SOMEBODY READ MY BLOG!

I couldn't believe it when I saw and email from someone who had read my blog! Thank you Samantha. I thought I was all alone out here. Maybe there are some other lurkers out there. If so, don't be afraid to email me and let me know you're out there. I'm a total novice when it comes to blogging. I have no idea how to do anything but write. I'd love to be able to enable comments and put other things in the side column areas but I have no idea how to do it. Perhaps some of you can give me some pointers.


GOT PURPOSE?

Well it was inevitable. Our church is doing the 40 days of purpose with the accompanying book by Rick Warren. My husband and I have had the same concerns. Rick Warren's use of Scripture is often sloppy. He depends on poor translations and paraphrases too much. He prooftexts instead of properly exegeting. This one thing tells us that he doesn't handle the holy word of God with the proper humility and care. However, hardly anyone else we know of at church has had these same concerns. We are committed to reading the book and participating in the obligatory activities that go along with it. One of those things is the homegroup. Our church is trying to start a small group ministry and this is the one way they want to kick it off. But it seems a little artificial to me. Most people are being assigned to small groups where they may not know anyone else in the group. Some groups are including kids and some are meeting at church with childcare provided. I think though that I'd rather have people come together as families with other families they know. On one of the Basement Tapes, the gang discusses how when they finally build their own building one of them suggested that they don't have a fellowship hall because they already fellowship in various homes in the community. Somehow having a fellowship hall, library, kitchen, etc. in church creates a superficial version of community. People meet there but never really relate, they check out books but don't own them and share them, they eat there but never share home cooked meals in their home and so the depth never happens. I think this is the argument of the folks at the HSC. I tend to agree. We have semi close friends at church but it never seems like we have community. And I don't think creating another program is going to generate community either. A couple months ago I shared these thoughts with one of the pastors on staff who's responsible for this new small group ministry and it pretty much fell on deaf ears.

Anyway, I think I will keep blogging about my experience with the Purpose Driven Life book. By the way, did you know that the phrase Purpose Driven is a registered trademark? No comment from me on this one. I'll get myself in trouble. No, no, not gonna go there. Not gonna do it.