If a restaurant has a sign on the door that it offers free wi-fi, and if that wi-fi is disabled for any reason, they should post that information on the same sign. Or they should give you your meal FREE if they deliver it just as you're turning on your laptop.
"Oh yeah, we've been having trouble with the wi-fi for a couple of days."
What?? "Oh yeah"?? You thought I was carrying this 20 lb. backpack on my shoulder for exercise?
Major thunderstorms through the night and a tornado warning, too. Light show.
Why does lightning get dissed? Why aren't they lightning storms? Especially because you can often see lightning but not hear the thunder because of the distance.
I want to do yesterday over again, like the movie Groundhog Day, except for the opposite reason.
I spent the morning working on my sermon. This one has me thinking, mentally exploring the topic and its dynamics. Here's a peek behind the curtain: pastors get into some sermons more than others. Alas, their enthusiasm for the topic may get lost in the execution.
"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing greatness is from God and not from us" (1 Cor. 4:2).
During lunch I started reading a short book Todd gave me. It started slowly and the writer in me wondered if it had been edited by the author's mother. But by page 20 he was into his story, and it is now a total page-turner. It's living up to the three pages of endorsement quotes at the front.
After lunch I did something really quite rude; I stopped by unannounced at the home of a family at Celebration. I am very glad I decided to do that, and so blessed by the look of surprise and joy, followed by warm hugs. The next two + hours were a total joy, one of those experiences where the conversation moved so quickly and easily that we got a year's worth of catching up done before I realized I needed to get going.
The Body of Christ!
I had dinner with four beautiful young ladies, each a jewel in her own right.
(The people are the best part!)
Last night's speaker was very, very good. His name is Harvey Carey and he's a Black pastor from Detroit. You know, if you've been reading this blog very long, that I appreciate the unique characteristics of Black gospel music and preaching. Technically, the latter is called "narrative preaching." It's about story. White folk think logically and linearly. A good sermon should have a proposition with supporting points & sub-points. That comes from our European heritage with its emphasis on the scientific method. Probably goes all the way back to Socrates.
Black culture doesn't go back to Athens or Europe. Their culture values the story. (Note: western European culture is based on the written word whereas African culture revolves around the spoken word, the stories passed down from one generation to the next.) Hence, narrative preaching. Get to the end of a Black preacher's sermon and you'll have a tough time identifying his proposition. (OK, you'll have a tough time with many White sermons, too, but for an entirely different reason.) You'll know exactly what he said, and chances are you'll remember, almost verbatim, the expressions and anecdotes he used to relate his theme. That's the strength of narrative preaching. (I've tried it. I can't jump, either.)
Of course, Pastor Carey does narrative preaching naturally. But he also skillfully dialed it back so he could communicate effectively with a room full of Whities. Most importantly, what he said was both biblical and convicting. Lots to think about.
He's speaking again in this morning's session before returning to Detroit. I'm looking forward to it.
But between now and then I've more work to get done.
My flight out of G.R. is at 7:30 a.m. Add in the time to return the rental car (review forthcoming) and I'll be leaving my mother-in-law's place shortly after I go to bed. Tomorrow's post will probably be back to my normal evening schedule.
1 comment:
Are you insinuating mothers are bad editors?
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