Pass Me a Comma, Quick!!

From an Associate Press story on New England’s need for evangelism:

Several groups trying to re-ignite New England’s faith are theologically conservative, such as the Southern Baptists, Presbyterian Church in America and the Conservative Baptists’ Mission Northeast. They say a reason for the region’s hollowed-out faith is a pervasive theology that departs from traditional Biblical interpretation on issues such as the divinity of Jesus, the exclusivity of Christianity as a path to salvation and homosexuality.

“…the exclusivity of Christianity as a path to salvation, and homosexuality” corrects a few zillion fundamentalist Christians, sweating bullets.

Sometimes an extra comma or two is a good thing, AP. A few extra words wouldn’t hurt, either.

HT: Duane Smith at Abnormal Interests

Just in Time For Halloween….

I learn my pastor has taken up Twitter. (Sort of. Like his blogging.)

Oh, the horror!

Is it time to examine the mysteries of Rome? I hear they’re getting more open-armed toward Protestants.

Or maybe Canterbury. I already have the Book, after all. (well, the 1928, which is pretty darn close to the 1662).

Either way, all those bibles I have with the deuterocanonicals (Wiki link brought to you by Jim West) would actually get more use, wouldn’t they?

Oh, Horror, REAL HORROR!!!

Now my Student Minister has a blog, too!!!

A Collection of Blog Posts on the 2009 SBC Meeting

Andrew Nicewander of Reformation of a Messenger Boy has kindly done a round up for the rest of us here.

I’m sure more are forthcoming from others in the next few days.

Look Who’s Forty….

Kind readers, I direct your attention to news of great import. My pastor, Dr. Jay Cook, turns the dreaded forty years old Friday, June 19.

We already welcomed him into prayer meeting tonight with black armbands, but I suggest that if you so choose, you might send him an e-mail at “jayc@fbcpas.net”. In particular you might send messages along these lines:

Congratulations:

1. You’ve turned forty, so now people will listen to your opinion even without the “Dr.” at the front of your name.

2. You’re a lucky man to have so nice a family as to gracefully put up with the infirmities of your advanced age.

3. I saw your blog and am pleased to see you didn’t die sometime last November from advanced years.

4. You must be so happy to come to pastor a church with such wonderful members as the Goulablogger in your declining years.

5. You look great for your age.

Condolences:

1. I’m sure your son didn’t intend to be mean when he said “Only God has more candles on his birthday cake than that.”

2. Many famous people did their best work in the later parts of life.

3. You’re not getting older… Well, actually….

4. The print in everyone’s Bibles gets smaller after forty.

5. It was a teenager who called you “Gramps” yesterday, after all.

Question:

I only offer one suggestion: “NKJV– Why?”

Oh, and you might leave a message on his blog, to convince Jay he isn’t a voice crying in the wilderness, that only he remains on the Internet.

Holidays, Holy Days… What’s A Pastor to Do?

I’ve written before about Sundays near national holidays, but this Sunday was a triple hitter: It was the Sunday after Ascension Day, the Sunday before Memorial Day, and our Sunday dedicated to recognizing our high school and college graduates.

My thought is pretty simple: I’m glad I’m not a pastor, because Sundays like that leave one thinking “What’s a pastor to do?”

I personally have little use for secular holidays in church, but I’m sure some members are upset when they are avoided. I think, on the other hand, that free churches like Southern Baptists (though it’s always dangerous to speak of free churches as a monolith) don’t follow the liturgical calendar/holy year enough. Again, I’m sure some members would feel their church was becoming too Episcopal or, horror of horrors, Roman Catholic, if the classic church year got too much notice. The baccalaureate program I don’t mind, since it does lead to sermons on living as a Christian in the world, which we all need to hear.

What did my local church do? Well, we didn’t even recognize Ascension Day, we had the graduate ceremonies, and we had no evening service in order to allow people to go to the local Memorial Day celebration (or to save on the electric bill because so many church members were travelling). That’s a whole ‘nother can of worms, because while I haven’t perfect church attendance, I do like services to be conducted regularly. When Sunday evening or Wednesday evening services are cancelled, I am a mite annoyed, but on the other hand (I have enough hands to be in the bar scene in “Star Wars”, you see), the image of say, a Roman Catholic priest celebrating the Eucharist in a church pretty much by himself strikes me as wrong, too. Church= ecclesia= assembly of people. If it’s just the priest/pastor and the staff, that’s not really church, is it?

As I began, so I end: what’s a pastor to do, a member to think?

(P.S. Nice to see I’ve been blogging long enough to reference previous posts on a topic. Tee Hee!)