Ben Stein's "Expelled"

A guy in my church was just telling me today about the movie,             Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. It's a documentary-type film meant to show the censoring of scientists who are anti-Darwinism.  My friend hasn't seen it, but he's heard good things about it from a Christian perspective.  According to the website it isn't coming to Canada until the summer so I don't know if any of you have seen it yet.  

I checked the official website (here) to find out what I could.  You can find movie trailers and a taste of some of the controversy the film has already generated.  One thing that caught my attention was a link to a Richard Dawkins' article against the movie.  Dawkins is an atheistic, darwinian scientist who was interviewed for the movie.  Among other complaints, he claims he was deceived as to the purpose of the interview.  It's quite lengthy, but it's good for us to see how these people think.  

If this is the first you've heard of this movie, check it out.  If you've heard anything, and especially if you've seen it, I'd love to hear what you think.  I doubt I'll get to see it in our rather remote neck of the woods, but if I do I'll let you know.  I also have concerns about some of Dawkins' comments.  If there is any truth in his claim about being deceived or about his friend being kicked out of the movie, I'll be disappointed.  What do you think?

Dave

  

The Tangled Web

I preached on putting off lying and putting on truth from Ephesians 4:25 this morning.  I thought about using this illustration, but decided not to.  It didn't really fit.  But it does show what tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceive.  And it's a great smile.

Dave

THE WHITE LIE CAKE 
Alice was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa, 
but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered the morning of the 
bake sale and, after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & 
quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack for 
Scout camp. 

When Alice took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the 
cake was horribly disfigured. She thought, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake 
another cake."

This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new 
church and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked 
around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. 

Alice found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and 
covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it 
looked perfect. 

Before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, 
Alice woke her daughter Amanda and gave her some money and specific 
instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the 
cake and bring it home. 

When Amanda arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had 
already been sold. She grabbed her cell phone and called her mom. 

Alice was horrified - she was beside herself. Everyone would know! What would 
they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, and ridiculed! All night, 
Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and 
talking about her behind her back. 

The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake 
and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow 
church member and try to have a good time. Alice did not want to attend because 
the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at Alice 
because she was a single parent and not from the founding families of her city 
but, having already RSVP'd, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay 
home. 

The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust and, to Alice 's 
horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood 
drain from her body when she saw the cake! 

She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she 
could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "What a beautiful cake!"

Alice still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was 
also a prominent church member) say, "Thank you. I baked it myself."

Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good."

Yeah, you can send this Funny to anybody you want. And, if you're REAL nice, 
you'll tell them where you got it! www.mikeysFunnies.com 

Needed Reminder

I came across an article by William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army.  That article led to a video form of the same message.  A much needed reminder for me.  

What I most struggle with after watching this(besides guilt) is how do we best act on it.  How do we help people see that they are drowning when many don't realize it or even feel it?  How do we make those connections that will get us off the rock and into the ocean?  Any ideas?

Dave

Reluctant Pastor

The title I chose for my blog was not my first choice.  Or my second.  In order to have the website address match the title I had to keep trying.  "God's Power in My Weakness" is a good fit however.  Especially when it comes to pastoring.  I have a love/hate relationship with pastoring.  I love that I get to spend hours studying and teaching God's Word.  And I get paid for it.  I love helping people learn, grow, and serve the Lord.  But there are also aspects that I struggle with.  I feel so inadequate, so weak in some things.  I feel the need to take breaks from pastoring from time to time.  

When I reflect on my calling and the assurances God has given me over the years, I can't argue that God wants me in ministry, but I have often asked, "Why me?"  The answer I keep coming back to is 1Corinthians 1:27.  God chooses the foolish and the weak so that He can get the glory!  That's fine by me.  If He is pleased to use me, I am pleased to be used.

So when I say I'm a sometimes reluctant pastor, I don't conclude that I shouldn't be pastoring.  Rather my conclusion is that I need to let the power of God work in me and through me.  I need to trust that God's power shines through my weakness.  His grace is sufficient.  

Dave        

Blogging, Why Bother?

I've considered starting a blog a couple times before but always thought better of it.  I'm usually pretty slow to jump on bandwagons.  What do I have to say that anyone should take time to read it?  Blogs have always seemed rather arrogant to me.  And would I even keep it up?

Then a blog by Abraham Piper got me thinking about it again.  It was titled, "6 Reasons Pastors Should Blog."  You can read it at:

 http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1156_6_reasons_pastors_should_blog/

Here are some of his reasons and my comments:

1. Blog to write.  I enjoy writing.  Authors everywhere say the more you write, the better you get.  So even if no one ever reads it, hopefully the practice will help me.
2. Blog to teach.  Teaching is an important part of pastoring, yet I only have a half hour a week to teach the whole church.  It's appealing to think I could do a little more teaching through a blog.
3. Blog to recommend.  Part of me says recommending is advertising.  Not something I'm comfortable with from the pulpit, but you may be encouraged, informed, or moved by books, websites, organizations, activities, etc., that I've found helpful.  A blog could make a good forum.
4. Blog to interact.  Blogging is most effective when your interest is piqued enough to respond and interact.  I hope you will.  An added bonus is that you can choose a good time for you.
5. Blog to develop an eye for what is meaningful.  This has to do with learning to choose topics that are worth writing about.  "Meaningful" is often in the eye of the beholder, but if practice helps, why not?
6. Blog to be known.  Piper sees this as the greatest benefit.  It may also be the most frightening.  Not because I'm afraid to share myself, but because I'm afraid you won't care.  Maybe you do, maybe you don't.  I'll have to leave that up to you.

So here we go.  You can expect some posts along those lines.  It won't be daily.  I'll be doing great if I write two or three a week.  Much of it will be along spiritual lines, but I also hope to include some humor and some other areas of interest.  You're welcome to come along for the ride.  

And if you have been inspired to start your own blog, let me know!  I'd love to check it out.

Dave