Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Cost
Jesus told a parable about building a tower and then continued his exposition with an example based on war.
The Cost of Being a Disciple
Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:31-33
Last weekend we celebrated the Fourth of July and in doing so honored the brave men who have fought and died to establish and preserve our freedom. Last week my father attended a gathering of ex POW’s from WWII and the meeting was covered by my friend from high school Mary McCarty. She is a columnist at the Dayton Daily News my hometown newspaper. Mary wrote briefly about my father’s war experience. I have heard his story before. I have read his memoirs where he told more than he ever said, but it was through Mary’s eyes I saw something I had never seen before. I saw a strong young man emaciated to the weight of an adolescence girl who I knew as one who witnessed the holocaust. Sunday morning as I read Mary’s piece I saw him as one who experienced the holocaust and survived. I never put flesh on the reality he escaped when the Allied troop came and liberated him from death.
The cost of war…
A friend of mine recently posted a video by David Wilkerson on the cost of revival; anguish. Both these stories have resonated through my heart and mind over the Fourth stirring my emotions. When we seek revival we surely opt for combat. We need to count the cost before we commit. Revival will cost us. The video talked about the anguish over the lost that motivates us to go, tell and make disciples. The anguish that I perceive is the cost that obedience demands. There is no revival without anguish over the lost or complete obedience to the king. We die to the personal preferences that keep us complacent and keep us from the commitment needed for revival.
My son recently returned from a trip to Asia. I found a card among his belongings, a thank you note from the church there. As I picked it up and read the names a current went through my body as I thought of them, then the persecuted church and then the millions and millions of those who have never heard and I wept.
The Cost of Being a Disciple
Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:31-33
Last weekend we celebrated the Fourth of July and in doing so honored the brave men who have fought and died to establish and preserve our freedom. Last week my father attended a gathering of ex POW’s from WWII and the meeting was covered by my friend from high school Mary McCarty. She is a columnist at the Dayton Daily News my hometown newspaper. Mary wrote briefly about my father’s war experience. I have heard his story before. I have read his memoirs where he told more than he ever said, but it was through Mary’s eyes I saw something I had never seen before. I saw a strong young man emaciated to the weight of an adolescence girl who I knew as one who witnessed the holocaust. Sunday morning as I read Mary’s piece I saw him as one who experienced the holocaust and survived. I never put flesh on the reality he escaped when the Allied troop came and liberated him from death.
The cost of war…
A friend of mine recently posted a video by David Wilkerson on the cost of revival; anguish. Both these stories have resonated through my heart and mind over the Fourth stirring my emotions. When we seek revival we surely opt for combat. We need to count the cost before we commit. Revival will cost us. The video talked about the anguish over the lost that motivates us to go, tell and make disciples. The anguish that I perceive is the cost that obedience demands. There is no revival without anguish over the lost or complete obedience to the king. We die to the personal preferences that keep us complacent and keep us from the commitment needed for revival.
My son recently returned from a trip to Asia. I found a card among his belongings, a thank you note from the church there. As I picked it up and read the names a current went through my body as I thought of them, then the persecuted church and then the millions and millions of those who have never heard and I wept.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Image in the Church
I am writing this as a graphic designer who has worked in a church and who currently works for a private company with a communications person to help the marketing people brand the company. I am an artist and I have come to understand my role in society is to help people with the esthetic element of any given situation. The value an artist has is that he or she understands what beauty is; knows what good design is and what makes those things happen. We are valued for our ability to observe and then articulate our esthetic observations both visually and verbally. (from a talk Joan Davidow director of the Contemporary Museum in Dallas had with my Art Professor Greg Metz, UTD.) We are here to help.
Image both verbal and nonverbal is the message we “put out there” when we communicate within the walls of the church and to those outside our church and more important how we communicate to the un-churched, non-believing world. We need to communicate to membership to be effective. We need to communicate well to avoid confusion and if we do it well to promote unity. It is helpful if we are all on the same page. It helps if we have a clear concise front. If we look stylish, up to date and even slick, well… it doesn’t hurt our cause anymore than dressing up a bit for Sunday worship.
I am not advocating “airs” or a false or misleading image, but just the best image that we can muster. I think I am covered by the scripture reference “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23) How much more should we do it with all our hearts when we do it for the Lord?
Nothing insults my esthetic sensibility more than when a church puts little effort into their communication pieces be it print or web if they have the means and the talent to “make much” of the Lord and His work in their local church. Why shouldn't we make Jesus look good, when we know how to make Him look good? Why should my church do something poorly when I have the talent and training to do it well? It should not be. If I am trained in marketing and understand how to target consumers why would I not help my church reach potential member and prospects? Why should the church ignore statistics that help them understand who their neighbor is and what they think?
The local church needs to communicate. We can do it poorly and without purpose or focus, or we can do it well and help reach people and help the people outside the body of Christ understand what one local body of Christ is about. To do it well we need to do it accurately and professionally. We need to be timely in our postings and mailings. We need to check and make sure our links aren’t broken, our information outdated so when people check us out we will look like we are home. We need to communicate like we know what we are talking about. We can sing the praise of the Lord with a well written blog entry, news article or event posting. Whatever we do even if we aren’t doing something, says something. We just need to be doing it well.
But a more important question is when we communicate is what they see what they get? Do we present Jesus correctly in our communications? When people do come to our worship, Bible studies or events, when they participate in community with us do they find Christ in us individually and corporately? Chances are we miss the mark more often then we want to admit. All the more reason why the message, the image we want to present to our membership and those outside the church needs to be communicated often, accurately, articulately and in a pleasing manner.
Keep on keeping on.
Image both verbal and nonverbal is the message we “put out there” when we communicate within the walls of the church and to those outside our church and more important how we communicate to the un-churched, non-believing world. We need to communicate to membership to be effective. We need to communicate well to avoid confusion and if we do it well to promote unity. It is helpful if we are all on the same page. It helps if we have a clear concise front. If we look stylish, up to date and even slick, well… it doesn’t hurt our cause anymore than dressing up a bit for Sunday worship.
I am not advocating “airs” or a false or misleading image, but just the best image that we can muster. I think I am covered by the scripture reference “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23) How much more should we do it with all our hearts when we do it for the Lord?
Nothing insults my esthetic sensibility more than when a church puts little effort into their communication pieces be it print or web if they have the means and the talent to “make much” of the Lord and His work in their local church. Why shouldn't we make Jesus look good, when we know how to make Him look good? Why should my church do something poorly when I have the talent and training to do it well? It should not be. If I am trained in marketing and understand how to target consumers why would I not help my church reach potential member and prospects? Why should the church ignore statistics that help them understand who their neighbor is and what they think?
The local church needs to communicate. We can do it poorly and without purpose or focus, or we can do it well and help reach people and help the people outside the body of Christ understand what one local body of Christ is about. To do it well we need to do it accurately and professionally. We need to be timely in our postings and mailings. We need to check and make sure our links aren’t broken, our information outdated so when people check us out we will look like we are home. We need to communicate like we know what we are talking about. We can sing the praise of the Lord with a well written blog entry, news article or event posting. Whatever we do even if we aren’t doing something, says something. We just need to be doing it well.
But a more important question is when we communicate is what they see what they get? Do we present Jesus correctly in our communications? When people do come to our worship, Bible studies or events, when they participate in community with us do they find Christ in us individually and corporately? Chances are we miss the mark more often then we want to admit. All the more reason why the message, the image we want to present to our membership and those outside the church needs to be communicated often, accurately, articulately and in a pleasing manner.
Keep on keeping on.
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