AnotherJohn.Com

My undergraduate work was in Sociology. Reading Lendbe ck’s work (The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age ) reminded me of much of what was scrutinized discussed and explored in those studies. Specifically, there seems to be a major tie to the idea of the sociology of religion. Religion transcends cultural boundaries; it is found in an overwhelming majority of societies. Each religion is essentially a peoples’ attempt to explain the unknown. These explanations rarely come without an outline of what is deemed an appropriate response to the religious conclusions generated, regardless of the religion. Ultimately, this is seems to be the viewpoint Lindbeck takes in The Nature of Doctrine. This idea does not originate with Lindbeck and does not end in his work. It is a useful comparison he makes in establishing a connection between the use of language or cultural with the roles of religion and doctrine. There are undoubtedly many who have followed a model of learn...

Some of you will have heard this story before. It was new to me. I don't usually use this type of material for church activities. However, I did share it with the church at our evenining worship service. I gave them the disclaimer that I didn't know if it was a true story or not, but thought it had something to think about. Our Scripture that evening was Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (Moses' death). I did not compare the stories, but we focused on the importance of living a life dedicated to God (as Moses had). Perhaps keeping in line with sharing email forwards this week, a friend sent this to me via email last Thursday: Father John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago, writes about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy: Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith. That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his lon...

Top Ten Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election. This was sent as a forwarded email. I'm sharing it because it kind of goes in line with what I was going to put on the church marquis next week (you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?) 1. The Bible will still have all the answers. 2. Prayer will still work. 3. The Holy Spirit will still move. 4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people. 5. There will still be God-anointed preaching. 6. There will still be singing of praise to God. 7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people. 8. There will still be room at the Cross. 9. Jesus will still love you. 10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him. Stay blessed...john

Oak Haven United Methodist Church has completely paid its apportionments for the 2008year! Two months early by the way. This was something we celebrated on Sunday, of course. The last several years have been difficult for the church. The city of Irving has been through some changes during this time. That has had an impact on the work of the church. We've gone from staffing a full time pastor to now having a part time minister. Membership has declined (that's what happens when everyone moves away). So, long story short, this is/was a big deal for our congregation. Now, the money made during the anuual Ham Smoke will be used for other budget items and future expenditures. It'll be a great boost for the coming year. Oh, I haven't told you about the Ham Smoke? Well, the peeps here have been doing this for a while--some forty plus years to be not exact. Hams are smoked (in a custom built smoker, duh!) over a two day period and sold; there is also a country store ...

This was a fun one to do. I didn't use the OT reading in the morning. Instead, at our evening service, I brought everything full circle. Hopefully, it made sense. I gave everyone homework for the evening service; if I have to suffer why can't they? Anyways, I included the benediction at the end of this recording. It caught a bunch of people off guard, but was a great way to finish our time together. I've wanted to do the whole song in some way (you'll know when you hear it). Stay blessed...john

Some of us blog for no apparent reason. There are many others of you that I would love to see begin blogging. Either way, Blogsessive.com has provided the 10 Commandments of Blogging . I couldn't help but think most of these would be appropriate to sermon writing! So, what makes a blog worth going back to read? It'd be interesting to hear what you think. With so much going on right now what has saved my blogging is Blogger's Post Options. I am able to prepare a post and schedule it anytime ahead. That has really helped me a lot. Why would I share my dirty little secret? Stay blessed...john

See more funny videos at Funny or Die +UniqueDaily

Has anyone worked on one of these for the Bible? It would be cool to see how we got all the way here. A breif History of communication from ljudbilden on Vimeo . +neatorama

+InnocentEnglish

Of course you know Christmas is only 61 days away. That means your real shopping time is down to 60 days! Maybe this is a gift you can share for the holidays: Excuse me if I've posted this before. It is pretty funny. Well, maybe if you're Karl Barth (Yes, I just threw that in to show you I have been paying attention in class). Stay blessed...john

Corporate worship means a lot to me. I’m not quite sure where I would begin describing how and why joining a group of believers for worship encourages my faith walk. I was taught very early, and have recently heard a phrase that encompasses the thought so precisely, that you don’t go to church to worship; you go worshipping. That is, you recognize the presence of God with you not just in a pew, but everywhere else you are. This recognition completes you, fills you and reminds you of the great wonder of God. As corny, fake or self-righteous as it may sound, I don’t lack anything in my corporate worship experiences. A worship service can be compared to a day in the life of someone. There are times things seem backwards, confused, wonderful, just right and everything else in between (that goes for a day and a worship service). None of that takes away from who God is. So, I can live in that confidence and reassurance of God’s presence. I think, in part, this is what Paul had in ...

A tourist is picked up by a cabbie in New York on a dark night. The passenger taps the driver on the shoulder to ask him something. The driver screams, loses control of the car, nearly hits a bus, drives up on the sidewalk, and stops inches from a shop window. For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said, "Look friend, don't EVER do that again. You scared the daylights out of me!" The passenger apologizes and says he didn't realize that a "little tap" could scare him so much. The driver, after gathering himself together replied, "Sorry, it's not really your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver - I've been driving hearses for the last 25 years!

I think we have some new readers (listeners) to the blog. Welcome; we're glad you came. To listen to past sermons, read the passages and click the little triangle button to begin. Meeemeep! This sermon is from Sunday October 19, 2008. Stay blessed...john Matthew 22:15-22 Paying Taxes to Caesar 15Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" 18But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21...

So, what happens to all the stuff you have online (blogs, pictures, etc) when it's time to trade your keyboard for a pair of wings? I had actually wondered about this before. There aren't too many things around here I think I would have to worry about. Still, I had no idea it could be so complicated. People sure do take themselves seriously sometimes. Read the article here: What happens to your web stuff when you die? Maybe this is a call for me to put more valuable stuff online. If I'm leaving this site to my kids I have to make up for all the money they won't be getting when I'm gone. Stay blessed...john

A new young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to help the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand. He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up. In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies. The head monk, says, “We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son.” So, he goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscript is held as archives in a locked vault that hasn’t been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot. So, the young monk gets worried and goes downstairs to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall, and wailing “We forgot the “R”, We forgot the “R” His forehead is all bloody and ...

Now that I've cleaned my screen, I'll share this video with you. It's pretty cool. I'm not sure its phsychology more than it is mathematics. Either way it'll make you try a second time.

This was the first sermon my mom (and brother) ever heard me preach. I was told I had to behave. We also had a dear friend visiting as well. You'll have to forgive some of the recording. We noticed the battery to the lapel mic was dead right when the service began. I tried to boost the sound on the recording (where the pulpit floated away from me); so, some parts will vary in their sound quality (and most of it will vary in it's content quality). Stay blessed...john

The one spiritual exercise I had always been uncomfortable with was the labyrinth. Uncomfortable is the wrong word—something to describe “a waste of time” would be more appropriate. In recent years, I had seen more instances where participating in the labyrinth was available at various conference events (i.e. Bishop’s convocation, retreats, Annual Conference, etc). I had done some investigation into what was involved; however, I concluded this was something that was of little interest to me. I knew there were better things I could be doing with my time. I have changed my outlook somewhat thanks to my participation in a children’s camp this summer. During the summer semester, I held an internship position with my annual conference. One of my responsibilities was to attend the various camps scheduled. The first one I attended was for fourth and fifth graders. Yes, there is nothing like sharing a room with (18) ten and eleven year olds! While I was an observer, I also co-led one o...

+SmartPastor

Oh, so much truth and pain in this hilarious little video. I hadn't seen these before; I'll be looking for new episodes. +L&H

This sermon was from this past Sunday (October 5, 2008).

Is life the only thing that is not fair? This sermon is from two Sundays ago (September 28, 2008).

Just for fun here are some supposedly true courtroom quotes: * Lawyer: "Can you describe what the person who attacked you looked like?" * Witness: "No. He was wearing a mask." * Lawyer: "What was he wearing under the mask?" * Witness: "Er...his face." * Lawyer: "This myasthenia gravis -- does it affect your memory at all?" * Witness: "Yes." * Lawyer: "And in what ways does it affect your memory?" * Witness: "I forget." * Lawyer: "You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?" * Lawyer: "Did you blow your horn or anything?" * Witness: "After the accident?" * Lawyer: "Before the accident." * Witness: "Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school for it." * Lawyer: "You were there until the time you left, is that true?" * Lawyer: "So you were gone...

What an idea. Now, there is double the amount of room for books! +neatorama

Prayer as a conversation between God and us is a common idea. This personal dialogue is often spoken of as a gift. Indeed, the promise of prayers heard, cared for and answered by the Creator is beyond measure. Wrapped in this talk also is the commonly emphasized bidirectional nature of a conversation; that is to highlight our responsibility to participate by speaking and listening. These ideas provide a great illustration for engaging in a lifestyle of prayer. It also allows us to critically evaluate how we relate to God in this way. We can compare our conversations with others to our talks with God. This helps us find patterns or similarities in the way we communicate. It can also reveal strengths and weaknesses. Specific to prayer, this comparison can demonstrate how well we allow God to be in conversation with us. The many elements of a conversation (i.e. active listening, engagement, silence, etc) are all a part of what is valued in prayer. Unfortunately, many will probabl...