silence

if you haven't yet...

go read this. I have read it a couple of times now and every time it gets deeper and deeper for me.

But apparently not spelling

Maybe prooftexting is not so bad?

Pastor Makes 1 Timothy 4:8a His "Theme Verse"
YOUNGSTON, GEORGIA

Rev. Charles "Chuck" Dewease, pastor of the First Pentecostal Church of Youngston, is not ashamed to tell anyone his weight.

"I'm a little over 415 pounds and proud of it." He says.

About ten years ago while reading the book of 1 Timothy, Dewease came under "intense conviction" when he read 1 Timothy 4:8a which says, "For bodily exercise profiteth little." Since that day Dewease has made it a point to avoid any and all manner of exercise, intentionally gaining a tremendous amount of weight to show his "conviction."

"I've never been what you might call a 'small man.'" Said Dewease. "But ten years ago my life changed. It was a liberating and freeing experience when I read that verse in 1 Timothy. I never much cared for diet and exercise, but when I read those words my heart just leaped for joy! I knew that I didn't have to worry about it anymore."

Now, Dewease no longer concerns himself about what he eats. His breakfast often consists of a large six-egg omelet with cheese, ham and sausage, four or five biscuits with gravy, a large serving of grits, and 8 strips of bacon. During the day he usually keeps a large stash of snack foods and soft drinks in his office. For lunch he normally eats out.

"I love fried chicken." He said. "There's a local place just down the road called "Claire's Cafe" that makes the best you'll ever eat, and I go there just about every day. They all know me. I just walk in and say 'I'll have the usual' and they bring me my ten-piece family meal with baked beans and potato salad."

Dewease does not concern himself with how people might look at him but rather refers to his obesity as his "testimony to godliness," claiming that the larger he gets, the more he displays himself as one who is not concerned with bodily exercise.

"What I'm doing is found right there on the pages of the Bible." He said. "This is how we are all supposed to be living our lives, not spending time at the gym. I don't have time for that. With so much sinning going on in this world, with so much alcohol and tobacco use in my own community, I've got my work cut out for me. This is a holy pursuit."

Despite Dewease's passion for "holy pursuits" some members of his own congregation are concerned about his weight.

"I just think he needs to slow down a bit." Said one member who wished to remain anonymous. "He's going to keel over with a heart attack one day."

But despite the criticism Dewease is unwaivering.

"I don't care what anybody says." Said Dewease. "They can mock me, ridicule me, and scoff, but it is better to obey the Bible rather than men."

Taken from: tominthebox

WWJS

Well, I don't want to lose any of my loyal readers, but this might induce the "Sheep Shift" from one congregation to another.

I give you the Temple 420 church.

If you haven't done it already, go ahead and click on the link, I will wait.

[Waiting]

Now, this gives new meaning to the phrase, "High and lifted up."

Do they open their greeting time with people by saying, "Hey everyone, what's the latest buzz around here?"

Do they say, "whoa" or "dude" instead of "amen"?

Does the 4:20 refers to Luke 4:20? (“Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him”)**

Is their vision statement, "Temple 420—where the grass is always greener.”

And exactly how big is their snack table?



** BTW, it doesn't.

Truth in Advertising?

Yea, there is just so much to be said about this.

I see a sermon illustration in this picture's future.

Which?

When worship goes bad.

For those times when "worship" goes bad, the band doesn't gel; when they just don't seem up to par... always remember, it could be worse.

Psychic

I predict a blog post.

What wouldn't Jesus do?

From the "I want to know YOUR God" files...

My Dad

As I type this I'm sitting in the family waiting room at Lee County Hospital in Florida. I really should be working on my message but I just need a break.

My dad had surgery on his back on Monday and my brother and I flew down to be with him and my mom. The surgery went really well, much better than we imagined. There will be some rough spots ahead and some really bad stuff can still happen...

But it almost seems that I have my old dad back.

I learned what it means to "be a man" from my dad. I hope that doesn't sound too machismo, actually the reverse is true. My dad taught me that loyalty, generosity, love, respect... those are the things that make a man. I have always respected the way that my dad treated my mom. We would go to festivals and people who didn't know them would always think they were newlyweds. As my dad has been in incredible pain the past several years, his disposition has changed a bit. Honestly, he has gotten more grumpy. But today I saw that spark of my old dad back again.

I know we won't physically live forever. I know that outwardly we are waiting away... but I would like to have my dad around for many years to come. I still have so much to learn.

Too cool.

There is just something way cool about this.

Write the @#$@ book.

"Brokenness is weird. To refuse its presence, we are nothing. But when we acknowledge it, we gain power beyond measure." mdog

So I've been thinking about this quote a lot, partially because I think mdog should write a book, partially because I'm going to steal the quote and use it in a sermon in May...

And partially because I realize how broken I am.

I want to hide it. Even when I am vulnerable, I realize that I am vulnerable only to a point. Even vulnerability can involve image control. And some of that is good. We don't need to be spilling our brokenness all over everyone all the time.

But there is this truth... there is this reality that (as James says), "when we confess our sin" to one another... power comes. Healing comes.

I'm glad the Bible is true. And I'm glad it works.

As Jim pointed out on Easter, I'm glad for life after death... but also for the chance at life before death.

Happy Sarcastic Wednesday

To all those who "love" their jobs... finally a holiday just for you.

Thoughts?

If I might encourage you to go over to this blog I think it would be an interesting conversation.

Get your tickets now!

who would ever want to miss this.

I don't think He's there anymore.

“The Christian life does not deny brokenness; it denies that brokenness has the last word." [Brennan Manning]

I used to fear death, but now the rules have changed.

Can of Worms, part 2

I have always liked Tony Campolo (who, by the way, is speaking in Athens on May 10). I'm always challenged by his concern for the poor and the marginalized. And, his theology has always pushed me.

I'm challenged by the quotes below. I think it's good to talk about them and to discuss them and to wrestle with them.

But where does wrestling end and orthodoxy begin? At what point do we leave the fundamentals of the Christian faith? How do we see and understand the centrality of Jesus?

And yet, I confess I too believe that Jesus is bigger than we see or know or understand. That his love for the world may be bigger than some simple formula that brings people to faith ("ALL you have to do is simply...")

So here are some thoughts by Tony. Feel free to add your own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I am saying that there is no salvation apart from Jesus; that's my evangelical mindset. However, I am not convinced that Jesus only lives in Christians"

-Tony Campolo
(National Liberty Journal, 8/99)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...what can I say to an Islamic brother who has fed the hungry, and clothed the naked? You say, "But he hasn't a personal relationship with Christ." I would argue with that. And I would say from a Christian perspective, in as much as you did it to the least of these you did it unto Christ. You did have a personal relationship with Christ, you just didn't know it."

-Tony Campolo
EVANGELICALS AND INTERFAITH COOPERATION, An Interview by Shane Claiborne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It seems to me that when we listen to the Muslim mystics as they talk about Jesus and their love for Jesus, I must say, it's a lot closer to New Testament Christianity than a lot of the Christians that I hear. In other words if we are looking for common ground, can we find it in mystical spirituality, even if we cannot theologically agree, Can we pray together in such a way that we connect with a God that transcends our theological differences?"

-Tony Campolo
EVANGELICALS AND INTERFAITH COOPERATION, An Interview by Shane Claiborne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jesus is the only Savior, but not everybody who is being saved by Him is aware that He is the one who is doing the saving"

-Tony Campolo
EP News Service, Oct. 4, 1985

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Today, some of the most spiritual people I know claim to be without religion."

-Tony Campolo
"Mystical Encounters for Christians"
www.beliefnet.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“What I am trying to say is that Jesus who incarnated God 2,000 years ago is mystically present and waiting to be discovered in EVERY person you and I encounter”

-Tony Campolo
"A Reasonable Faith" 1983 page 171

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I do not mean that others represent Jesus for us. I mean that Jesus actually is present in each other person."

-Tony Campolo
"A Reasonable Faith" 1983 page 192

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"going to heaven is like going to Philadelphia...There are many ways....It doesn't make any difference how we go there. We all end up in the same place."

-Tony Campolo
"Carpe Diem: Seize the Day", 1994, pages 85-88

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm not convinced that Jesus only lives in Christians."

-Tony Campolo
Charlie Rose show on January 24, 1997

"notes"

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter got really sick. Either a cold or allergies, but she couldn't breathe. So my wife decided to put a "Vicks" children's patch on her as she slept. It really helped and she slept well. The problem is that now, for some reason, she is terrified of them. And she won't even let us take her shirt off.

I was afraid I screwed her up for life and her husband would hate me so I talked with a woman who is a children's counselor and she told me stuff like this is normal. That children develop fears for strange reasons and, over time, she would work through it.

Parenting is really, really strange.

Speed Limit for the highly educated