The Banner charges the CRC for ads?! Isn't that like robbing Peter to pay Paul?
I was one of the pastors who didn't pass along the email, but that's because I've been forwarding specific Network articles and discussions to Telkwa CRC people.
Thank you, Melissa! I have said before that we confuse hospitality with hosting, thinking that we must be the perfect host (in a perfect house with a perfect meal attended by perfect children...) when what's needed is welcoming hospitality. We'll bless people more with an open door than a perfect home. ("...Perfect home" just struck me as an oxymoran as I typed it.) Blessings! Stan
Thank you, Chelsea, for this insightful post. I, too, want to see ongoing transformation in my life because that's what the Holy Spirit does and in order to encourage the congregation... Yet I don't want it to be too obvious! What if I let them (and myself!) down? What if it's perceived as showing off? And what about those areas I'd prefer not to see transformed because I'm comfortable with the status quo? May God bless us as we appropriately display and share how He's at work in us! ~Stan
I often feel that labels do more harm than good: They are limiting, create stereotypes, and cannot account for nuances or differences that individuals may have from the label that has been put on them. The only label I'm comfortable trying to apply to myself is "biblical." ~Stan
You mow the lawn. I vacuum. I'll try to remember your words the next time I start vacuuming because of my job and not because the floor needs it. ~Stanley
I, too, push back against the notion of elders being more important than deacons (or vice versa, though that doesn't usually happen). According to CRC Church Order, "no officebearer shall lord it over another officebearer" (Art. 85). I also think of how deacons were needed in the early church BEFORE elders (Ac 6)!
Rebecca's comment above is apt and something for which to strive – being "intentional about identifying our gifts and then making a connection between giftedness and where we serve" when it comes to lots of things, including deacon nominations.
That's an interesting observation, Mavis. I myself haven't used the expression "Facebook friend" probably because I know all my "friends" irl, whether they're bio family, church family, colleagues, acquaintances, "real friends," etc. So perhaps Facebook isn't redefining friendship so much as it is creating a new type of friendship that didn't exist prior to social media. ...Although pen pals do come to mind as something similar. ~Stanley
Posted in: Our Email That You (Probably) Missed
The Banner charges the CRC for ads?! Isn't that like robbing Peter to pay Paul?
I was one of the pastors who didn't pass along the email, but that's because I've been forwarding specific Network articles and discussions to Telkwa CRC people.
Stanley
Posted in: A Poet's View of Synod 2010
Wish I could have been there!
On another note: Prof De Moor is retiring? This can only spell anarchy and chaos in the CRC... It's the end of the world as we know it!
=) Stanley
Posted in: Need or Desire for a Repository of Worship Visuals?
I'd bookmark and peruse it for sure! S.
Posted in: 3 Web Design Elements You Should Know
Parallax scrolling. Now I finally know what that's called! Thanks.
S.
Posted in: Good Bye Martha Stewart! Rethinking Hospitality.
Thank you, Melissa! I have said before that we confuse hospitality with hosting, thinking that we must be the perfect host (in a perfect house with a perfect meal attended by perfect children...) when what's needed is welcoming hospitality. We'll bless people more with an open door than a perfect home. ("...Perfect home" just struck me as an oxymoran as I typed it.)
Blessings!
Stan
Posted in: Weight Loss is a Lot Like Sanctification
Thank you, Chelsea, for this insightful post. I, too, want to see ongoing transformation in my life because that's what the Holy Spirit does and in order to encourage the congregation... Yet I don't want it to be too obvious! What if I let them (and myself!) down? What if it's perceived as showing off? And what about those areas I'd prefer not to see transformed because I'm comfortable with the status quo? May God bless us as we appropriately display and share how He's at work in us! ~Stan
Posted in: I Am Exceptional
Thank you, Mark, for making Rod's article (which I read in CC) even more readily available. It's an "exceptional" piece! ~ Stan
Posted in: Neo Liberal Conservatism
I often feel that labels do more harm than good: They are limiting, create stereotypes, and cannot account for nuances or differences that individuals may have from the label that has been put on them. The only label I'm comfortable trying to apply to myself is "biblical." ~Stan
Posted in: Hi. I Am a Pastor
You mow the lawn. I vacuum. I'll try to remember your words the next time I start vacuuming because of my job and not because the floor needs it. ~Stanley
Posted in: Deacons: An Elder Training Ground
Hi Melissa,
I, too, push back against the notion of elders being more important than deacons (or vice versa, though that doesn't usually happen). According to CRC Church Order, "no officebearer shall lord it over another officebearer" (Art. 85). I also think of how deacons were needed in the early church BEFORE elders (Ac 6)!
Rebecca's comment above is apt and something for which to strive – being "intentional about identifying our gifts and then making a connection between giftedness and where we serve" when it comes to lots of things, including deacon nominations.
Thanks for the reflections!
Stan
Posted in: Psalms, Elders and Pastoral Care
No contest: Psalm 42.
~Stan
Posted in: Redefining Friendship
That's an interesting observation, Mavis. I myself haven't used the expression "Facebook friend" probably because I know all my "friends" irl, whether they're bio family, church family, colleagues, acquaintances, "real friends," etc. So perhaps Facebook isn't redefining friendship so much as it is creating a new type of friendship that didn't exist prior to social media. ...Although pen pals do come to mind as something similar. ~Stanley