Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Why do YOU go to church?
This is a post from the daily bible study I get (emphasis added). It really convicted me because I have thought (wrongly) many of the same things...
"Sometimes I wonder how many gods are being worshipped in my church, and just who they think they are.
Some people think the whole purpose of a church service is to entertain, uplift, and refresh. Some people go to church, not so much to worship God, but to sit back and enjoy the music and the sermon. Of course, they expect the church building to be attractive, the pastor to be well-groomed and smooth-mannered, the organist to be talented, the choir to be majestic, the coffee hour to be well-stocked, the parking lot to be convenient, the people to be well-dressed and friendly, and if they have small children, they won't attend if there is no nursery. All they want to do is sit back in the (preferably padded) pew and drink it all in!
There are even people who select their church, not by religious criteria, but by these amenities alone! A newspaper in Texas carried this so far that the religion page editor began to visit churches and rate them with stars, just as a restaurant critic rates restaurants.
Forget the New Age; the real threat is the consumer mentality! I wonder sometimes if what some people call "Christianity" is really "Selfianity."
I don't dispute that these things are valid secondary considerations after you've narrowed down your choices with religious criteria, but I maintain that worship is not a form of entertainment. A church that has become a mutual congratulatory aren't-we-great-folks society has ceased to worship God and has begun to worship itself. God should be the center of attention in church, not you. The first of the commandments is: "You shall have no other gods before me." Let us not place ourselves as gods before the Lord; let us not join the ranks of those who demand to be appeased in church before they condescend to worship the Lord!
Many people leave church asking themselves, "What did I get out of the service today?" instead of asking themselves, "What did God get out of my worship today?" They demand a NutraSweet religion-you know, all sweetness, but no nutrition. Then there are people who claim that many things in the Bible -particularly in Paul's letters-are gloomy and negative.
"My religion is in the Sermon on the Mount," they say, recalling how it begins, with the beatitudes: "Blessed are these, blessed are those."
They look up towards the ceiling as they sigh in elation. "That's true religion," they say, with a knowing sparkle in their eyes.
Obviously, these people have never actually sat down and read either Paul's letters or the Sermon on the Mount. For it is Paul who said, "and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28) and "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22). The Sermon on the Mount, however, contains some of the most terrifying passages in the Bible:
Take a minute here to read Matthew 5:21, 27-28, 31-46
There are three ways we can take these sayings:1. As ideals towards which we should strive, although we can never reach them. (That's a nice way of saying that they are unrealistic expectations)
2. As an example of the rabbinical method of "putting a hedge around the law," that is, forbidding more than what the law forbids so that the law is forever inviolate. We can't deny that Jesus is following that pattern, but if that is all He meant by it, we are hopelessly lost. Jesus placed the hedges too far out!
3. As a way of teaching us that it is not enough for us to be sinners who consciously avoid sin, we must be righteous people who actively pursue virtue! Jesus intended for us to feel distress when we hear these words, for we cannot in our flesh obey His words. In that distress we hear the voice of the Spirit calling us to submission in faith to His transforming power.
It may very well be that worship is an uplifting experience in a pleasant environment, and if that is the case, we are indeed fortunate. But just as a caterpillar eats many leaves, not to become a fat caterpillar, but to become a beautiful butterfly, we worship God, not to be entertained, but to be transformed."
"Sometimes I wonder how many gods are being worshipped in my church, and just who they think they are.
Some people think the whole purpose of a church service is to entertain, uplift, and refresh. Some people go to church, not so much to worship God, but to sit back and enjoy the music and the sermon. Of course, they expect the church building to be attractive, the pastor to be well-groomed and smooth-mannered, the organist to be talented, the choir to be majestic, the coffee hour to be well-stocked, the parking lot to be convenient, the people to be well-dressed and friendly, and if they have small children, they won't attend if there is no nursery. All they want to do is sit back in the (preferably padded) pew and drink it all in!
There are even people who select their church, not by religious criteria, but by these amenities alone! A newspaper in Texas carried this so far that the religion page editor began to visit churches and rate them with stars, just as a restaurant critic rates restaurants.
Forget the New Age; the real threat is the consumer mentality! I wonder sometimes if what some people call "Christianity" is really "Selfianity."
I don't dispute that these things are valid secondary considerations after you've narrowed down your choices with religious criteria, but I maintain that worship is not a form of entertainment. A church that has become a mutual congratulatory aren't-we-great-folks society has ceased to worship God and has begun to worship itself. God should be the center of attention in church, not you. The first of the commandments is: "You shall have no other gods before me." Let us not place ourselves as gods before the Lord; let us not join the ranks of those who demand to be appeased in church before they condescend to worship the Lord!
Many people leave church asking themselves, "What did I get out of the service today?" instead of asking themselves, "What did God get out of my worship today?" They demand a NutraSweet religion-you know, all sweetness, but no nutrition. Then there are people who claim that many things in the Bible -particularly in Paul's letters-are gloomy and negative.
"My religion is in the Sermon on the Mount," they say, recalling how it begins, with the beatitudes: "Blessed are these, blessed are those."
They look up towards the ceiling as they sigh in elation. "That's true religion," they say, with a knowing sparkle in their eyes.
Obviously, these people have never actually sat down and read either Paul's letters or the Sermon on the Mount. For it is Paul who said, "and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28) and "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22). The Sermon on the Mount, however, contains some of the most terrifying passages in the Bible:
Take a minute here to read Matthew 5:21, 27-28, 31-46
There are three ways we can take these sayings:1. As ideals towards which we should strive, although we can never reach them. (That's a nice way of saying that they are unrealistic expectations)
2. As an example of the rabbinical method of "putting a hedge around the law," that is, forbidding more than what the law forbids so that the law is forever inviolate. We can't deny that Jesus is following that pattern, but if that is all He meant by it, we are hopelessly lost. Jesus placed the hedges too far out!
3. As a way of teaching us that it is not enough for us to be sinners who consciously avoid sin, we must be righteous people who actively pursue virtue! Jesus intended for us to feel distress when we hear these words, for we cannot in our flesh obey His words. In that distress we hear the voice of the Spirit calling us to submission in faith to His transforming power.
It may very well be that worship is an uplifting experience in a pleasant environment, and if that is the case, we are indeed fortunate. But just as a caterpillar eats many leaves, not to become a fat caterpillar, but to become a beautiful butterfly, we worship God, not to be entertained, but to be transformed."
Sunday, August 28, 2005
sorry :(
Hi all you faithful readers who time after time get an old blog! I apologize for not having posted sooner, but alas I just have not set aside the time to engage in this time consuming endeavor. Well, tomorrow school starts and I must be up by 6:15 at the latest. So y'all have a buona notte!!!
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Things I’ve learned working at PPRI
1. Although not actually telemarketing, calling someone during dinner-time to complete an important health-related survey is still just as annoying.
2. If only for one unlucky guy (who probably was made fun of in school), Shannon is actually a male name, too.
3. Like I suspected, being on the phone and getting only busy signals, automated answering machines, and the occasional rude hang-up can get quite boring after awhile.
4. There are companies that will actually pay people to be on the phone, even if they are only getting busy signals, automated answering machines, and the occasional rude hang-up.
5. I tend to talk fast and slur my words under pressure, but I’m working on that. :)
2. If only for one unlucky guy (who probably was made fun of in school), Shannon is actually a male name, too.
3. Like I suspected, being on the phone and getting only busy signals, automated answering machines, and the occasional rude hang-up can get quite boring after awhile.
4. There are companies that will actually pay people to be on the phone, even if they are only getting busy signals, automated answering machines, and the occasional rude hang-up.
5. I tend to talk fast and slur my words under pressure, but I’m working on that. :)
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Only 3 more days of class!! I take my final this Friday and then I am finished with school, at least or a couple of weeks. I got a lot of stuff to do though for ISA, so I'll still be pretty busy. I will have taken 19 hours this summer; kinda crazy, no? Even with all these extra hours, I'll still be barely graduating on time. but that's because I'm double majoring. So, I guess I brought it upon myself. Man, now I gotta start worrying about taking the GMAT. Gosh, so many tests and classes. when am I ever gonna start actually putting all this to use?? Then again, I've grown accustomed to this sometimes hectic yet comfortable bubble called college...eh, work can wait, educate (yourself)!
I am looking forward to moving into my apartment next monday, its gonna be great...I'll have my own room and humongous closet and my very own private bathroom, complete with a working toilet, sink that doesn't leak and bathtub without tons of mold from years past...ahh, I got it so good!
Friday, July 22, 2005
Sleep?? Ha!
Yeah, so I survived my first true all-nighter...I stayed awake all night and took my mgmt test this morning at 8 am. I didn't actually mean to pull one; I usually don't go to sleep until 2 am anyway, but this night I couldn't fall asleep, I just kept tossing and turning. When I finally glanced at the clock it was virtually 5 am and I was not tired in the least so I decided I might as well stay up and study. So I headed over to McDonald's, drank a ton of coffee and studied hard. I just looked at my grade though, I didn't do all that great, though I studied a ton. I even went to 4.0 and go. The questions are not at all like the notes and stuff that the prof gives us, nor the material in 4.0 and go. If I had professor Abelson I think I would have actually done much better. Oh, well. Seriously, I think God wants me to stop obsessing over my gpa because, at least for me, it would be a source of self-boasting and pride, and I think God wants to make sure I know that whatever job I get is because of Him and not my goodworks. Either that, or I'm just lazy and I don't care anymore...yeah, that's probably it. In that case, I better get to work, as the Lord doesn't like a sluggard, I think. Overall, I think I just don't know how to study for tests, how to find out what specifically profs are looking for you to know or how to interpret their questions. Seriously, some of the questions on the test were a bit tricky, as in the situational ones. Eh.
Oh, I'm gonna go visit my sister this next week! I'm looking forward to that. :)
Oh, I'm gonna go visit my sister this next week! I'm looking forward to that. :)
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
I'm lovin' it!
So like my new job is like totally cool, you know?!! Seriously, this is one of the best job a college student could have. It's an on-campus job for PPRI and I pretty much just call people about a research study (and the pay is great!). I actually didn't talk to too many people tonight actually, and I have a feeling it's going to be like this on a lot of nights. I can't talk much about this job online as I have read in news reports that people have gotten fired for talking about their job on their blogs, but I just wanted to say this is a Godsend. For real.
Well, I haven't been on a good sleeping schedule the past few nights; I've been staying up until 3 or 4 and then sleeping until noon. Yes, that's right, I have an 8 o'clock. I tried working out early today like my roommate said, I think its working because I actually feel a little fatigued already. Though we still have quite a bit of time left before school officially starts up again, I feel like I'm running out of time for fun. I am going to be busy in Aug with ISA stuff and conferences and stuff and the only vacation I'm getting is visiting my sis for a few days. That will be fun though. No far away exotic place for me this summer :( though I am probably going to study abroad next summer in Italy like I've always wanted, Lord willing. I've always wanted to learn to fly a plane, so hopefully I can work that in too somehow before I start the corporate world. Maybe I will save up with this new job. I wonder if having my pilots license will somehow make me more marketable, like I could fly myself if I had a business trip or something, I don't know. I really really want to learn either way.
Well, I haven't been on a good sleeping schedule the past few nights; I've been staying up until 3 or 4 and then sleeping until noon. Yes, that's right, I have an 8 o'clock. I tried working out early today like my roommate said, I think its working because I actually feel a little fatigued already. Though we still have quite a bit of time left before school officially starts up again, I feel like I'm running out of time for fun. I am going to be busy in Aug with ISA stuff and conferences and stuff and the only vacation I'm getting is visiting my sis for a few days. That will be fun though. No far away exotic place for me this summer :( though I am probably going to study abroad next summer in Italy like I've always wanted, Lord willing. I've always wanted to learn to fly a plane, so hopefully I can work that in too somehow before I start the corporate world. Maybe I will save up with this new job. I wonder if having my pilots license will somehow make me more marketable, like I could fly myself if I had a business trip or something, I don't know. I really really want to learn either way.
Monday, July 04, 2005
America the beautiful
I just got home from an ISA Independence day party. It was lots of fun; we had a great turnout, even bigger than we had anticipated. I met a lot of cool people, including these two Indian grad students who are roommates... I will refer to them as the two indian grad students as I can’t remember their names. My friends, Evelyn, Chara, and Josh H. were all their too, and we had a great time. Afterwards, Kaustav, the two Indian grad students, Chara, and Evelyn all went to see the fireworks. We then went to McDonald’s were we were joined by Taka and his roommate, a guy from Senegal who can speak French. As I can’t remember his name either, I will refer to him simply as “Taka’s-roommate-from-Senegal-who-can-speak-French. We all had a great time and talked about al sorts of things, including Indian, Japanese and American culture and stuff, but mostly just good friendly conversation. I enjoyed it tremendously. I hope I hang out with them all again. I have a good feeling about this coming year. I think it’s gonna be awesome.
Happy Independence Day y’all! If you see any alien spaceships, don’t go near them. Just contact Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum as soon as possible. They’ll know what to do. ;)
Happy Independence Day y’all! If you see any alien spaceships, don’t go near them. Just contact Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum as soon as possible. They’ll know what to do. ;)
