How Long I Have Missed You

I have been growing out the hair on my chinny chin chin for as long as Carol, my fiance has been gone this semester.  I know its weird, but its one of the ways I deal with her being gone.

8 Days.  

Don't Read This

Sorry, in advance.  Constipation of thoughts recently.  

My task this week is to write a section of my Philosophy of Ministry paper that explains the Ultimate Purpose.  I know God, so I guess I can presume that there is a purpose.

I have heard Ultimate Purpose expressed in a variety of ways, and have written a similar paper previously.  Instead of simply ripping that idea off, I decided to poke around the thought world to see what the Tradition had to offer.  Brian McLaren's mentions the Eastern Orthodox view that that Christ's coming to earth was a way of allowing creation to join in the perfect dance of the trinity.

I googled "Ultimate Purpose Trinity".  It didn't take long until I was bored of reading the debates between wether or not to call Jesus a "person", "expression" or "distinctinve/indistinctive essence".  I found a blog post that link to another, and another that had a cool name.

I read about how the author was shutting down the blog.  I also read some of the posts, mostly because some people are getting hurt.  The blog is re-opened and looks about the same.  My thought is: with things like this on the site, how do you expect people not to respond in a way that hurts someone, even if they are brothers in the faith?

Switch gears to the laundry room in Morris Hall last night.  My dear friend Christian Leman and I were about an hour into a discussion about what the Gospel means.  One of my guys from the floor comes down to hear the end of me ranting about about how debates in theology can be divisive, and how they can become "essential" rather than "important".

Christian left while his clothes were in the dryer, and the other friend said to me, "I really didn't expect to hear you say something like that."

A little aback I said "What do you mean?"

He said, "I just think of you as kind of person who likes to think about all that stuff"

It strikes me that I would be the person that is perceived to place thought above love.  

            You are burning to know what I think is essential.

  LOVE GOD, LOVE ALL PEOPLE.

Something You Have Heard Before

I found this on PreachingToday.com's Series about money.  There is more research out there suggesting similar conclusions.  We should tithe out of both obedience and love.  

Tithing Christians Would Meet Global Need
A husband and wife team of researchers, the founders of Empty Tomb, Inc., in Champaign, Illinois, have tracked American and American Christian expenditures as well as global needs. John and Sylvia Ronsvalle have estimated that $70-$80 billion a year could meet the most essential human needs around the world. "Projects for clean water and sanitation, prenatal and infant/maternal care, basic education, immunizations, and long-term development efforts are among the activities that could help overcome the poverty conditions that now kill and maim so many children and adults."

The Ronsvalles go on to write: "That figure of $70-$80 billion may sound like anything but good news. God may be generous, you may agree, but has he been that generous? Consider this: If church members in the United States would increase their giving to 10 percent of their income, there could be an additional $94 billion available for overseas missions."

In addition to providing the $80 billion a year needed to eliminate world poverty, tithing Christians would also provide the $7 billion needed to provide primary education for all children, and the $5 billion needed to end the preventable deaths of children under 5.

Craig L. Blomberg, Preaching the Parables (Baker Academic, 2004) p. 51; updated statistics from www.emptytomb.org