Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

Notes for future reference regarding a community welcoming church: https://thomrainer.com/2018/03/seven-potentially-deadly-church-sicknesses/ Attitudinal Angst : a church illness where church members are most focused on getting their own desires and preferences met, rather than being a serving member of the body of Christ. It is also called Church Country Club Membership. Slippage Syndrome : the church illness where a church stops focusing on its primary purposes. Evangelism slippage is the most common. Detail Distraction : a church illness where there is too much focus on minor issues to the detriment of major issues. For example, routine meetings can become more important than compelling missions. Institutional Idolatry : a church illness where the members have an unbiblical devotion to inconsequential matters such as facilities, order of worship, or styles of worship. Activity Acclimation : a church illness where the members see busyness to be the same as commitment ...

I was reading the Lectionary passages for this week (Lent 5B). The Gospel reading is John 12:20-33. Jesus is approached by some Greek seekers. Jesus speaks of his impending death, according the writer/editor. But the theme that develops in that conversation led me to the thought of the death in the pericope. A glorious death is something that we don't talk about as having happened to real people. We hear it in poetry. We read of it in literature. We watch it in movies. When we confront death in the lives of human beings, flesh and blood we may know or who are known by those we know, we don't speak of death as glorious. It can be tragic or sudden. We may feel that it was expected or understandable. It can be peaceful or horrible. But we never talk about a glorious death for people. Even people of faith experience a death that is less that glorified. John 12:24: "unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies..." John 12:32: "when I am lifted up from the...

For anyone who may end up reading this, wondering how to deal with me as a pastor, here are some of the answers you will be wanting to know. What do we call you? Pastor, preacher, brother, Hey You? What you call a pastor depends on your background and tradition. I don’t expect anyone to call me anything specific. But here are some helpful guidelines: Reverend is a formal title best used for official address and invitations or business letters Pastor is what I do and my relationship to the church. It is fine for people to call me Pastor Todd. Or even just Pastor. I’ve had a few folks call me “Brother Todd”. I don’t have any problems with that. It doesn’t reflect a theological statement for me or an office. Preacher is also what I do. I don’t mind people calling me Preacher. “Hey, you” is perfectly fine until you get to know me. Above all else, Todd works just as well. It’s the name my Momma gave me and I’m pretty attached to it. Are you ...

I am not ashamed to admit that I absolutely LOVE the movie The Greatest Showman. The soundtrack sold me on this movie. I wake up every morning with a different song from the soundtrack playing in my head. The music is catchy and somewhat addictive (for me at least). If there is one song that I come back to over and again, played as loud as possible, it is This Is Me. It is performed by Keala Settle. I had not heard of her before this movie. She performs this song as the anthem of the story. The Greatest Showman is about P.T. Barnum and the beginning of his famous circus. It started out as a freakshow, according to the movie. Barnum collected those whom "polite" society regarded as freaks, oddities, and cast them out. Barnum offers them the chance to be something more. In This Is Me, the Bearded Lady (Settle) is confronted with that polite society as she sings about the life that she and her fellow circus attractions claim for their own. This song hit me hard. It came ...

This post reflects my personal opinion and only that. It is not an effort to convince anyone to accept my point of view. It is not intended to be directed at any person I know personally. I'm done with the gun rights argument. The assassination of concert goers in Las Vegas (where two of my step-cousins were attending) was the straw that broke this camel's back. The shooting in Parkland, Florida where 17 students and staff were killed sealed the deal for me. I can't accept that unlimited rights and access to guns is a legitimate position. My background is intertwined with guns. I grew up with BB and pellet guns. I have been hunting. I love guns. In college, I was part of a cowboy gunfighting group that performed around Oklahoma. At some level, I wished to have served in the military. I can shoot with some accuracy. I am not afraid of guns. I have field dismantled and reassembled an M-16 and M-60. I would have loved to have owned guns, including assault style weapons, th...

My devotions this morning involved reading from Catherine of Genoa's Life and Teachings (in Devotional Classics). The subject was waiting on God to bring us to where God wants us to be in the plan God has. Within, I encountered this quote: If we could see what we will receive in the life to come (as a reward for what we have done here), we would cease to occupy ourselves with anything but the things of heaven. But God, who desires that we see by faith and who desires that we not do good because of selfish motives, gives us this vision little by little, sufficient to the level of faith which we are capable. In this manner, God leads us into a greater vision of that which is to come until faith is no longer needed. I read that and wondered. God offers us the "reward" of eternal life in the kingdom that never ends. But the vision of that reward is so small. There are only hints and glimpses of it in the New Testament. There are no strong affirmations of what that experien...

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.  We have the technology.  We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man.  Steve Austin will be that man.  Better than he was before.  Better... stronger... faster A kid in the '70's knew this intro. The Six Million Dollar Man was part spy, part superhero, completely coolest dude on the planet. If you see the pilot (cause I doubt many people actually remember it), Steve Austin spins out of control in a test vehicle. Upon impact with the ground, he is broken and left hanging on the edge of life and death. But thanks to science, technology, and 6 million dollars, he is rebuilt from the brokenness and improved upon with bionic, the interfacing of flesh and machine, parts.  In October I had a nervous breakdown. There is a lot of negative aura around that phrase. Wikipedia defines it as:  A mental breakdown (also known as a nervous breakdown ) is an acute, time-limited mental disor...

I was reluctant to read this book. Many attempts to discuss religion fall into the critique of religion as a hollow faith existence of following rules and human structures. I was worried that Greg Paul may have been falling into that camp. I was pleasantly incorrect. Paul provides a clear, concise, practical examination of what religion is and how it is absolutely vital to the existence of the Christian faith. This book responds to two fronts that are dismantling religion as a vital human experience. The first is the "relationship over religion" argument. This grows out of an expression of faith seeking people. They profess that church conduct is no longer relevant. The structures that are in place have put a stumbling block in the way of people finding authentic faith. What matters more is the pursuit of a relationship with Christ. The other front is the generalized anti-faith argument that religion is source of community unrest and societal problems. This point is rai...

This time of year, I share a lot of posts about Worldbuilders. Worldbuilders is a fundraising organization. It is the creation of author Patrick Rothfuss . The fundraiser contributes 100% of money raised to Heifer International. Pat Rothfuss approached his fans (who are mostly geeks and nerds) to be part of doing something good in the world. Each year, the fundraiser has brought thousands of geeks together who give and promote changing lives. As a United Methodist and Christian, I believe that giving is important. I feel that it reminds me that I am fortunate. I have comforts that others will never experience. I have necessities that some struggle to get. But it can be overwhelming to find a way to connect my surplus with what feels like a tangible result. Yes, giving to my church is important. It does good. But I also know what happens behind the scenes. I know where the dollars go. Giving to the church is about giving to the organization that makes my lifestyle possible. I want ...

October 1, 2017 I preached a sermon that concluded my series on Sharing Your Faith Story. The final sermon was Living a True Story. It is about the final step in sharing with another person the reason for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. The point was that if we are saying that Jesus Christ is lord of our life and all things are centered in him, and we have a  hope that gets us beyond the difficulties of life, then our living must bear that out. How we live, our behavior, matters in telling and sharing our faith story. Due to emotional issues that came to a head, the sermon and the response to the sermon got beyond my control. There were some issues that developed. There were some emotional burdens that I took upon myself that weren't necessarily mine to bear. And I wrecked my soul. I am working to be better now. But I still stand by the sermon. I stand by its word as prophetic and Holy Spirit inspired. It is not easy to hear. It is easier to read. So I am presenting bo...