• Heading on a last minute trip to Lancaster, PA.  Amish country baby.  Will be back tomorrow.
• A lot of people are sick - it’s crazy.  At least half, if not more, of our folks were not at our gathering this morning due to illness related reasons.  I hope this stuff passes through quickly.
• I have a terrible (non-contagious) cough that’s driving me crazy. 
• The mother of a good friend of mine/fellow Gardener past away this past week due to swine-flu related causes.  My heart is still heavy and sad for my friend and his family.
• We had a great morning with those that were healthy enough to come worship with The Garden this morning. The focus was resurrection – that’s the core.  What better topic to discuss and preach on?
• I am looking forward to soon beginning the Advent Conspiracy and challenging fellow Gardeners to live prophetically during the month of December.  The Baltimore Sun has caught wind of The Garden’s focus this Christmas and has asked me for an interview this week.  We shall see what comes of it.
• I believe Jess is reading New Moon for the second time.  Are you kidding me?
• I ordered two new books which I’m looking forward to and will blog about - Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision by NT Wright and Love is an Orientation by Andrew Marin.
• Eden just said, “Let’s go Daddy.” I think she’s ready to go to Lancaster.  Bye.

How about one more video for your Saturday night…one which also continues the hell dialogue.

The major difference between this view of hell and the “medieval view” (as Wright argues), is one of relationship.  The, what might be considered, traditional view of hell which many of us who grew up in church were taught, was a picture of a mean God who will send you to burn forever if you don’t make the right choice. So many, then, “followed God” out of, not love, but fear of hell.  They don’t love God and never did, they merely want to secure a nice eternity – how American.  It had nothing to do with relationship. It had nothing to do with abandoning our self, our desires, our comfort and following Christ as the crucified Lord and Savior.  It had to do with a nice mansion in the sky.

On the other hand, a more Biblical understanding of the Gospel drives us to love God, not out of fear of hell but out of…well…love for God.  A pastor I recently met in Waldorf said, “We all say ‘I love God because___’.  It’s only when God takes away all of those ‘becauses’ that we simply begin to love him, period. We don’t love him because____; we just love him.”

Thoughts?

(HT: Sean)

Within the past few months there have been two separate shootings outside the rec. center where we meet for worship and where we serve.  The shootings took place near the playground.  Last March a young man was actually killed right there on that same corner.

This is unacceptable.

Today something happened which has been one of the coolest things The Garden has taken part in since we’ve been here; neighbors (from both sides of “the tracks”), churches, pastors, community leaders, coaches, teachers, school administration, parents, grandparents, and children met at the playground to say “enough is enough.”

And we made our statement through cleaning the grounds, prayer, food, and a lot of fun.

At eleven, the day began with a playground cleanup. Young, old, black, white,  rich, poor; everyone working side-by-side, raking leaves, picking up trash, cleaning together – it was a beautiful site. 

At noon, as we were singing “This Little Light of Mine,” we moved from corner to corner, stopping at each for a time of prayer and declaring this playground as a “safe-place” for children.

Then the celebration began with pit beef (much thanks to some of Matt’s friends from north Baltimore county who had been smoking the cow since six this morning), hotdogs, and cupcakes, jumphouses and a playground full of people who have decided to love each other and love this community.  People gathered who have decided that we’re not only going to pray for peace but we’re going to act on it.

(Pictures will be shared at a later time)

Evidently it does so within George Washington University’s InterVarsity Fellowship.

Read article here.

As you prepare for Christmas, here is a great wealth of gift ideas for “relational giving.” Instead of throwing money and wrapped boxes at people which will be forgotten in a month or two…or 20 minutes, give gifts which will truly create lasting memories. 

Check it out: www.rethinkingchristmas.com.

Actually there plenty of other doubts out there to be discussed another time however we have one more message left on our Doubt series at The Garden: “How can the resurrection be true?”

I have had so many great conversation come out of this “Doubt” series I could’ve had a blog solely for the purpose of documenting all of the great discussions with friends and fellow doubters.

I’d be the first to admit that my talks on Sunday mornings haven’t done each question justice as entire books could be and have been written on each subject; but with that said I believe they have been a starting point and I hope, if nothing else, we will be able to continue these conversations into the future.

The six questions we have been focusing on for the particular Doubt series (I see more to come down the road) are:

1. If God is an all-loving and all-powerful God, how can there be so much suffering?
2. Hasn’t the church been more of an agent of oppression than one of good?
3. How can there be just one true religion?
4. How can the Bible be authoritative?
5. How can a loving God send people to Hell?
6. Isn’t the resurrection a little far-fetched?

This Sunday we are focusing on that 6th question: resurrection.  Next week (the 15th) will be our Doubt forum which will be a time of Question and Reflection (Q&R) based on all six questions.  Should be a great time – if you’re in Baltimore join us.

A new “network” of sorts, consisting of churches and individuals, The Origins Project, along with Eric Bryant, is hosting a conference call with Rick McKinley, the Pastor of Imago Dei Community Church this Tuesday from 2-3. Sign up here.

About The Origins Project (www.originsproject.com)

We are a community of followers of Jesus who are passionate about seeing people know God and experience life as He intended. As we are guided by the Scriptures, we will inspire one another to embrace innovation and creativity as a means to fulfill this mission. – www.originsproject.com

The Origins Project describes their “passions” as Jesus, Humanity, and Innovation.  The network is spearheaded by some of the most innovative and creative people out there who are doing some pretty cool stuff in the name of Jesus; Amena Brown, Dan Kimball, Erwin McManus, Scot McKnight, Dave Gibbons, Rick McKinley, Mark Batterson, and others.

About Rick McKinley

In October of 2000, Pastor Rick McKinley founded Imago Dei Community.   Rick has his Doctorate from Gordon Conwell Seminary and is an author, speaker and guest professor across the nation.  Rick loves spending time with his wife Jeanne and their four kids, bold cabs, independent film, good coffee, music you can feel, reading, thinking and creativity. – www.rickmckinley.net

Why tell you this?

A few years ago Rick began a movement known as Advent Conspiracy (AC) of which I’ve become a huge fan.  About two years ago I stumbled across AC as I had personally grown tired of the way we do Christmas. I have to admit, at the time I was weary and cynical toward Christmas; the “Christmas lists” driven by marketing and materialism, the church routines and rituals which we only went through because that’s “what we do.” They seemed to make no difference in our lives.  I think I was tired of hearing people say “I just payed off last year’s Christmas and it’s here again.” Or stressing out because they still had so many presents to buy and so many people to shop for. Or spending the majority of your after-work time running through the mall instead of sipping hot cocoa with your family.  And then Christmas morning comes and it’s all over. And we’re left depressed and disillusioned. All the while we say “Christmas isn’t about the presents.”  I think my friend Bradley recently put it best, “If we say Christmas is not about the presents then why do I get so many damned presents?”

So Rick is the man to talk to about changing the way we do Christmas. He’s been leading a movement of individuals who have been and are beginning to re-imagine Christmas and discover that “Christmas can [still] change the world.”

Here’s a short article I wrote on the subject two years – just before our family’s first experiment with changing the way we do things.

Here’s the sign-up page for the conference call with Rick.  I hope some of you may be able to take part and ask questions.

www.adventconspiracy.org

As of late, one my my favorite musicians has been Zach Williams.  I saw Zach perform in Atlanta and later met him in the airport and discovered he’s a good friend of a good friend.  Small world.

I absolutely love his music.  The sound quality in this video is not the greatest but you can get a feel for him (check out his website for more music).  Zach’s voice and style is very, very original and I don’t want to pin him in a genre (such a great mix). To give a glimpse, however, I’d say vocally I there’s a little bit of Gavin Degraw, Ray Lamontagne, and a few others. His style and performance – maybe a little Johnny Cash.  His tenacity – Jack Black.  His lyrics – off the hinge.