September 21, 2011
THE UNCOOL CHURCH
I’m reading a book called “Unfashionable.” It’s about the way churches try to look less “scary” to the world. In these efforts, we’ve simply taken things that are popular and relevant in culture and mimicked them for the church. We’ve simply, in my words, “rubbed some God sauce on it.” :) Is this our goal? We should ask ourselves, “are we a body of believers trying to be real with ourselves in our faith or are we a group that simply wants to be “cool” in the world’s eyes?”
I have come to the realization that the church is NOT in any way supposed to be cool. We aren’t. We are called to be DIFFERENT and ask any young person out there…there is NOTHING cool about being called different!
There is a HUGE problem built into this idea of the church as something cool. The problem is the very nature of that word “COOL.” What I mean is, that which is considered cool today is GUARANTEED not to be cool for long. Think about it. It is hard for any teenager to remember when MY SPACE was cool, and only a few short years ago it ruled the web! Or look in your closet. Each of us has that shirt, dress or tie that makes us scratch our heads and say, “How did I EVER think that was cool?” Face it, “cool” never lasts! I am confident that before long, these young men will be totally confused why they ever wore skinny jeans (and I hope that happens quickly). :)
The church therefore could never be cool, because it is meant to stand forever! The church of Jesus should be the one place where people can be themselves, free from fashion, hipster expectation and coolness standards! It should simply be a place of truth, and a haven of rest from the world’s hurried pursuit of everything temporal. If I am constantly worrying about being cool enough, I am never relaxing and living my true life. I DO NOT want that in our church. I want to relax in the rest of Jesus, be comfortable with who He created me to be and grow with the rest of my unfashionable family. May we all strive to be the best we can be…and may we all thrive in our “un-coolness.”
– Pannell
It is Time to Stop Shooting Our Own Wounded
For an upcoming talk I will be giving in October, I have been studying the issue of Christian unity. I came across three statements while studying unity that are worth sharing. One thought contends “only in common ways of reading the Bible” will we have unity. Another insight says what is primary is “embodied immediately in ecclesial communion.” In other words, what matters most is church structure and authority that ensures unity among the members. The final statement under consideration here advocates that unity “is where we fight and pray together, in the same spiritual combat against the same unseen enemies, that we shall find ourselves to be one army—not become one army, but discover that we are one.”
Obviously a short bulletin article can hardly resolve all the contentious issues that surround Christian unity (does that previous sentence not sound a little strange to you?). What I would like to draw attention to is the above appeal which portends that our common spiritual warfare against our “unseen enemies” is the key to Christian unity. The apostle Paul speaks to our unity in spiritual warfare when he writes to the Ephesian Christians (Eph 6:12-18):
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
An old cliché gives further insight into Paul’s words: “My friend is the enemy of my enemy.” In other words, nothing brings people together like a common enemy. As Christians we pledge our allegiance to our one Lord and Savior—Jesus Christ. Our common enemy is “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” exemplified particularly in the presence of the evil one—Satan. Has the church forgotten that we are under daily spiritual fire from the evil one? Is not our amnesia of spiritual warfare evident in the disunity among brethren not only in the church at large, but also within the church local? When we survey this disunity the fights do not seem to be over how to battle our common enemy as much as how to win our own preferences or arguments against one another. Now I have never fought in an actual combat situation, but I imagine that two soldiers taking fire while in a fox-hole are not debating over personal preferences, but over how together they can kill the enemy. When taking enemy fire you are not going to care much about the doctrinal, political, racial, or philosophical views of the one fighting by your side.
Please note that I am not saying that doctrine or propositional truth does not matter. What I am saying is that perhaps we might weigh differently our doctrinal differences, or whatever else is the cause of our divisiveness when we recall that the evil one wants us both dead. Perhaps more forgiveness, patience, and understanding in love would be shown our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ when we see that they too are under attack? We need to turn the popular cliché, “The church is the only army that shoots its own wounded” into a lie. We need to remember we ARE one army in Jesus Christ. Our common enemy is sowing the seeds of discord among us. Let us not be outwitted by our adversary the devil. Let us rather lay down our arms against one another, and take up arms to fight our common enemy. Just maybe then we might find in our common fight that we have more that unites us then divides us?
– Terry
TIME
Have you ever given thought to time? Time is something that is equal to everyone. It makes no difference whether you are young or old, rich or poor, boy or girl, popular or not, one thing is equal for all and that is time. There are only twenty four hours in a day no matter who you are. What you do with that time is up to you. We all have a certain amount of time that we must spend at our jobs or at school, but what do we do with the rest of our time? With whom do we spend it? Does God get any of your time? If so, is it quality time with God or is it the leftover time, if we have any? One of the devil’s best tricks is to get us so busy that we don’t have time for God. We don’t forget God; we just don’t have time for Him, but the end result is the same. Make it a rule in your life that every day you pray and study your Bible. Give God time every day of your life because God is the one who gives you the time.
(From the Files)
THE WEST MAIN LEADERSHIP PICNIC / RETREAT is scheduled for this Saturday, September 24, for the elders, deacons, ministers and their families. It will start at 11:00 a.m. at Cantrall-Buckley Park, Area A. Call Dan Beeks with any questions.
HARVEST PARTY
Get ready for a fun time on October 22. Bill and Barb Viera will be hosting our Harvest Party this year (weather permitting) at their home. Festivities will start at noon and continue until 5:00 p.m. We will have a sign-up sheet for the foods to bring at a later date. More information to come soon, but please reserve this date on your calendar!
FRESHMAN DINNER
This Saturday night, September 24, at 6:00 p.m. is the “Welcome to the High School” dinner for all incoming freshman at Kaleidoscope Pizza. Teens, please meet at the restaurant. Please R.S.V.P. to Brian Pannell A.S.A.P.
GOSPEL MEETING
The Rogue River Church of Christ has invited us to join them in their Gospel Meeting October 14-16. Willis Wormuth will be the guest speaker and his theme is: Lessons From Ephesians - Life in the Lord’s Church. Please see the notice posted on the courtyard bulletin board for more information.
PASTA & TUPPERWARE PARTY
This is a fundraiser for the youth group at West Main! Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 8, at noon in the Fireside Room. The theme is “Pasta Party” and lunch will be served! Call hosts Nanette Murphy or Colleen Abbott to RSVP so they can plan for lunch. Have fun, stock your kitchen with Tupperware and support our teens all in one place!
PRAYER REQUESTS AND PRAISES . . .
For Donna York as she recovers from hip replacement surgery at Providence Hospital, Room 3044 ... For Mary, a co-worker of Lynn Albright, who is having health problems ... For the friend of Marcie Dixon, Rhonda Smerdon, who is recovering nicely from thyroid cancer surgery ... For Terrie Becker that her job will become a paying job soon and that her fibromyalgia will stop flaring up ... For Lynne and Ron Olson for their strength, love and healing ... For Colleen Godfrey’s mother, Corrine Reagan, who is awaiting test results for kidney damage ... For the Randy Young family who lost their home and possessions to a fire two weeks ago ... David Mayes requests prayers for his friend, Cora, to remain faithful to Christ ... For our President and all of our military men, women and families.
Sept 30-Oct 2: Women’s Retreat
Oct 8: Tupperware & Pasta Party Fundraiser; Noon in the FSR
Oct 22: Harvest Party at the home of the Viera’s, 12:00-5:00 p.m.
Oct 30: Anniversary Sunday and Potluck Luncheon
Oct 31: Trunk or Treat
