Weekend ramblings: Of cabbages and kings... and whether pigs have wings
Couldn't resist a scrap of Lewis Carroll as I clean off my desk in preparation for another week. The stuff on my desk is nearly as random as Carroll's verse.
Ming, Gilbert (behind us), Catherine and me
This was taken in the Chinese restaurant where Ming gave us a
"guided tour" of dim sum. A loose (meaning my American) translation
of "dim sum" is "touch the heart". their friendship touches mine.
- I'm grateful for my friends. Gilbert and Ming, who helped me out by interpreting Chinese characters for me this week. (Don't ask why this was necessary :-)
Ming, Gilbert (behind us), Catherine and me
This was taken in the Chinese restaurant where Ming gave us a
"guided tour" of dim sum. A loose (meaning my American) translation
of "dim sum" is "touch the heart". their friendship touches mine.
- Our son (Matt) picked up a copy of Mark Batterson's newest book, Wild Goose Chase, for me. I can't wait to dig into it!
- Julia Duin has a new book also. I've mentioned her before - she's not afraid to tackle tough subjects and her latest book, Quitting Church: Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do About It, is no exception. It's in my reading queue right after Mark's new book.
- We stopped by a "Flea Market" today and I learned more about antique egg beaters than I knew existed when we struck up a conversation with one of the KOOKS ("Kollectors of Old Kitchen Stuff" ) She also had a small collection of antique apple parers. It was a "Charles Kuralt" moment.
- I'm glad the Redskins won today. I hope it continues.
- Somewhere along the way the evangelical church threw innovation under the bus. I've been intrigued by Mark Waltz' idea of a mobile guest services desk ever since I saw his idea. I wish I'd found an excuse to blog about it before- it's been incubating for a year. I guess it's about time to get it off my desk.
- Perry Noble preached an "alcohol sermon" and pointed out the obvious: The church is the only place in America where a glutton can look at a drunkard and somehow feel more righteous than them! I like this guy! I hope he lasts. I'm praying toward that end. Do you pray for your favorite evangelical pastor or are you just waiting for them to fall so you can cluck your tongue and wag your finger?
- I'm not a huge fan of all that is called the "emergent church" but Dan Kimball takes on the "third rail" issue of music. It reminds me of another professor of mine who said (also in relation to music) "We like what we know. We don't know what we like." Based on his insight on music I'm going to put a copy of his book (They Like Jesus but not the Church) in my reading queue. Frankly, alot of pastors might candidly tell you the same thing.
I need to learn how to clean my desk like you do. I'm suppose to be the organized anal-retentive one who is borderline OCD who keeps the Worship Arts department in line. And yet, my desk looks like I am one of the artsy fartsy people in my Worship Arts Department.
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Some of the points in Noble's 'drinking sermon' are inspired. The same thing can be said for gossip and extra-marital sex. I have seen many, many times people condemn someone for having extra-marital sex while in the same breath happily passing along hurtful gossip about the person they assume is a fornicator. Same principle in action: the gossip feels righteous next to the adulterer just like the glutton feels righteous next to the drunk.
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