This really happened.
It’s 6:30pm on Wednesday evening and we’re in a BIG rush to get to church.
Me: Lori, you need to get out to the van now! Everyone is waiting.
Lori: (Holding her stomach and grimacing) But, Mr. Ryan, can I stay home tonight? My stomach hurts.
Me: Sorry, but you have to go.
Lori: But, I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!
Me: Go get on the van. You can use the bathroom at church!
Lori: Eeewww! I’m not gonna poop at church! That’s a sin!!!
As we drove past Arkansas Skatium on our way home from church, one of the girls had this comment to make:
Girl: Man, I’m a pro at ice skating. I look like that Chinese woman. What’s her name again?
Me: Michelle Quan?
Girl: Yeah, that’s the one. The first time I went ice skating, I didn’t think I could do it. But, I got out there and started flying like a swan.
Wow.
Here is a list of things that I believed at one time or another about God and myself. Some are of more consequence than others.
What about you? Share some of your busted myths in the comments.
- God isn’t cool with having fun.
- God expects me to get dressed up for church.
- Knowledge of the Bible equals a relationship with God.
- I should say ‘bless you’ after someone sneezes because ‘That’s what Jesus would do.’
- I can be good enough.
- If I don’t capitalize the word ‘God’ I will be smote.
- If I don’t read the Bible and pray everyday, God gets mad.
- I have to earn God’s acceptance and love.
A friend emailed this to me last week. You can find it at http://marshillchurch.org. My favorite part is the third paragraph. What do you think?
When it comes to doctrine, culture, preferences, traditions, lifestyles, politics, behavior, etc., Mars Hill Church takes a “closed-hand/open-hand” approach. The closed hand hangs onto the non-negotiable tenets of Christian orthodoxy: sin is the problem, Jesus is the answer, the Bible is true, and Hell is hot.
The open hand, however, allows room for differences when it comes to secondary matters; we liberally allow freedom for conscience and wisdom to guide where the Bible is silent. The open hand fosters unity among the diversity of expressions found in the Mars Hill congregation: Democrats and Republicans, soccer moms and indie rockers, carnivores and vegans, trendy bohemians and Microsoft nerds.
Hence, Mars Hill Church is in favor of good beer (in moderation), great sex (in marriage), and even tattoos (Jesus has one). But our goal must always be love and concern for our friends so that we don’t enjoy our freedom at the expense of their faith.
In this way, we are seeking to simultaneously heed the Bible’s commands to have sound doctrine (1Timothy 4:16; Titus 1:9, 2:1), to love our Christian brothers and sisters (1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:7-21), and to avoid unnecessary divisions (Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10, 12:25; Titus 3:10).
Today, on the God’s Politics blog, Shane Claiborne posted a great article about ‘reimagining’ Christmas. Here’s an excerpt:
A few years ago I remember a pastor friend telling me they tried something a little different for their Christmas services. Instead of the usual holiday décor and clutter of the sanctuary, they brought in a bunch of manure and hay and scattered it under the pews so the place would really smell like the stank manger where it all began.
Read the full article here.
My good buddy Adam Copeland is a Marine currently serving in Iraq through spring of 2008. He just posted this entry about the church. It’s good stuff.
Published on February 19, 2005
in mlc.
Our theme was the persecuted church for last Sunday night’s worship service. It was very sobering. Throughout the week word was passed around our house church that we were to have a “Valentine’s Day Party” that Sunday night at 6:00pm. There was a certain door we had to go through and a key phrase to get in. A lot of church’s got caught and were detained. We did not.
It was a little scary to think that some of the folks there with us would actually be trying to worship under those same conditions. It was hard to stay focussed. Every time we heard a little sound we would get all worked up.
We all met together as a big group afterwards to debrief.
If you’re interested in praying with the Persecuted Church visit www.persecution.com.
Published on February 16, 2005
in mlc.
We have been so overwhelmed at the response of churches across Arkansas committing to pray for us while we are in Peru. We get excited everytime a new church places us on their prayer lists and bulletins because we know that PRAYER is what is going to make our ministry in Peru significant, powerful, and eternal.
We would love it if you would talk to your church about praying for us. We can send monthly prayer emails so that the congregation will stay updated.
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