

Knoxville - Well-Versed

Knoxville - America's Most Bible-Minded City.

The Nones

"This week, Morning Edition explores the "nones" — Americans who say they don't identify with any religion. Demographers have given them this name because when asked to identify their religion, that's their answer: "none."

I wonder if the "nones" have replaced their need for connectedness and community with technology - Facebook or any other social site. You don't have to go down to the Wednesday night meal at church to learn what is happening to your friends. You just check your smartphone and you know what they are up to.

Packing Heat and Trusting Providence

I still struggle with this.

CTmagazine Packing Heat and Trusting Providence: @LoveLifeLitGod explains why she owns a handgun (@ctwomensblog) ht.ly/cwINWThu, Jul 26 16:02:14 from HootSuite retweeted by TheCall_Holston

Where is the line?

I'm struggling with this one. Rachel Held Evans - "God and our political platforms..."

"Because God is not a flag pin.

God is not a beam in a political platform.

God’s name is not something to use to score political points. It's not something to throw around lightly or to use as a weapon against a political opponent."

Where is the line between God being a part of everything we do and using God to fulfill our own wants? Where is the line between openly expressing our faith and offending others? Sometimes the line is clear.

Recently there has been a discussion about prayers before college football games as some schools are replacing it with a moment of silence. My libertarian side says that is a good thing. My practical side says people need to have thicker skin than to be offended by a 30 second prayer. My Christian side hates to see God removed from another part of my life.

And if we are going to ban prayers before games, should we also stop playing the National Anthem?

Good Company for Lent

So Coach gave up sweets for Lent, too.

wesrucker247 Cuonzo Martin also said he promised wife/boss Roberta that he'd give up sweets for Lent. "So far, so good, but that's a fight I can't win."Mon, Feb 27 12:31:16 from TweetDeck

Lent

Last year I gave up Cokes (really anything but water, milk, and coffee) for Lent. As I have been told recently, you shouldn't drink your calories. I still have the occasional Coke or Mountain Dew Livewire (usually as the result of stress), but have dropped them from my daily habits.

This year I am going to give up desserts. I doubt this will continue beyond Lent.

Cool Call Sign

His e-mail address beings with "loco4christ@" and his call is KZ4GOD.

Quotes of the Day

Click for the context:

1. When I reach the Pearly Gates, I want the first thing I will hear to be "Unload and show clear." 

2. But brother, if you ever find yourself collecting chili recipes for guinea pig you should take a long, hard look at your life and ponder how you ever came to give up on the world.

YouVersion Bible - Next Week-end Download NLT

The New Living Translation is my favorite right now and you can download a local copy, so you don't have to be on-line to access it.

Hello, YouVersion Community! In a worldwide revolution, people from all over the world are engaging with the Bible—many of them for the very first time. And your personal story plays a critical role: When you share how God's Word is changing your life, others are also drawn to His love and redemption. NIV and NLT Available for Download: 48 Hours Only! Some of you have let us know that you lost your offline Bible versions after upgrading or replacing your phone without having offline translations backed up. Most versions in the Bible App are available to download anytime. However, a few are not, so we reached out to our friends at Biblica, Zondervan, and Tyndale, and they have graciously allowed us to offer the New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT) for a limited time. For just 48 hours next weekend—from 12:00 AM October 30 through 11:59 PM Central Time U.S. (GMT -5) October 31—you'll once again be able to download the NIV and the NLT for offline use. (When you download a version, that means you can read it in the Bible App even when you're offline—that is, when you can't connect to your service provider or to the Internet.) Special thanks go to Biblica and Zondervan for making the NIV available, and to Tyndale for the NLT. © LifeChurch.tv 2007-2011 Blog Support Donate Volunteer Unsubscribe

Different Management

JeremyWeir @msuster to your point tonight about hiring a grade below the position "remember amateurs built the ark, pros built the Titanic" -DrakeFri, Sep 30 01:32:59 from web retweeted by msuster

In this case, I think management made all the difference.

Three Percenters

From Ambulance Driver:

"It is estimated that only 3% of American colonists took up arms against England. Only 10% of American colonists actively supported the fighters with arms, munitions and materiel. Only 20% or so of their neighbors even supported their cause at all. Fully a third of the American colonists considered themselves loyal British subjects, and a third more had no strong opinions either way."

It also reminds me that I recently heard that the average giving in our church conference is about 1.5%. My church is much better at 3%. (Yes, sarcasm.) As I continue to prove, I ain't real good at the maths, but 3% is pretty far off from a 10% tithe I think.

Christians

My understanding of God's message is quite different from those discussed by Ken at Popehat. It is sad when the "good" guys aren't even close to being good. I'm not close to perfect, but it is hard to believe the people can reconcile being Christian and making comments like "can we start killing them now? few groups are filled with more hatred." In this case, they are talking about atheists, but it could be directed at just about any group that doesn't match their views.

UMC Infant Baptism

I like the idea of infant baptism in the United Methodist Church. It is a commitment by the parents, but also by the church as a whole to raise the child in the faith. The congregational response:

"With God's help, we will so order our lives after the example of Christ that this child, surrounded by steadfast love, may be established in the faith and confirmed and strengthened in the way that leads to life eternal."

What an awesome responsibility and I am glad for the reminder every time we baptize a child.

NASCAR Prayer

And thanks for my smoking hot wife.

Lesser of Two Evils

I have written before about my thoughts on guns and self-defense. In response to the celebrations after the announcement of bin Laden's death, Andrew Zirschky wrote an article on Youth Ministry Today. He introduces Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pacifist German Lutheran pastor and theologian, and applies his philosophy to the events surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden.

Bonhoeffer knows that we may find ourselves deciding between evil or evil. In these situations, we must act, depending upon our own limited understanding of world, and knowing that the ultimate judgement will be God's. This same judgement will be applied to those responsible for the elimination of a terrorist like bin Laden and, I believe, to a father protecting his family by shooting an intruder. I need to think about this some more, but it allows for universal truths (murder is a sin) to apply consistently on earth while preserving hope that God will have mercy on one's soul in heaven.

Even this short article has piqued my curiosity about Bonhoeffer. One more for the reading list.



I'm a sucker for powerful quotes:

"The sword can never bring about the unity of the Church and of faith. Preaching can never govern nations."

“What is worse than doing evil is being evil.”