The Wife's 30th Birth-Weekend!

My wife, Bridget, turned 30 this past Friday, and boy, did I get her good! What started out so fun but small turned into an elaborate 3 day adventure! You don't understand how hard it was to not let anything slip during the week. My friends and I tried a couple of times, but luckily, we caught ourselves and were able to give Bridge the surprisiest birthday party ever! (Yes, I made that word up.) Thank you to all the parties involved in helping to plan and participate in such a wonderful weekend. For the low down on the hoe down, check it out here.







(my beautiful bride)

Crossing With the Family

This past Sunday, my wife and I were afforded the opportunity to sing and dance and rap and have fun with our children. My wife wrote a song, I put the music with it, and our oldest two boys carried it. Our little girl decided she wanted in on the fun, too, so she snuck up on stage with us toward the end. All the righteous goodness can be found on the Babione 6 blog. Enjoy!

R.C.

A Living Room Blog

Please check out my post on this blog. Feel free to comment over there, or come back here to say something. Thanks.

"Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Pastors"

I found this video on the Pyromaniacs blog. They are the also the ones responsible for my previous post. This video was the previous post to the one I used as my previous post. If you're confused, good. If you're not, then I'll try harder next time. ;) Anywho (to borrow from my wife), watch it and comment, if you would please. Be encouraged.

Pyromaniacs: The Intolerance of True Religion

Pyromaniacs: The Intolerance of True Religion

Please, please take time to read this post. Why don't we hear sermons like this today?

Thoughts About the Church

Tall Skinny Kiwi strikes another (although not original) thought about the church. Bridge and I have felt similarly for some time, although not necessarily as strongly as we once did. This is a great reminder about what being the church means. Makes me think. How about you?

Soli Deo Gloria

Wake Up Call

This morning, I checked up on some blogs that finally posted after a few days absence. I also checked out Tall Skinny Kiwi's blog on the "10 Commandments of Blogging." I then read his previous post, and was suddenly awakened to a side of the world I usually choose to ignore. It's not pretty.

The IDOP (International Day of Prayer) is coming up November 16. While our nation needs prayer, so do these guys. Check out the web site OpenDoors.

"You cannot pray for revival for one half of the body of Christ while forgetting
the other half which is suffering under restrictions." - Brother Andrew

I don't know who Brother Andrew is, but he is so right. Our praise team worked on a new/old song last night. It talks about hearing God speak and "oh, this changes everything." Yes it does.

Soli Deo Gloria

A Peculiar People of Power

I preach tomorrow in the church in which I grew up. It's especially exciting since I received my mandate from God. I also feel like events are at work right now for more opportunities to that end. I don't know what they are, but I can just sense God doing somethin'.

Now, I'm breaking out a previous sermon and tweaking it just a little. You'd think since I've given it before, I would do a bang up job this time. We'll see. The sermon is based on a poem written by Andrew Jones. Sorry, not the baseball player (he's not doing very well this season at all), but a pioneer in the missional and emerging church scene, particularly in Europe.

The last line of the poem is the title for my sermon:

We are his wonderful signature
a sign of his favor
his presence
power
to change
the world back
to how it should be
healed and harmonious
a peculiar people of power

A short synopsis of the message:
The Greek word used in the new testament, peripoiesis, (bonus points for correct pronunciation or at least the funniest) means a valued personal possession, which is worth obtaining and worth preserving. The King James Version uses the word "peculiar" to translate it. Why? Because the original meaning of that word was, "private property, special; belonging exclusively to one person or group." That's a far cry from today's odd, strange, or queer.

So, in 1 Peter 2:9, when Peter calls us a peculiar people, he doesn't mean strange or odd (although we seem to take it that way). He's telling us that we are treasured by God, belonging exclusively to him. That's way cooler than God's strange little people!

The power comes from the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:3 says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

So, stand up! Be strengthened! You are not called to be a queer people for some distant deity, you are a treasured possession of the Most High God, full of the power of the Holy Spirit. You are a peculiar people of power!