Daily Double

Here's a quote from the book I'm reading, Taking Our Cities for God [it's actually not creepily militant as it sounds]. It really enlightens the post I made earlier today.

"Those statistics are actually people known intimately by [Jesus]."

Mind Boggling

So I found this website that contains an item called the World Clock. It's a pretty interesting tool. It shows you stats (including births and deaths and total population) from across the globe. It can be broken down into different categories like Year, Month, Week, etc. It's also a sobering reminder of our mission. In the time it took my to type up this post 133 people were born but 51 died.

Check it out:

http://peterrussell.dreamhosters.com/Odds/WorldClock.php

Created in His Image

If we agree that God is a creative God, then surely we are creative too.

Genesis 1.26-27: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..."So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

The writer of this passage really wants us to understand that we are created in God's image. Really, really badly. He repeats it in a span of two sentences 3 times. And if we are created in God's image, that means we are creative like God. Now, yes, there are differences. We can only create physical things based on stuff He created (ex: glass from sand). But that creative desire/ability is in all of us in one way or another. Just because you can't draw or paint or compose doesn't mean you lack creativity. You may be the most creative budgeter ever. Or the most creative Life Group teacher. Creativity is not simply limited to arts, it pops up in everything we do--eating, working, shopping, paying bills, playing with the kids.

So the next time someone asks if you are a creative person, tell them, "YES!"

Serving a Creative God

I believe that most people forget that we serve a creative God. The Bible narrative begins with a poem about Creation. "In the beginning God created." Now let's just stop here for a minute. Just think about some of the beauty you see around you. Try to push through the images of concrete and steel and remember the drive past the pond, or the squirrel running up the tree. Think of all the beauty around you. If you are sitting near a window, peak out and see all that's beautiful around you.

If you've ever seen the documentary Planet Earth or seen something like it, then you know how much beauty there is in our world. GOD CREATED IT ALL!

What makes this feat even more amazing is that He did it all with NOTHING! We can create beautiful things--if we're given the right tools. But to create something out of literally nothing--no supplies, no preexisting context or frame of reference...?!?! Simply amazing. God is so creative that He looked out over nothing and from within Himself He brought out all that we see. WOW!

Creativity in the Church

I grew up in a church that was, for lack of a better term, old-school. The church I went to in high school was old-school (the youth service was very relevant and so you can imagine the problems that emerged between the two philosophies). The good thing about growing up in churches like this is that it gives you a deep theological background. The bad thing is that you don't get to see creativity exhibited.

As crazy as it may be, there actually is a debate about creativity in the church (though not a verbal one, unless you are Stephen L. Anderson). In a lot of "old-school" churches there isn't a lot of room for creative expressions. Most churches in the US don't have a band--and most of them probably believe that it is wrong to do so. Musical talent is ignored because it seems to "worldly" (I will make an exception for Church of Christ. Through I disagree with them, they have a theological reasoning for their belief in "no-instruments" praise. I can respect that and agree to disagree).

Now that I'm a part of a church that provides an environment for progressive, creative thinking, it's really showed me how important creativity is to our faith. For the next couple of days, I want to share with you some of the things I've learned about creativity and its relation to our faith.

Tomorrow: "Serving a Creative God"

No More Excuses

After watching this I'll never make nor take an excuse for wanting to be able to play an instrument but it being too hard...

Friday Download

What a week it's been. Here's a recap of a week that has flown by:

• Visited Kingwood Church in Alabaster Sunday. Had a great time. Love the people there. Several of their staff have invested a lot in our church and I for one am very grateful for their efforts/sacrifice.
• My brother, Daniel, came up Monday to stay with Amanda and me for Spring Break. Pretty amazing what God is doing in his life. Just wish I would have started living for God at that age.
• Filled out my tournament bracket. So far I'm 12 for 16 (not all that good). I have a tendency to try to pick too many upsets. Of course, I didn't help that favorite Clemson got beat by Michigan of all teams. Their basketball team suffers from the same "do-awesome-the-first-half-0f-the-season-and-then-completely-melt-down" thing that their football team usually does.
• Got to help some of the youth make a video for Fine Arts. I may be a little biased, but I'd be surprised if it didn't advance to Nationals.
• Had a great service Wednesday night. There wasn't a whole lot of people there (Spring Break), but the worship was very powerful and raw and I felt like the teaching/preaching time went well.
• I tried something new with my sermon this week. At the end, before I gave an altar call, I opened it up for Q+A. It's easy for people to get lost even when you think you've covered all the bases. Teens get to ask questions everywhere except church...so why not let them be more informed about spiritual things?
• Went bowling with Amanda and Daniel. I had a pretty decent second game--for me anyway. I think the baby was throwing Amanda off because her bowling ball kept veering all over the place.
• This pregnancy is going be really fast. I thought it would take forever. But it's already almost here. Yes!
• Got to watch some NCAA tournament action last night. Thought American was going to pull off the upset but in the end we see why Villanova was a 3-seed and they were a 14-seed. Great teams always find a way to win games.