Scared of the Dentist, Paige Patterson and a Wedding
Some random thoughts before I go on a short vacation...
(1) I had a dentist appointment early in the week to continue work on a root canal. Never fun. :( It was like out of a sitcom. There was someone in the next room crying and screaming because of the pain of the procedure. Sure makes you think twice when others are being hurt. Perhaps I ought to stay away. If it had been my first appointment with that doctor I might have turned around and walked out. Only because I had already had a good experience was I willing to take the chance.
I think this relates to church life a little. In church when we have internal conflicts - it's like the patient in the next room screaming and crying out. Only a fool (or someone with a good experience already) will stay in that circumstance.
(2) Got one of the porn advertisement emails last week that said it was from Paige Patterson! :) If you don't know who Paige is - he was one of the key players in the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention in the US about 30 years ago. I thought it was funny at first that a pornographer mass mailing would use his name, but then it occured to me - they could use my name too. :( I hope I'm never famous enough to have to worry about that! :) I guess the spiritual lesson is to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing.
(3) I officiated a wedding last night for a lovely couple. He is in the record industry and has written some pretty famous songs ... one even won a grammy. Many of the guests were in the record industry. So why was there no live music at the wedding? It was all piped in via ipod. It reminded me of many churches I've been part of ... we have gifted people all around and yet they never get to use their gifts in church.
That's all for now. The family will be traveling a bit soon and we are NOT looking forward to flying with our 6 month old daughter. Anna is a crier and it's making us both nervous. Laura even bought ear plugs for all those seated around us! I hope we don't have to distribute them.
(1) I had a dentist appointment early in the week to continue work on a root canal. Never fun. :( It was like out of a sitcom. There was someone in the next room crying and screaming because of the pain of the procedure. Sure makes you think twice when others are being hurt. Perhaps I ought to stay away. If it had been my first appointment with that doctor I might have turned around and walked out. Only because I had already had a good experience was I willing to take the chance.
I think this relates to church life a little. In church when we have internal conflicts - it's like the patient in the next room screaming and crying out. Only a fool (or someone with a good experience already) will stay in that circumstance.
(2) Got one of the porn advertisement emails last week that said it was from Paige Patterson! :) If you don't know who Paige is - he was one of the key players in the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention in the US about 30 years ago. I thought it was funny at first that a pornographer mass mailing would use his name, but then it occured to me - they could use my name too. :( I hope I'm never famous enough to have to worry about that! :) I guess the spiritual lesson is to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing.
(3) I officiated a wedding last night for a lovely couple. He is in the record industry and has written some pretty famous songs ... one even won a grammy. Many of the guests were in the record industry. So why was there no live music at the wedding? It was all piped in via ipod. It reminded me of many churches I've been part of ... we have gifted people all around and yet they never get to use their gifts in church.
That's all for now. The family will be traveling a bit soon and we are NOT looking forward to flying with our 6 month old daughter. Anna is a crier and it's making us both nervous. Laura even bought ear plugs for all those seated around us! I hope we don't have to distribute them.
