Two in one week? Can you believe it?
1) A preacher-less church. I hinted at it very vaguely in a previous post so I thought I'd explore it out loud further. If the growth of members of a church happens through small group discipleship why do we preach on Sunday? Again I need citation, but I once heard a statistic that 90% of a sermon is forgotten by the time you get to your car in the parking lot. So why preach? So that the lost can hear the word of God? I thought that's what we are equipping our members to do in small groups. Educating and Equipping. So what do I propose? Check it out. Again just thinking out loud:
- Intensive small groups. The basis for all growth.
- You still meet on Sundays for a service. During the service there is worship, communion, and a 5-10 minute (at most) announcement from the senior minister on what the small groups are to study this week.
- The senior minister meets and works with the small group leaders and guides them to lead the studies that go on in their homes during the week.
- The senior minister devotes his time to guiding the small groups and meeting with the members, building relational ministries. Take what youth ministers do and apply it to youth.
That's the beginning of my idea. No anyone in a position bold enough to flesh it out and try it? Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? That's the biggest random thought's point I've ever posted.
2) I'm watching the nightly news with Katie Couric, and she just made Palin look like a moron. She (Palin) contradicted herself a couple times. Putting aside the fact that Palin may not be sharp on foreign policy at all, I still think it does nothing to dissuade my belief that the media is heavily biased and has already chosen the next president.
3) Mostly for Hatter - I've been invited to join a multi player NWN gaming session tonight with Randy and the gang. Level 10 characters who get 150,000 gold to do with as they please. Then we'll go through the main campaign. The result? A Halfling druid who rocks. When he gets to 40 he will have every shape shift possible to both a druid and a shifter. It's going to be awesome. The concept of a tiny halfling who can turn into an ancient red dragon is hilarious in my mind.
4) Not to go back to politics, but there's one more thing I want to address here. McCain has tried to suspend the debate, claiming he and Obama need to focus on the bail out proposal. Obama's response was brilliant. If you missed it, he basically said that the president is going to have to deal with several things at once, and you can't put those things on hold to focus on just one thing. I am hoping McCain does show up to the debate, it would be a bad move for him not to. He also ditched Letterman, which I wouldn't care about except instead of going to Washington he went and talked to Couric. Again not a wise move. I like both nominees but sometimes I can't help but wonder (media bias aside) if McCain is just trying to lose!
5) Verse of the post: Jesus replied, Luke 9:58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Another verse that blows me away.
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3 comments:
James, I'm so proud of you. Two posts in one week. And this is a deep one. I'll have to process it for a little bit first. But this made me laugh.
"I can't help but wonder (media bias aside) if McCain is just trying to lose!"
Love your thoughts on small groups! We should talk more about this when you unplug from your video games!
On point 4, McCain could have easily come back with "The president also needs to know how to prioritize..." were he quick on his feet.
On point 3, one of the things I miss most about GLCC dorm life is the multiplayer nights. NWN, AoE, RoN, RS3...good times. Sorry I have to miss it.
On point 1, I think you'll have just as much luck getting rid of the preacher as I'll have getting rid of the congregational vote. That being said, it is interesting to see how the focus of meeting has changed from what it seemed to be in the NT to what it is now (that is, we meet to hear the preacher).
Also on point 1 (long point, double response), the thought of growth happening mainly as a result of small-group discipleship runs right in line with what we talked about last week in our small group. Keep an eye on my blog in the next day or two for a recap. I think you'll enjoy it.
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