Thank you, John and buds

Welcome, Amaryllis! We expected taller, and the blossoms are only about 5" across, but they're pretty! There's a third on the back side that will probably open tomorrow. And notice the second bud at the bottom.
I read about these on Wikipedia and learned several things. First, it's not really an amaryllis. It's a Hippeastrum. The former is from Africa and this is from Central America. I also learned that I've been killing it by over-watering. I should only have watered if when the soil was bone dry. Oops. And according to that article I can put it outdoors in May when all threat of frost is past to bring back in next fall for another blooming cycle.
I don't think that article was written for those of us who live in the desert southwest. If I put it outside in May it will be fried by June.
Oh well.

How bad is TV during the writer's strike? ABC is showing Sound of Music tonight. Network television showing Sound of Music! If it weren't for Sunday night football I'd go shopping at Wal Mart.

If you haven't been to the gym for, say, six months, and then you go back your body speaks to you very loudly. And none of the messages it brings are pleasant. Humbling, but not pleasant. And no matter how many miles you're putting in on the bike it doesn't lessen the pain at all.

I'm getting anxious for/about next Sunday. I'm looking forward to what I think will be a good morning of worship and learning. But what will the long term outcome be?

Martin Luther got it all started, but several other guys were right in there playing very important roles, including John Calvin. Calvinism, the theology which he articulated (he didn't invent it; the Bible teaches it but he wrote works on it) became the foundation for the Protestant church that emerged from the Reformation.
Aside from the specific tenets of Calvinism, it focuses on the sovereignty of God, his transcendence and supremacy in all things. This perspective shaped everything from liturgy to architecture. There's a reason the cathedrals of Europe have tall spires that point to heaven. The preacher climbed into a pulpit that was often 6' or more above the people to declare "Thus saith the Lord!" Hymns focused on God - his attributes and greatness.
This emphasis on the transcendence of God was allowed to develop to a point where the church was too often cold, irrelevant and dry. Expert on theology, but unconcerned with how that theology impacted life.
Along came John and Charles Wesley and their few friends at Oxford. They decided there had to be more to Christianity than theology. They wanted, yearned for a vibrant relationship with God, and they set about to achieve that through specific steps: prayer, fellowship, hymns that spoke of God's involvement in life.... These steps outlined a method of achieving a holiness that they believed was God's intent. Hence, Methodism.
This bipolar Christianity continued for the next two centuries, with Calvinism or Methodism (doctrine or practice) holding sway depending on the era and the location. Makes for a really fascinating study if you're interested.

As with so many things it should not be an either/or proposition. Both doctrine and practice are essential elements of the Christian faith. "The truth will set you free." Doctrine and life.
So, has the pendulum come to rest at the bottom?
I suspect that, as has been the case for the last 250 years, it depends in part on where you live. Certain areas of the U.S. are dominated by the values of Calvinism - the emphasis on truth, God's transcendence, his sovereignty. Denominations also stress one more than the other. Think Protestant Reformed vs. Assemblies of God.
But I'm coming to the conclusion that the materialism, prosperity and consumerism of these early years of the 21st century have turned the church away from the necessary inclusion of those basic Calvinistic emphases - the greatness and otherness of God.
Try this: listen to the songs and the sermons at church. Keep mental track of the pronouns used, first and second person or third person. Do "I, me, my, we, us, you" dominate? Or do "he, his him" carry the day? Again, it's not an either/or situation. But in general, are we drawn to him? Or is he brought down to us?
This is easier for me to sense than to explain.
The Westminster Catechism begins, "What is the chief end of man?" What answer, in your opinion, is the contemporary church giving to that question?

Remember!...Wittenburg door!

Talk among yourselves.