The Welcoming Church

Keyword: AA, addiction, church, ecclesiology, congregation, welcome, fellowship, koinonia

Source: https://twitter.com/erichoke/status/1739997761808765286?t=9-q0iClMRV_PbeWx7gdvkA&s=19

An alcoholic friend of Philip Yancey once said to him: 

“When I'm late to church, people turn around and stare at me with frowns of disapproval. 

I get the clear message that I'm not as responsible as they are. 

When I'm late to AA, the meeting comes to a halt and everyone jumps up to hug and welcome me. 

They realize that my lateness may be a sign that I almost didn't make it. 

When I show up, it proves that my desperate need for them won out over my desperate need for alcohol."

The Giver is Bigger than the Receiver

SOURCE:  (Often misattributed to Katherine Hepburn) Dan Clark in A Second Helping of Chicken Soup of the Soul. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/katharine-hepburn-circus/

KEYWORDS:  Giving, Blessed, Stewardship, Generosity, Help, Serve, Love

“Once, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.

Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.

There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.

The children were well-behaved, standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would see that night. By their excitement, you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.

The father and mother were at the head of the pack, standing proud as could be. The mother held her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.

The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.

The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, and the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.

The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was happening, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder, and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."

The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking, and embarrassing situation.

He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied, "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we would buy our own tickets with.

Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.

That day, I learned the value to Give.

The Giver is bigger than the Receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.

The importance of giving, blessing others, can never be overemphasized because there's always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”

Sheepdog and the Shepherd

SOURCE: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1697327150033154514.html

https://twitter.com/dog_rates/status/1697327150033154514

KEYWORDS:  Shepherd, sheepdog, pastor, leader, servant, church, elder, deacon, service, family, love

"This is Casper. He’s a Great Pyrenees whose job is to guard the sheep on his family's farm, and he takes that job very seriously. In the early morning of Nov. 4, 2022, a pack of 11 coyotes surrounded the farm's flock of sheep while Casper was on watch…

Casper bravely protected his herd, killing 8 of the coyotes and chasing the others away. Not a single sheep was harmed. Unfortunately, Casper was seriously injured in the process, and disappeared after the attack, only to reemerge severely wounded two days later.

Casper required multiple surgeries and was at the emergency vet for over two weeks. When he got home, he took plenty of time off, continuing to recover inside. We assume he’s already been named employee of the month, but we’re also giving Casper our highest honor, a 15/10."

COMMENTS:  I heard a recent sermon about pastors as sheepdogs.  Jesus is the shepherd, but we are under the shepherd.  When I read this Twitter thread on @WeRateDogs, I was amazed at the courage of this dog.  

Abraham Journeys Forth into the Unknown

SOURCE:  https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3105562/jewish/Abraham-Journeys-Forth-into-the-Unknown.htm

KEYWORDS: Genesis, Sarah, Sarai, Abram, Abraham, Angels

Abraham Journeys Forth into the Unknown by Yoram Raanan

"In the painting, a golden axis of light shines in the figure of Abraham hinting at this revelation of celestial elevation.

The painting also reflects darkness and constriction. Abraham's journey was filled with tribulations. He was forced by famine to go down to the land of Egypt where his wife Sara was taken to house of Pharoah. This is hinted at in the painting by the suggestion of figures in the shadows. At the end of this difficulty, Abraham emerged from Egypt with treasures. The Sfat Emet explains that all Abraham"s comings and goings were in order to elevate hidden sparks of G‑dliness. In the painting, it looks as if Abraham is digging this physical and spiritual gold out of the very darkness."

Knowing Your Final Destination

SOURCE:  https://thepastorsworkshop.com/sermon-illustrations-2/sermon-illustrations-life/

KEYWORDS:  destination, heaven, hell, kingdom, life, death, funeral

When Billy Graham was 92 years old, he was struggling with Parkinson's disease. In January, a month before his 93rd birthday, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor.

Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because of his struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, 'We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.' So he agreed.
After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the podium, looked at the crowd, and said:

"I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached into his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached into his trouser pockets.

It wasn't there. He looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it.

"The conductor said, “Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it.” Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist on his hands and knees, looking under his seat for his ticket.

"The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry. I know who you are; no problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one.'Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I, too, know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going."

Having said that, Billy Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing? It's a brand-new suit. My children and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. Do you know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this:  "I not only know who I am. I also know where I'm going."  

May your troubles be less, your blessings more, and may nothing but happiness come through your door.  Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point.  May each of us have lived our lives so that when our ticket is punched, we don't have to worry about where we are going.

Connections To Others Make a Happier, Healthier Life

SOURCE:  Goodable, Lesson Plan #17.  February 13, 2023. https://education.goodable.co/p/lesson-plan-17

KEYWORDS:  Relationship, Friendship, Family, Good, Life, Satisfaction, Fulfilled

What Makes For a Happy Life? The World's Longest Study Has the Answer 

Have you ever wondered what makes people happy? Eighty-Five years ago, a group of researchers wanted to find out what makes people happy and healthy. 

So they followed a group of men for many years and talked about their feelings, what they liked and what they didn't like about their lives. This gave researchers a lot of information about what makes people happy. The results of the study are now published and the authors say the key to happiness just might surprise you. 

Researchers Robert Waldinger and Marc Shulz say the key to a happy life is not your job, exercise or diet. Instead, they say that the most important thing is having good relationships with family, friends and the community. 

The study found that people who are connected to others are happier and healthier than people who are not. But sometimes people can feel lonely and disconnected, especially if they live in a place that values being alone over happy relationships. The study also found that it's important to take time to think about your relationships. You may realize you want to be around the person who makes you laugh and smile and not as much as the person who takes away your positivity and energy. 

Finishing the Job

SOURCE:  http://mentalfloss.com/article/31077/when-his-project-was-canceled-unemployed-programmer-kept-sneaking-apple-finish-job
KEYWORD: pearl of great price, perseverance, invested,

By November 1993, Avitzur and Robbins were ready to demonstrate the calculator. Engineers who had assisted the pair spread word of the project to their managers, who called Avitzur and Robbins in for a demo. Avitzur was prepared for the worst—ready to be dismissed as a loose cannon who had spent the last three months trespassing—but the demo went perfectly. When the computer came out the next year, Avitzur and Robbins’s graphing calculator program was on it. It has been loaded on more than 20 million machines in the decades since.

“It’s amazing we got away with it,” says Avitzur, who is still designing software, still living in the Bay Area, and still driving his 1987 Corolla. “Even more amazing that we ended up producing something of value.”

Bait and Switch?

QUOTE:

“Lord, you promised us the kingdom, but all we got was the church!”

--Alfred Loisy

Oakland Buddha

SOURCE: 

https://twitter.com/goodfriendraf/status/1627758549219565568?t=Por6mBzxeLowUw3Ojho1Vw&s=19

KEYWORDS: accountability, presence, holiness, holy

The Oakland Buddha statue, which was installed by a (non-buddhist) resident after being annoyed by the illegal dumping in the area... 

Dumping stopped, neighbors started using it as a shrine, & as of 2014, "criminal activity" in the area dropped by 82%.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Buddha

"God" by Langston Hughes

SOURCE:   https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2023/1/25/god-by-langston-hughes

KEYWORDS:  Lonely, Loneliness, Alone, Emmanuel, Incarnation, Christmas, 

"In this poem, like an ancient prophet Hughes rails against the all-too-common religious portrait of God (including and especially among Christians!) as a kind of pure, distant monarch or judge, imperious and alone. "

I am God —

Without one friend,

Alone in my purity

World without end.

Below me young lovers

Tread the sweet ground —

But I am God —

I cannot come down.

Spring!

Life is love!

Love is life only!

Better to be human

Than God — and lonely.